Looking to save money? Luckily for you, there are plenty of ways to go about this task! Whether you do a no-spend day, week, or month, or simply walk instead of driving from time to time, there are many great ways to keep money in your pocket!
The prospect of saving extra money each money can be daunting for some, but it really doesn’t have to be. We’ve brought together 31 great ways for you to save more of your hard-earned dough. Continue reading to learn what you need to do to save money fast:
Ways To Save Money Fast
1. Pay Off Credit Cards In Full
Make sure you are paying your credit cards in full each month. No amount of points or air-miles will make up for interest payments you end up needing to make on outstanding balances!
2. Set A Goal To Reduce Your Credit Card Debt By $1,000
Set a goal to reduce your credit card debt by a meaningful amount and then act on it! By lowering your debt by even just $1,000, you’ll likely save more than $200 from interest alone!
3. Use Only Your Bank’s ATMs
Avoid ATM fees by only using ATM machines at your credit union or bank of choice. You might not think much of an ATM fee here and there, but over time these can really add up!
4. Check Your Credit Report For Free Each Year
Don’t miss out on your opportunity to check your credit report for free each year with each of the three credit reporting bureaus. Take the time to scan through and seek out any inaccuracies that might be there. By fixing these, you can raise your credit score, which is used by landlords, loan providers like Sunny loans UK, and others in order to decide on whether you are a safe bet. Having a low credit score can end up costing you in the long run when you are charged higher interest rates on loans.
5. Set All Of Your Bills To Auto-pay
Make sure you pay your bills on time. A great way to avoid forgetting to pay is to simply set them to auto-pay. This way, each month your bill is paid on time, and in full.
6. Take Advantage Of Free Debt Counseling
Take advantage of any free debt counseling that may be available to you. A counseling session may be just the thing you need in order to get your budget on track and can help you negotiate better rates with creditors as well as help you set up a debt repayment plan.
7. Freeze Your Credit Card
It may seem weird, but sometimes you just have to make credit card use inconvenient in order to rein in bad habits. Consider dropping your credit card in a cup of water and then freezing it. Having to thaw out your credit card before you can use it will be a great deterrent if you find it hard to moderate your credit card spending.
8. Use Your Library
If you’re a big reader and spend a pretty penny on books each month, consider taking advantage of your local library instead. Libraries nowadays offer not just books, but also e-books and audiobooks, free of charge! It’s not uncommon for libraries to offer other free services as well, such as tool loaning and help with research.
9. Seek Out Unadvertised Ticket Discounts
If you enjoy hitting up the theater regularly, consider giving your local favorite a call, tweet, or email prior to visiting in order to inquire about any potential unadvertised discounts they may have on offer. It’s quite common for theaters to offer students, seniors, and younger adults extra discounts such as pay-what-you-can or pay-your-age discounts! Some also offer impromptu rush discounts in order to fill unsold seats right before showtime.
10. Volunteer At Local Events
Local events and festivals will usually offer free admission to those that volunteer their time at the events. If you have your eyes set on a future festival or event, consider reaching out to the organizers to see about volunteering, and be sure to ask about any benefits such as free admission while you’re at it!
11. Opt For Gift Spending Limits
If your family is operating on a tight budget, consider bringing up the topic of spending limits on gifts this year. Whether it be a limit on the dollar amount spent, or limiting gift buying to 1 per person, this can be a great way to relieve the stress of gift buying.
12. Do Your Gift Shopping Months Ahead
Consider doing your gift buying months ahead of schedule! Thinking about what you’re going to buy early gives you time to be thoughtful with your gifts and also opens up the opportunity to take advantage of any sales that might come about.
13. Save Money For College Immediately
You can never save money soon enough when it comes to college. If you’ve got a baby on the way, consider saving for their education immediately!
14. Buy Quality Clothing
While buying cheap clothes can be tempting, sometimes it is better to seek out quality products first. While it can make sense for children, when they end up growing out of clothes within a year, for older individuals who are going to be wearing the clothes for potentially many years to come, quality products that last should be sought out.
15. Take Part In A Neighborhood Swap Meet
This can be a great way to get rid of some of your unused items, in exchange for something you’ll likely find useful. Get the people in your area together and have everyone bring their unused books, clothing, toys, and school supplies. For each item that someone brings, they can get a ticket which entitles them to an item at the meet. From there, people can pick out items they like and whatever is left at the end can be donated.
16. Do A “No Spend Day” Each Week
Consider setting aside one day each week and making it a no spend day. Cook your food at home on this day and instead of paying to go out and do something fun at home that doesn’t cost a cent!
17. Bring Your Lunch
Going out for lunch every day really adds up! Consider making your lunch at home and bringing it into work each day. You’ll find that the savings really start to rack up once you do this for a couple of weeks!
18. Reduce Your Restaurant Outings
By cutting down on the frequency of restaurant meals, you’ll end up saving a nice chunk of change. Even reducing the number of times you go out by one time a month is enough to save money, which adds up over the course of a year.
19. Meal Plan
Plan your meals for the week and then go out shopping and buy everything you’ll need in 1 go. This is a great way to save money by only buying what you need for your meals, as you’ll not have the opportunity to impulse buy things you didn’t plan on eating.
20. Keep Your Eye On Unit Prices
It’s common for one to only look at the price of an item when deciding if it’s a good deal or not but this can be deceptive! Unit price is a much better indication of whether or not something is a good deal.
21. Drink Water
Opt for water instead of alcohol or soda! Not only will your health benefit, but you’ll save money over the course of a month!
22. Double Your Recipes
When making that next casserole, soup, or stew, consider doubling the recipe! By doing this, you’ll be expending a similar amount of effort but you’ll end up with lots of tasty leftovers you can eat over the following days. If you can’t finish it all, simply portion it out and freeze it for quick and easy meals on days you don’t feel like cooking.
23. Don’t Skip Out On Preventative Care
Healthcare can be expensive, and so it’s not uncommon for people to just avoid it unless absolutely necessary. It’s better to get preventative care done before there is an issue, instead of having to shell out big bucks to remedy a medical situation once something gets bad.
24. Choose Generic
If you’re currently getting name-brand medication, consider asking your doctor if there are any generic options available. These are often much cheaper and are effectively the same drug.
25. Shop Around For Prescription Drugs
Most people think that medicines cost the same regardless of which drugstore you choose, but they are unfortunately incorrect! Shop around at your local drug stores for the medications you use regularly and you’ll be surprised to find that some pharmacies are significantly cheaper than others!
26. Opt For Store Brand Medications
For common medicines such as cough syrup, pain relievers, and the like, consider opting for the store brand. These are usually no different from name-brand medications but are usually significantly cheaper, which will help you save money fast!
27. Shop Around For Homeowner’s Insurance
Next time you’re up for renewing your homeowner’s insurance, consider looking around for better deals with other companies.
28. Seek Out Loan Refinancing
If you have the ability to refinance your mortgage for a lower rate, consider doing so immediately! Even as little as a half a percent reduction in interest rate can end up saving you thousands over the lifetime of your loan!
29. Conduct A Home Energy Audit
Check and see if your utility companies offer free or cheap energy audits. If they do, take advantage of these to find easy ways for you to reduce your monthly spending on cooling, heating, and other utilities!
30. Utilize Weatherproofing in Your Home
Weatherproofing your home is a great way to lower your energy costs when it comes to heating and cooling your home.
31. Block Out The Sun
When it is hot outside, consider keeping the curtains closed. It may seem counter-intuitive, but blocking out the sun will actually keep your home cooler on those hot days!
FINAL THOUGHTS TO SAVE MONEY
There are many ways for you to save money fast each month. After beginning to practice the above, you should be well on your way to saving a decent chunk of change this year!
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