Easy Ways to Save -

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Last week I wrote a blog post titled “Let’s Talk Money” that presented some alarming statistics on the state of most Americans’ finances. My husband and I have an insane amount of student loans and it’s the reason we try and live a simple, frugal life. Naturally, we try to save money any where we can.

I am not an “extreme couponer” nor do I make my own laundry soap. I do not have the time or the patience to clip or buy coupons to get most of my grocery or household items for free. It can be very time consuming to look or shop (I know! Insane!) for coupons and learn in what order you have to use them to get the best bang for your buck. I can barely remember to take the coupons I get from the grocery store at checkout back to actually use them! If you do “coupon” or make your own cleaning products – good for you! You are way more hardcore than I am! I’ve chosen my battles carefully – I have no need or desire to “extreme coupon” and therefore have decided it’s not worth my time or extreme failures!

How then do I save money?!?!?

Don’t Buy Full Price – while I don’t clip or shop for all the coupons I rarely buy full price for an item

If a particular item is “nice to have” and not necessity, there’s no rush for me to run out and buy it. I can wait until it goes on sale – and if I wait to purchase I might realize that I don’t even really want that item as much as I initially thought.
You can also sign up for Groupon, Honey (a browser extension that automatically applies the best coupon), Ebates, and Retailmenot to take advantage of coupons, cash back, or promotional pricing on products or services.
I have used Groupon for everything including restaurants, experiences, Christmas shopping, and clothing – the key is to NOT browse aimlessly. You search for what you need and nothing else.
Honey works great if your shopping online via a computer (unaware if there’s an app for your phone or not). I shop a lot on Amazon and it automatically tells me whether it’s the cheapest on the website or not. Even if you are shopping and there aren’t any coupon codes to apply to a purchase, you can still earn “honey money”.
Anytime I am waiting in line at checkout I always take a quick look at Retailmenot for any additional savings I can find. Last time I used this was Black Friday shopping which saved me some additional money on top of the already amazing deals!
Many grocery stores have rewards programs – since everyone goes grocery shopping, take advantage of it!

Maximize Cash Back Rewards

I use a credit card for all of my purchases and pay it off in full at the end of the month. I got my credit card in college to help establish a credit history, but I didn’t really know what I was looking for in a card when I got one. My husband also has one, but with better rewards than I ever had, so when his credit card company offered an incentive to add another user to his card, we took advantage of it (especially since I’m the primary purchaser in the household)! Now all the money I was “wasting” gets us more money back each month!
No one card will fulfill everyone’s needs. If you travel a lot, then a credit card with air miles might be what you are looking for. For our lifestyle, cash back rewards works for us.
NOTE: if you already have credit card debt that you can’t pay off, stay far far away from any more cards! You should not look for a credit card if you think you might be irresponsible with it. If you can’t control your impulse shopping and don’t think you can pay it off every month, then this is not an option you should consider.

Don’t Buy Brand Name

There was once a time in my life where I wouldn’t consider anything that wasn’t brand name…and then I went to college and was spending my money, not my parents’ money. Even if it’s not that much different in price per item, by the time you get to the register you’ll have some pretty good savings!
If you just love a certain brand (I’ve recently discovered Eddie Bauer!), wait until there’s sale or find an outlet to shop at. With the Eddie Bauer Outlet I tend to hit the clearance racks when there’s a 70% off clearance price event!

De-clutter and Sell

Whether you are on a “purge” or get rid of one item for every item you bring into the house, de-cluttering can save you time and money. With less clutter you have, the less there is to clean and organize. If your items are in good condition you may even be able to resell them. Think clothes, furniture, etc.
Don’t ever not get rid of something because you’ll never see a return on your investment. Instead, embrace the new chapter you are working towards! Make peace with the items, take the small amount of money you may be able to get for them and be thankful! In college, all of my books that I no longer used I sold to Amazon. While I didn’t get nearly what I paid for them despite how used or unused they were, I was grateful that I had more money than I had when I was holding onto them and I had less stuff to haul around when I was moving apartments.

Stop Buying Items Just Because Others Have it

This cannot be reiterated enough! Trying to keep up with your friends or neighbors could land you in serious financial trouble. Everyone has their own priorities and hobbies and accepting your different interests early on will relieve some of that stress. If something others are doing doesn’t particularly interest you, then DON’T pursue it. Stop thinking that because you don’t have something that others have or aren’t doing something that others are that you are not worthy or any less of a person. Realize that you’ll never be able to keep up with everyone, no matter how hard you try. If your friends or neighbors question why you can’t or won’t partake in a certain activity, event, or buy a certain product just let them know that you aren’t particularly interested, you are saving for something you actually want, or are trying to pay down debt. That alone should be enough for them if they truly care about you. You just keep doing you!

Make Your Own Coffee/Bring Your Own Lunch

Everyone knows that buying coffee or lunch everyday can add up very quickly. If you spent $3.5 for breakfast (a sandwich or coffee) 5 days a week every week for the entire year, it’ll set you back $910. If you average $5 for lunch 5 days a week every week for the entire year, you’ll spend $1300. If you get breakfast and lunch every workday or frequent more expensive coffee shops or lunch spots then you’ll be spending quite a bit more.
I used to buy coffee almost every single day. I’m not a huge fan of hot coffee and prefer iced coffee, but iced coffee is more expensive.. I was intrigued by cold brew coffee and all the reviews so I did some researching. To cut back on spending and find out what the cold brew “rage” was all about I bought a cold brew coffee maker (you can also make tea in it) and it has been a game changer! For $30 I brew the best and smoothest coffee I’ve ever had! And save money doing it!

Recycle

If you throw out anything you pay a deposit on when you checkout, you are throwing away money! Save those bottles and take them to a redemption center where you’ll get your deposit back!
Recycling does not just pertain to plastics either. It takes 1,800 gallons of water to make a single pair of jeans and 400 gallons to make a cotton shirt. Just think of how many clothing stores there are around and how much energy and resources are used to produce them! It’s insane! If you need clothes, buy second hand. In my post “Curating a Timeless Wardrobe” I explain that I use THRED UP to buy new, never worn or slightly used clothing that is in style.
My DIYer self loves this one! Give new life to old furniture by repurposing or deconstructing it! Think “Flea Market Flip.” This also works great for inherited furniture you really need but isn’t really your style. Embrace your inner “inspired child” and get those creative juices flowing to create your new furniture piece!

Save Change

While I rarely have carry cash on me, it’s a treat when I do! When I do have cash, I’ll use that instead of my credit card. I often forget about the change I get back until my wallet is starting to feel a tad bit heavy! Oftentimes I’ll open up the back pocket to find a few dollars in spare change hanging out!

Consolidate Student Loans

For anyone who has student loan debt this can be a huge lifesaver. I’ve lost track how many years I’ve shaved off my student loans and how much money I’ve saved as a result of getting a lower interest rate. If you have private loans you’ll definitely want to look into it. I’ve always refinanced with SOFI as they’ve been ranked as one of the best student loan companies. They have a unique business model, offer their customers some crazy good resources (think freebies, meet-ups, career counseling, etc.) and keep expanding the services they offer to meet the needs of their clientele (think mortgage, banking, investment funds, etc.). If you have federal loans you’ll seriously want to consider whether or not you are willing to refinance those as you’ll end up losing any benefits you had with a federally funded loan (loan forgiveness, etc.). If you have questions or concerns seek a financial advisor.

Establish Your Financial Goals

If you and your household are either not on the same page or have not established any financial goals you’ll be less motivated to save money. After we realized our mistakes with our first house we sat down and figured out what we were going to do, where we wanted to go, and how we were going to get there. We decided we were done being stressed so we sold our house to find a less expensive house that was closer to work, and then work to pay down some debt. Our goal was to pay off one car, a credit card, and then pay off our second car. So far in the past 4 months we’ve been able to pay off my car and our credit card, and are on track to pay off my husband’s car.

Budget!

We never really budgeted until we were saving for a down payment on our first house (so just a couple years). If you’ve never budgeted before, it is addictive! Budgets are crucial to saving money. How do you know you are saving money if you’ve never tracked your expenses before? If you don’t track your expenses, then you can’t optimize your money saving potential! With budgeting, it’s cold hard numbers. Rather than “feeling” like you saved some cash, you’ll know exactly what amount you saved. Want to know more about budgeting and the benefits? Sit tight, as I’ve got something great I think you’ll like coming soon! 🙂

Contribute to Retirement

It’s easy to get caught up in the amount of money we are making and trying to save in the present. However, if you don’t start putting some away for retirement as soon as possible then you won’t have any money in the future when you want to retire. Compound interest is a crazy, beautiful thing! The sooner you start investing, the bigger the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Create a Grocery List

Sit down at the beginning of each week, plan your meals, and make a list of what you need. Take that list to the grocery store (if you remember!) and only buy the items on your list. You’ll spend less time wandering the aisles and your wallet will also be happy you didn’t buy items you don’t really need.
We all know that going to the grocery store hungry is a bad idea. Sometimes it just happens, but if you have a list you’ll still be less likely to pick up all the food!
Sometimes I forget a handwritten list on the table or in the car, which completely defeats the purpose! I had to find a better way that didn’t involve me downloading a bunch of grocery apps. We ended up putting a little white board on the fridge so both of us could write stuff down as we used up items and needed to get more. Right before we head out to the grocery store I snap a picture of the white board. Then I’ll never forget the list!

Memberships

While too many memberships could nullify any savings you could have had, choosing them wisely can be a great investment!
It’s been a little over a year that I’ve signed up for Amazon Prime and I’m loving it! I’ve gotten some free kindle books, I love the free 2-day shipping and the “prime” prices. I think my first purchase was a headlamp that would make it easier to snow blow in the dark. The money I saved on it paid for half of the membership! “Subscribe and Save” has also been a lifesaver! Before I’d have to make stop at the pet store for dog food and dog treats, then I’d have to make an additional stop for all of our non-grocery items. It became a hassle! Now I get dog food and dog treats delivered monthly to my doorstop in addition to toothpaste, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and paper towels, etc.
The second membership we just got is Sam’s Club. Where there are only two of us and I already had Amazon Prime, we weren’t sure whether it was going to be worth it or not. One day when we were out and about we decided to check it out and see what they had going on. The membership cost is less than half of a “prime” membership and they seemed to have a decent variety, so we decided to give it a try. Items I couldn’t get on Amazon with “subscribe and save” I could get at Sam’s and vice versa. We are amazing carnivores, so Sam’s grocery items are also a great perk. Every 2-4 weeks (depending on how much we buy the previous trip) we’ll go to Sam’s and stock up on meats, beverages, frozen items, etc. We’ve had the membership less than a 3 months, but since we budget, we’ve saved ~$200 each month just on groceries alone. Last trip I noticed some outdoor rugs that I might have to go and look at closer for our deck 🙂

Wait on Large Purchases

Depending on the item you are thinking about purchasing, waiting a pre-specified amount of time (1 week, 1 month, 1 year, etc.) can decrease your spending overall. If you’ve got 6 kids and your washer breaks, by all means that’s a “household emergency” and should be dealt with right away! However, if you are thinking about upgrading certain electronics not out of necessity but because “it’d be nice” then you should really take the time to see if you still want it after a set amount of time. If you do, that’s great! Waiting will at least give you some time to research the product and make sure you are getting exactly what you want and the best for what you can afford. By researching and knowing the product thoroughly you’ll save money by not buying something that was a “junk” product or not what you expected. If you forgo the purchase entirely, then that’s money that goes back into your pocket!

While the list is quite long, most of these can be done on autopilot or aren’t time consuming at all. What are some ways that you easily save money?