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One of the hardest things to do when you are low on funds is to save money. But saving money is something we all need to do if you want to be able to handle life’s unexpected moments.
When you are already on a budget, saving money may seem like a daunting task.
For starters, you need to find small ways to get started. Making small adjustments can be an easy way to ease yourself into saving mode.
Do you already have a budget? If not you can see The Easiest Budget for Beginners or Simple 50/30/20 Budget Method Explained
Find Things to Cut From Your Budget
This can be anything you think you can live without. You just need to sit down and decide what you don’t need.
If your mind is right and you really want to save some money, trust me…you can find things to cut.
To do this, you are going to need a detailed budget. Then you can skim through it and figure out small things you can cut out. You can see this post to help you get those details on paper.
Cut Your Grocery Bill
When I decided to cut my grocery bill, I used the Grocery Budget Maker.
This was one of the best things I have ever done. There are so many strategies to help you trim that thing down. Some of the stuff seems so simple but I had never thought of it before and I consider myself a thrifty bargain shopper.
You are going to need to meal plan for this one. See this post if you need help.
You can also try the $5 Meal Plan Here to help you find affordable budget-friendly meals.
Cut Off Your TV Service and Cancel Un-Used Services
We did this about 3 years ago and haven’t looked back since. We were paying almost $80 per month to our satellite tv provider. That is crazy, and just think of what saving $80 per month can do!
Since we turned it off, we use Hulu. At first, I thought it was going to bother me to not have instant access to my shows but I have learned that taking a break from television is ok.
With Hulu, you have to wait 24 hours before you can see the episode. It really is no big deal because we were using a DVR service that the satellite company was charging us for, so really I was already waiting to watch my shows…I was just paying to wait PLUS the huge bill!
When I look back, I think I’m crazy for doing it for so long.
Cut Big Bills
You can negotiate your current bills. An example of this is like is what I did with our satellite bill before I decided to cut it off.
When I called to let them know I was leaving, they started offering me lower rates. The funny thing about this was that they had no intention of helping me out when I was a “valued customer”. (which drives me nuts)
You can use this to your advantage if you are willing to get on the phone and do some talking. I tried it with my internet provider and they very quickly reminded me that I was not under contract and there was no one else I could switch to.
You can also go drastic in bill cutting by selling your car or house and downsizing. It just depends on how drastic you need to get to reach your end goals.
Some people have found huge success in this. We sold our house 8 years ago to buy a foreclosure, which was a very smart choice at the time. Now it is harder to find, so downsizing your home or going after a smaller interest rate would be acceptable.
Pay Down Debt
This seems like a crazy idea because you have to spend money to pay down debt, but once you start paying small debts off, you can save the money you were spending on payments.
Before you commit to debt payoff, you should have an emergency fund in place. We keep $1000 set aside (separate from my savings) for emergencies. This way I don’t panic if something comes up that wasn’t in the plan.
You can get a side hustle if you need help paying down debt. Some people work as a VA (Virtual assistant) or they sell their talents on Fiverr.
If you are thinking of Starting a Blog and making some extra cash see How to Start a Blog with these Simple Steps.
Use Cash
This proved true to my teenager recently. We decided to give him a debit card so he could practice being responsible with money…
Well, this backfired…He spent $70 in a WEEK! And after I had a heart attack (and I chewed him out)…We decided to start with cash.
He was guilty of what the majority of us are guilty of when we are given plastic… it’s super easy to swipe and think about it later (or in his case…not think about it).
But when all you have is cash to spend, you have no choice but to think about what you are buying right then because when it is spent it’s gone.
Lots of people only use cash at the grocery store, this can help cut down on impulse spending! It can also train your brain to know how much you are spending as you go along.
My friend Sydney from Ambitious Twenties has a wonderful post How my Husband and I saved $20,000 in our First 3 Months of Marriage that is packed full of great tips you should check out!!
Be a Smarter Shopper
There are so many ways you can shop smarter.
- Go out less
- Use Money Saving Apps like Ibotta to get cashback on groceries
- Find online deals
- Use Grocery apps like Kroger and Publix for coupons.
- Buy Generic instead of Brand Name
- Unsubscribe to tempting emails ( I used Un Roll Me to help me unsubscribe to 92 email subscriptions I did not need that were tempting me to buy stuff)
- Pack your lunch so you won’t spend extra each day eating out
- Sell stuff on Poshmark or eBay (you can also use Facebook yardsale groups…just make sure you are careful and meet people in a very public place!)
- DIY as much as you can
- Do a spending freeze challenge where you stop buying things that aren’t “necessary”
- Buy only when it’s necessary and not a “want”.
Spending less is a lifestyle shift but a very doable one. If you need help in any way to save money send me an email ([email protected]) or leave a comment below.
Also, follow me on Pinterest!
See The Best Apps for Saving Money
Wow – what a great post! I had not heard of Grocery Budget Maker before! We have cut off our cable – and only use the internet for TV shows – it’s amazing how much $ this has saved us. One thing I’d like to see is a template or example of ‘cutting down big bill’ talks – I’d love to see what you’ve found to be successful. Maybe a completely separate post?
oh absolutely- thanks for the ideas and I would be happy to.
Thanks for all the great tips, I especially like the tip on keeping an emergency fund. You just never know when an unexpected expense will come up and having an emergency fund can be a lifesaver.
This is so true! It seems like everytime we get ahead, we need to use our emergency fund for something (like a new washing machine) but I’m so glad we have it and that is what its for anyway!
Such a practical list of suggestions, thank you! I am trying to (remember!) to use cash more often than paying by card, even though it’s only a debit card. Pay by card and you do really lose all oversight of expenses!
When you use cash we tend to think about what we are spending it on. I tend to spend less when I have cash to use. Funny story about my 6 year old…he was spending some birthday money and he says “man that was gone fast”. It was a good lesson for him too. (he also said “man, now i’m broke lol)