There are hundreds, yes hundreds of ways to save money! As more and more people are asking me for tips I thought I’d quickly share 10 ways in which you can almost instantly begin to see savings.
1. Turn all your electrical equipment off (apart from things like your fridge or smoke/CO2 detectors/alarms!) when not using them. Make sure they are not on stand by but actually off, unplug them if that helps!
2. Hang your laundry outside! Does it take time – yes, but honestly just do it!
3. Commit to cutting 10% off your grocery shop from this week forward! As you know I cut my spending by 75%, I’m not suggesting everyone needs to, can or should do that, but if you normally spend £50 or $100 a week, commit to spending £45 or $90 this week – put things back if you need to!
4. Learn how to shop wisely! Some of my tips are here!
5. Never allow yourself to purchase anything on the spur of the moment, in fact if you find something you like, commit to waiting 48 hours before you purchase! If you “need” new trousers and you find a great pair, force yourself to put them on hold or back on the rack until you are certain it is worth spending that money!
6. If you “need” to buy something see if you can find an alternative for free or for a reduced price by going to the library, joining a toy library, swapping with friends or buying online or through second hand sales!
7. Write down everything you buy! Seeing on paper where you spend your money is a harsh wake up call, it also shows you where you can make changes!
8. Always be prepared – pack snacks and water, a facecloth, tissues, sunscreen, gum, a book from home to travel with. I spend money when I haven’t taken the time to be prepared!
9. When you want to do something social or spend time with friends/family, be creative about what you can do on a shoestring! I have a friend who is CONSTANTLY complaining she doesn’t have enough money, yet at least 1x a week she takes her kids to the cinema (movie theatre) and at least three times a week they eat out. She will always always always say that they go to cheap restaurants and theatres so “only” pay $5 per person on tickets instead of $12, but when you add it up, she is still paying a minimum of $75 a week on entertainment (movies and eating out)! To cut that by half all they would need to do is commit to eating out once a week and going to the movies every other week. That is a small change that would save them a lot of money! Instead once a week they could go for a hike and take a picnic, or eat outside in the evening or make use of the many free parks near their house. If they really wanted to watch a movie, they could get one from the library!
10. Always take lunch and a snack to work with you!
Great ideas, especially to be prepared when you go out. If I take some homemade muffins, then I don’t get stuck with four hungry kids and nothing to eat. I love hanging laundry outside and though it does take time, it also takes at least $50 dollars off of our electricity bill.
For me the biggest expenses have been buying coffee, snacks, lunch and sometimes dinner out. My other big expense was clothes and shoes for work which I couldn’t really avoid. Before I retired I realized how much this was costing and was able to cut this back a lot by taking lunch to work and opting to buy a morning coffee from a non-designer establishment. Now that I am retired I don’t have most of these expenses. My work clothes are still sitting in the closet. I’m not sure I will wear most of them again or if I will try to sell them. I will decide when I get further along in decluttering. Thanks for sharing your tips on saving.
It always amazes me how many ways there are to save. When I had little children we always looked for free things to do an I always took food and drink along to save even more. Sometimes for a treat I would buy them an icecream and it made it so much more special because it was an occasional thing and not one to be expected. This has also help make my little ones appreciative of the little things in life now that they are young adults. They dont just expect everything, as some I have seen. This has applied to everything from cloths, to video games and more. They are both more frugal than most there age.
All great ideas. I need to personally work on cutting the food spending.
Blessings
Diane
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The writing things down one was really helpful to me when I started doing this earlier this year. Taking snacks/drinks when going out is a MUST.
Lisa x
Thanks for this. I need to give serious thought to reducing spend.
Like I said above, great tips! That lentil dish looks very yummy, could you share the recipe?
I need to work on taking a lunch to work!
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Some good ideas, but not all are practical around the world.
- I never switch off my main computer (which doesn’t use much energy though) – it saves time, and keeps them performing longer. The same way I wouldn’t switch off my mobile phone when I’m not calling or receiving a call.
- I’d love to dry the laundry outdoors, but in way too large areas of US (incl. where I live) it’s forbidden and fineable.
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