7 Ways to Save Money at Home

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Who wouldn’t want to have a little more money at the end of every month? Unless you can simply walk into your boss’ office and demand a raise, one of the easiest ways to end up with more money in your bank every month is to make the most out of the funds that you’re already making.

For the vast majority of people, there are dozens and dozens of ways that they can save money, just by making a few simple changes. You won’t have to turn your life upside down just to get some extra cash in your pockets every month. Because every family is different, the money saving tips are going to change from person to person, but there are a few key ways that just about anyone can use.

Cut Cable

One of the recent trends in saving money is by cutting the cord. If you’re looking for an easy way to save hundreds of dollars, it’s time to end your relationship with the cable company.

Thanks to online streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, it’s never been more enjoyable to cut your cable bill and save hundreds of dollars. The average family cable bill is a little over $100 every month for their cable. If you were to cut the cord and replace it with Netflix or Hulu (which costs around $15 every month), you could enjoy an extra $1,1000 at the end of the year.

save money

Look at your Cell Phone Bill

Just about everyone wants the newest and shiniest phone, but those phones could be putting some strain on your wallet. One way that you can save money is by taking a long hard look at your cell phone bill. There are several things that you can do to save money. The first is to switch carriers, there are plenty of options, and there could be a cheaper one out there.

Another option is to buy a smaller plan. If you don’t use all of your data, texts, or minutes, switch to a smaller plan that will save you money. You can also go to a pre-paid phone. These phones are an excellent way to save money, but not have to ditch your phone altogether.

Cash Back Apps

Cutting coupons is an idea of the past. You don’t have to sit down and spend an hour combing through the sales papers and finding the best coupons. Thanks to technology, it’s never been easier to save some money on your groceries.

There are several apps that you can join, like Ibotta or Checkout 51. These apps allow you to see coupons or offers from the grocery stores that you shop app, activate those deals and then redeem the offers to get your money back. They don’t work like a traditional coupon that takes the money off of the price at the checkout line, but instead, you’ll get reimbursed for your purchase after.

These cash back apps are a simple way to save hundreds of dollars every year on your groceries. One unique advantage is that you can use more than one app, which will save you even more money.

Check Your Insurance Plans

Comparing insurance plans is not one of the most exciting ways to spend an afternoon, but it could be an easy way to save yourself some serious money. Every year there are new insurance companies that enter the market, and new plans are being sold every year, which means that you could be paying too much for your insurance protection.

If you want to save money, spend a Saturday looking at your different insurance policies, your homeowner’s insurance, auto insurance, and your life insurance, and compare your plans with other policies that are on the market. There are dozens of sites that you can use to compare insurance policies without having to spend hours and hours calling different agents.

Budget

For most people, budget sounds like a dirty word, but it doesn’t have to be as painful as it sounds. There are several apps or websites that you can use that will make budgeting as simple as a few clicks.

If you want to start budgeting your money wisely, without spending hours staring at a spreadsheet, download the Mint app on your phone. Mint will let you create an account, link your bank accounts and credit cards, and then it will display all of your transactions and separate them into the appropriate categories based on where the money was spent. This is a quick and easy way to identify any areas that you’re overspending.

Pay Off Debt

This is a money saving tip that most people don’t think about. If you want to save money, you’ll need to spend money. If you have any high-interest debts handing over your head, it’s wise to knock those out. The longer that you let them linger, the more that you’re going to pay in interest. By paying off debt more quickly, you can save hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest payments.

Sell The Extra Car

Selling a car might seem like a drastic step, but if your family can manage with one less vehicle, it can have an enormous impact on your bank account every month. Not only will you save money on gas, but you’ll also save money by not paying car insurance or taxes on that vehicle. Selling a car can easily save you thousands and thousands of dollars every year, not to mention the money that you’ll get for selling the vehicle.

Saving Money

There are thousands of ways that you can trim down your budget and find yourself with some extra dough at the end of the month. None of these changes are going to drastically change your life, but they could drastically change your bank account.

What are your best tips/tricks for saving money?

23 thoughts on “7 Ways to Save Money at Home”

  1. Knowing your weaknesses with money is pretty important, and one of mine is sticking to a grocery list. So most of the time, I try to stick to the basic no-frills grocery store where I have fewer impulses to control. It’s probably the main trick I use to keep my grocery bill under control.

    • A great tip Emily. I find shopping with a list is so important for us too, and not to overshop fresh food which can lead to waste.

    • Regarding the grocery, I’ve learned from a tv show before that aside from sticking to the grocery list you made, the area where you start your grocery is also a factor. The show said that you should start your grocery by buying tissue rolls, toiletries or cleaning stuff first. Buy things that are related to gross activities, that way you won’t be enticed later on to spend much on food. Another is to do your grocery in full stomach. Hunger tends to make you go on impulsive buying of food even if you have a grocery list on hand. I think the latter is somehow effective based on my experience. 🙂
      On the other hand, my tip is health planning. Create a health plan with your family. That way you can make necessary lifestyle change to each and everyone. The healthier the diet of your family will have, the more economical it will be. Also, the illness or sickness will decrease. Visits to doctors, obtaining medical services or buying of medicines will be lessened. Having certain insurance will also save your finances in case a crisis struck your family. If parents are retired or are already in senior years, health care options such as Medicare, Medicare supplements, and long term care insurance should be in checked and are updated so that it can be used when the need arises.

  2. Cooking at home is a huge money-saver. Avoid the convenient fast food trips or the regular restaurant outings and you can cut your food budget drastically. Not to mention, the food your cook yourself is usually much healthier than what you get when you eat out. If you cook some extra portions for the freezer, you can even have a homemade meal on the busy (or lazy) nights.

    • Totally agree. Leftovers make up a good portion of my next day lunches. I tend to eat less too when I cook home. With our family of five drinks alone when eating out can really ding our wallet, too.

  3. Agree completely with the premise and these are all great ideas. Trust me, if I could get rid of one of our cars, I would do it in a heartbeat!

    But I am all in on the cash back apps and what they bring to the table. I love Ibotta, Ebates, and you name it. Anything that will give you extra dollars for an action that you are already doing.

    Another couple of items once you own a house – gardening to save on fruits and vegetables, packing lunch versus buying ever day. Those are small expense that can add up in the long haul if you leverage your house correctly!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Bert

    • Thanks for comment Bert. Dropping a car, really depends on many factors, and could be done in a drastic situation, but doesn’t work for most.

      I like the little wins, that add up over time.

  4. I have not used cashback apps at all! I totally need to look into that. We are looking forward to the day that we only need one car. We’re close to that now – but it would be a burden at times too. I’d say within the next year (if all goes according to plan) that we could do it though.

  5. I changed my cell phone plan to prepaid, moved into a ridiculously cheap apartment, and lowered my auto insurance plan by shopping around. There’s definitely always a way to squeeze out an extra few dollars to apply towards debt if you’re willing to do the work.

    • Good for you Dyana. Cutting expenses is an immediate step you can take if, like you said you are willing to make some sacrifices.

  6. This reminds me – each year our internet provider allows us to take advantage of the introductory rate ($30 less than standard rate), but the kicker is we have to call and ask every year. I need to make that phone call now. It never hurts to ask!

    We are shopping for cell phone plans right now – I admit, it’s frustrating, mostly because we will all have to get new phones and we have 8 people on our family plan. Coordinating it all is a little overwhelming, but it will pay off in the end.

  7. There are so many options nowadays with cell phone plans that I’m curious why many stay with the big providers when there are so many cheaper alternatives. I also buy my phones used because I have no need for the latest and greatest. I have a Cricket Wireless family plan for $100 and 5 people. They use the AT&T network and I haven’t really found much difference (I used to have AT&T)

  8. I’ve never had a cell phone contract but I still evaluate every few years – right now in my area Republic has the best prices and way better coverage than a single carrier.

    For me the trick has been to keep checking on things like phone plans and insurance every year or two. This last year is the first I’ve noticed another auto insurance provider was cheaper than my current plan after five years of comparisons — and it turned out to be 55% less, a huge difference!

  9. These are great tips!

    We’re debt-free and have budgeted consistently for 14 years now. Those two points are huge!

    I love the idea of dropping cable. I’m looking into options with that now for when our contract is up in October. Leaning toward the PS Vue subscription since it has a cloud DVR.

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