50 Easy Ways To Save Money – Start Saving Thousands Each Year

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Are you looking for easy ways to save money? If so, then you've come to the right place! There are many ways to learn how to save money, and today I'm going to tell you about them.

Even if you're already taking part in some of these easy ways to save money, if you could just find a few more (or as many as you can!), you may be able to improve your financial situation so that you can live your dream life.

Learning about the many easy ways to save money can help you in ways such as:

Paying off your debt faster.
Stop living paycheck to paycheck.
Live off of one income.
Retire earlier.
Go on your dream vacation.

And more!

Today, we are going to talk about over 50 easy ways to save money each month. If you do all of the below, you may be able to save hundreds or thousands of dollars each year. Remember, little savings can add up to be a lot!

Related articles on the different easy ways to save money:

50+ easy ways to save money each month:

Find a more extreme way to save money.

We’ve all done super embarrassing things to save money.

I recommend reading 60+ Extreme Things People Have Done To Save Money to see some of the interesting things other people have done.

These include extreme and easy ways to save money such as:

Shaving your head.
Cutting your own hair.
Fill your name brand cereal box with an off brand.
Dumpster dive for free food.
Move your whole family into your parent’s basement.
Make your own toilet paper.
Freeze water bottles instead of using AC.

Bring your lunch to work.

One of the easy ways to save money is to bring your lunch to work.

Back when I had my day job, I always brought my lunch. Instead of spending $5 to $10 or even more on lunch, I would usually bring myself a simple sandwich and some fruit.

This will most likely save you a couple hundred dollars a month, if you just stop eating out for lunch on workdays.

Stop paying for TV.

According to the NPD Group (a market research company), the average monthly cable bill is around $120. By the year 2020, the average cable bill is expected to be around $200 a month.

You can read more about cutting cable here and how to save money by doing this. I recommend getting a digital antenna so that you can receive local channels for free!

For us, we completely got rid of cable, Netflix, Hulu, and everything else. Now, we just watch local channels by using a digital antenna, and we don't miss paying for TV at all!

Buy a water filter.

Sometimes in order to save money, you may have to spend a little.

According to The Water Project, the average person in the U.S. spends around $100 per year on bottled water.

Instead of spending $100 on bottled water each year, you can probably drink the water from your own home. You can even buy a water filter if you want to.

Note: Yes, I realize there are some towns where the water is not clean enough to drink and that water needs to be bought, but that is not the average person.

Use an Airbnb for your next vacation.

My preferred way to travel is to stay in short-term rental vacation homes such as Airbnb (this will give you a $20+ Airbnb coupon code for your next stay).

Airbnb vacation home rates are usually comparable or cheaper than a hotel, plus you typically have more room and there is usually a kitchen as well. Also, if you have a lot of people going on vacation with you, you can split a house for a much cheaper price than it would be for everyone to get a hotel room.

Read my Airbnb review The Many Positives Of Using Airbnb Plus a Coupon Code For Your Next Vacation!

Take part in a savings challenge.

The $20 Savings Challenge is an easy way to save money without noticing! All you have to do is save $20 each week for a year, which easily adds up to a savings of $1,040.

And, it’ll make saving money just a little more enjoyable.

Save money automatically.

Digit allows you to easily save money, and I'm sure you'll love it! I'm a user myself and I am able to save more money without even noticing.

With the Digit savings app, you link up your bank account to Digit and every few days Digit looks at your income and spending habits to see how much you could possibly save. Digit then automatically moves money from your checking account to a Digit savings account.

Each transfer averages around $18, but it could be higher or lower depending on your individual situation. You can read my Digit review here for more information.

Know your credit score.

It never hurts to check your credit score, so you have no reason not to know what your credit score is.

Your credit score can affect whether or not you are approved for a loan, whether you are hired at certain jobs, your interest rate, and more. It’s relatively easy to raise your credit score, so you should start doing so today!

Plus, with Credit Sesame you can check your credit score for free.

Start a blog.

This isn’t a way to cut expenses, but there are many ways a blog may be able to help you save more money.

A blog can help you to make more money. I know many people who have started a blog and are making thousands of dollars a month and have also left their day jobs to work from home. No, it's not easy work, but it can be well worth it if you put some hard work towards it.

I now earn around $100,000 a month from my blog. I also travel full-time and am happier than ever!

If you are interested in starting a blog of your own, I created a tutorial that will help you start a blog of your own for cheap, starting at only $2.95 per month for blog hosting (this low price is only through my link and for a limited time). In addition to the low pricing, you will receive a free blog domain (a $15 value). I also have a free blogging course you can also join to help you start and launch a successful blog!

Think before you make a big purchase.

Everyone has felt that dreadful feeling after you make a large purchase and realize that you have made a mistake. You may be mad at yourself for wasting money, you may go into debt, you may feel regret, and more.

Perhaps you don’t realize for months or years later, but you eventually understand what a waste of money the item was.

Before you make your next large purchase, you should ask yourself several questions to make sure that it is actually worthwhile. The questions include:

Can I afford it?
What else is the item going to cost?
What else could I spend this amount of money on?
Can the large purchase wait 24 hours?
Can I borrow the item from someone instead of buying it?
Is there a return policy?
Do I actually need this?

Receive free vacations just by using your credit card.

One of my favorite easy ways to save money is to get bonus points and cash back on my credit card purchases.

In 2016, me and my husband earned over $5,000 in free cash just by using our credit cards like we normally would. We put all of our expenses on our credit cards, pay them off completely each month, and earn free rewards points and cash back.

Plus, did you know that you can take a 10 day trip to Hawaii for just $22.40?

Yes, it’s possible! I recommend reading How To Take A 10 Day Trip To Hawaii For $22.40 – Flights & Accommodations Included for more information.

Birthday freebies.

Everyone has a birthday, and you may be able to score a lot of free birthday stuff by simply showing your birth date on your driver’s license or by signing up for a company’s email club to receive a coupon for your birthday. This is one of the super easy ways to save money, as everyone has a birth date!

Here are 31 Birthday Freebies You Should Sign Up For.

Meal plan as one of the easy ways to save money.

Meal planning is something that has completely changed our lives. We eat healthier than ever, we are saving money, and we have less food waste.

That’s saying a lot considering that the average person wastes over 40% of the food they buy. Yes, 40%!

If you have trouble eating at home and want to learn how to eat healthy at home while saving money fast, then try out $5 Meal Plan. They send meal plans directly to your email.

It’s only $5 a month (the first two weeks are free), and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well! If you are interested in joining for free, click here.

Switch to a more affordable cell phone plan.

Most people overpay for their cell phone plan.

If you are looking for a cheap cell phone service, check out Republic Wireless. They have monthly cell phone plans as low as $15 per month.

Please read Saving Over $2,000 A Year With Republic Wireless Review for more information.

Quit smoking.

According to Statistic Brain, the average smoker spends around $34 a month on tobacco products. That is a lot of money for a very unhealthy habit.

My father passed away when I was just 18, partly due to his smoking habit (he had brain and lung cancer). If that’s not enough to tell you it’s a horrible habit, then I don’t know what will!

Make a budget.

Budgets help people manage their money better. It’s that simple.

Budgets are great, because they keep you mindful of your income and expenses. With a budget, you will know exactly how much you can spend in a category each month, how much you have to work with, what spending areas need to be evaluated, among other things.

You can download a free budget spreadsheet here.

Budgets have helped people reach their goals, pay off debt, make more money, retire, and more.

Learn more at The Complete Budgeting Guide: How To Create A Budget That Works.

Drive a more affordable car.

According to Edmunds.com, the average person in the U.S. spends $483 on a new car payment and $361 on a used car payment.

Yes, I was also shocked when I read that statistic!

This is sad, especially considering that many also take out high-interest loans in order to pay for their car. Back when my husband worked in new car sales, he often told me about new car buyers who had car loans at interest rates of 20% and above.

While $483 a month may be affordable to some, I’m going to assume that it’s a lot of money for most people. Plus, once you add in gas, maintenance, insurance, taxes, registration costs, and more, the number is going to be much larger.

I think everyone should buy a car that they can actually afford. I am a big believer that your car expenses should be less than 10-15% of your monthly income in order for it to be affordable.

Use a programmable thermostat.

A programmable thermostat is something you may want to invest in to save money this year. They are relatively cheap and you will most likely make your money back within a year, or maybe even just a few months.

With a programmable thermostat, you can set the temperature at exactly what you want it to be for different times throughout the day. And, because it automatically changes on a schedule, you won’t have to constantly worry about it.

For example, your AC will automatically turn up when you leave for work so that you don’t waste electricity or money cooling a house that no one is in. You can also program it for while you are sleeping, for the weekend, when you are on vacation, and so on.

I did a simple online search and was able to find plenty of programmable thermostats for less than $50, well worth the small investment.

Eat out one less time each month.

How many times per month do you eat out? How much do you think you spend each month at restaurants? Most people are surprised when they actually sit down and track how much they’ve spent.

Eating out just one less time won’t kill you, plus it will help you save a nice chunk of change over a one-year period.

Save money on groceries.

Learning about the easy ways to save money on groceries doesn't have to be difficult.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the average family of four spends around $700 to $1,000 a month on food. That’s a lot of money, especially considering that most families waste around 40% of food each month!

You can save money by:

Planning your grocery trips better.
Use this cell phone app for cash back on your groceries.
Start meal planning.
Always shop with a grocery list.
See if there are any sales for the items you are buying.
Use coupons when grocery shopping.
Don’t grocery shop when you’re hungry.
Skip the pre-made and pre-cut items.
Sign up for the grocery store’s loyalty card.

Refinance your student loans.

I highly recommend Credible for student loan refinancing so that you can save money on your student loan payments. You can significantly lower the interest rate on your student loans with Credible, which may then help you shave thousands off your student loan bill over time.

Through Credible, you may be able to refinance your student loans to a rate as low as 2.13%!

Plus, it’s free to apply.

Cancel your gym membership.

Gym memberships can be costly if you're not using them. If you're not getting the full value out of your gym membership, then you should cancel it ASAP. This is one of the easy ways to save money as canceling a membership is a monthly cost that you can get rid of completely!

There are so many ways to get a great workout both inside and outside your home. While it’s beneficial for some to pay for a gym membership, the majority of people do not get their money’s worth out of a gym membership.

Receive cash back on your purchases.

Sign up for a website like Ebates where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending how you normally would online. Stores you can use Ebates at include Walmart, Target, Macy's, Amazon, Kohls, and more. This is another one of the easy ways to save money because you're probably shopping at one of their partner stores already.

The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link and make your first purchase, you will also receive a free $10 cash back.

Get rid of your storage unit.

Nearly 10% of households rent a self-storage unit. However, many people don't really have a use for them – it's just unwanted clutter that people forget about and don't want to deal with, so they continue to pay that monthly cost.

Instead, you should think about getting rid of your storage unit as one of the easy ways to save money.

Read personal finance books.

If you want to change your life, then I recommend that you start reading personal finance books. Yes, money is not everything, but improving your financial situation can help you gain control of your life.

Personal finance books I recommend include:

You can find the whole list of personal finance books I recommend here.

Look for easy ways to save money on entertainment.

Recently, someone was telling me about how expensive it was to have fun. They were telling me about all of their debt and everything that goes along with it, and then they also told me that their monthly “fun” budget was around $500.

Uhhh, what?! $500? A month?!

If you are trying to get rid of high-interest rate debt, I can’t think of any reason for why you should be paying $500 a month to have fun.

There are many ways to have fun for cheap while saving money. Check out How To Have Frugal Fun for some of my ideas.

Take surveys online as one of the easy ways to save money.

One of the many easy ways to save money is to take online surveys. No, taking surveys online isn’t really a way to cut back your budget, but you may be able to earn money without doing much. If you sign up for all of them, you may be able to earn anywhere from $25 to $100+ a month by just taking surveys online.

Survey companies I recommend include Survey Junkie, American Consumer Opinion, VIP Voice, Clear Voice Surveys, Product Report Card, ProOpinion, YouGov, Pinecone Research, Opinion Outpost, and Harris Poll Online. They’re free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. It’s best to sign up for as many as you can as that way you can receive the most surveys and make the most money.

Negotiate your car and home insurance bills.

The average person pays too much for various forms of insurance. Yes, I said too much! I know someone who has full coverage with a deductible on a car that is worth $500, I know someone who pays for towing even though their new car comes with free towing, and there are even more situations like this.

A lot of this is because the average person doesn't fully understand how insurance works. However, it's something that you'll definitely want to learn about because it can save you a great deal of money in the future!

Look for easy ways to save money on insurance by:

Shopping around.
Evaluating whether or not you should change your deductible.
Changing some of your coverage amounts.
Understanding insurance terms better.
Possibly taking a driving class.

I also recommend simply calling your insurance agent and asking for a discount, many times they will offer a discount that will allow you to save money just for asking! This is one of the super easy ways to save money, as a simple phone call may only take a few minutes.

Many of these same tactics can be applied to your home insurance bill as well.

Take a staycation.

A staycation is when you take a vacation by exploring where you live. This can help you save money on airfare or other means of transportation, and you can even do it from the comfort of your own home.

The idea is to explore your area as a tourist would – I’m sure there are tons of things to do and places to visit that you have never had the chance to do before!

This can be a great way to treat yourself as you’ll pretty much be on a vacation, but you’ll get to save more money than if you were to go on a “normal” vacation.

Start investing.

I always say the first thing you need to do if you want to start investing is to just jump in. However, what if you don’t even know how to start investing?

If you are like many out there, you may not really understand the first thing about investing.

Investing your money can be a scary, stressful, and overwhelming topic to tackle. Remember, you want to invest your money so that you can:

Retire in the future (and possibly even retire early!).
Prepare for unexpected events in the future.
Allow your money to grow over time.

Visit the library.

Your local library can be a great way to have fun without spending any money.

You can check out the latest bestseller, a classic you’ve been wanting to read, or borrow a movie- which you can then bring home and have a fun night in with friends and/or family members.

This is definitely one of the easy ways to save money as all you need is a library card.

Don’t keep up with the Joneses.

Another easy way to save money is to stop keeping up with others and what they are buying.

When trying to keep up with the Joneses, you might spend money you do not have. You might put expenses on credit cards to (in a pretend world) “afford” things. You might also buy things that you do not care about.

The problems can go on and on.

This can lead to an excessive amount of debt and potentially set you back years with your financial goals, if not decades.

Instead, you should only purchase the things that you can afford and that you truly want. Who cares about what other people have?!

Sign up for Swagbucks and InboxDollars.

Swagbucks allows me to occasionally earn Amazon gift cards with very little work. Yes, this is definitely one of the easy ways to save money!

Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded points for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough points, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. I actually just redeemed over $50 worth of Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks. Super easy! Plus, you’ll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up today!

InboxDollars is an online rewards website that I also recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5 for free just by signing up!

Have an emergency fund.

An emergency fund is something I believe everyone should have and this is one of the easy ways to save money as it can help you greatly in the future. However, according to a report by Bankrate, 26% of Americans have no emergency fund whatsoever.

According to this same report, only 40% of families have enough in savings to cover three months of expenses, with an even lower percentage having the recommended six months worth of savings.

This is frightening to me, as having an emergency fund can help you get through tough parts in life.

An emergency fund can help you if you lose your job, if your hours are cut, if you have a surprise expense, and so on.

Buy used as one of the easy ways to save money.

Purchasing used furniture, clothing, and more allows you to save money on the things you are already buying.

Sometimes, you can even get items for free by seeing what friends, family, and neighbors are trying to get rid of, or by perusing the free section on Craigslist.

Trust me, people want to give away their stuff! It’s much easier than trying to find a place to donate things (some places actually have too many donations and have to say no), plus it can mean the person doesn’t have to haul it away.

Finding a roommate is one of the easy ways to save money.

My husband and I have had roommates in the past, and while that’s not really possible now that we are living in an RV, I do recommend that anyone with an extra room in their house think about trying it out.

While renting a room in your house will not make you rich, it may earn you a good amount of side income with little effort.

If you are interested in renting out a spare room on a short-term basis (such as for vacations), I highly recommend you check out Airbnb. I know people who are making thousands of dollars a month by renting out rooms on this site!

Related blog post on this easy way to save money: A Complete Guide To Renting A Room For Extra Money

What other easy ways to save money are there? How much money do you save each month?

The post 50 Easy Ways To Save Money – Start Saving Thousands Each Year appeared first on Making Sense Of Cents.

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