No matter where you are in your financial journey, you can’t go wrong with saving money. My philosophy is that if you’re able to easily save money, then why wouldn’t you?
Some people take saving money or frugality to a whole new level. Have you ever seen that show Extreme Cheapskates? It follows people who have odd ways of saving a few cents. And often times, these methods take a lot of time, can be difficult, or just straight up weird. Once I saw a lady who cooked a lasagna in her dishwasher so that she could save money by washing dishes and cooking in the same load. NASTY!
The truth is, you don’t need to take extreme measures to save money. Your time is worth something as well! So why not focus on easy ways you can save money–without being a cheapskate!
1. Pack A Lunch
You’ve probably heard many times that packing a lunch instead of going out can be a huge cost savings. Well it’s true! Think about it. If you go out to lunch every work day, you’re spending about $40 a week or about $160 a month on lunch for just one person!
Jacob and I budget $250 a month for groceries in total and $50 for eating out. We do a lot of cooking at home and almost always pack our own lunch. If each of us went out to lunch each day, that cost alone would be more than twice our entire monthly food budget!
So instead of going for lunch during the work week, pack a lunch! Jacob and I like to meal prep on Sunday nights for the rest of the week. Making it easy to take lunch and head out the door each day. The more you can plan and prep, the easier it will be to take your own lunch rather than go out to eat.
I remember when Jacob and I first got married and we were working on paying off debt. We ate turkey sandwiches every day for lunch… Until one day when I took one bite of my sandwich and said “if I eat another bite of turkey sandwich, I will throw up.” I haven’t had a turkey sandwich since. haha. We do keep variety in our lunches now, making it a more enjoyable meal.
2. Do It Yourself
Now this easy money-saving hack doesn’t always save money. Your time is worth something as well. But if you know how to do something, this can be a great money-saving opportunity!
Jacob is very handy when it comes to cars. He changes all our oil, spark plugs and other necessary car maintenance that I know nothing about (thanks, Jacob). And we’ve come across many times when Jacob doing routine work on our cars has cost us hundreds less than what the dealership quoted. We do take our car in for more serious maintenance. But if Jacob knows how to do something on the car and it’s relatively easy, then he gets it done for us!
If you’re looking for ways to save money, see what you can do yourself! This can be something you’re already skilled at doing, or do a quick search on YouTube! There’s so much you can learn how to do on the internet!
3. Create A Capsule Wardrobe
Creating a capsule wardrobe is a fun way to save money on the cost of clothing. A capsule wardrobe is a closet that has a few staple clothing items that can be mixed and matched with each other. With this concept, you have less clothing, but wear and love everything!
Being a financial blogger, I’ll admit that I’m not a personal fan of thrift shopping. I know a lot of people who do, which is great! But for me personally, I don’t love it. Instead of getting a bunch of clothes at a thrift store, I get a few high quality clothing pieces that I know are going to last me a long time and they can mix and match. So I have a couple pairs of Madewell jeans, and some other items from LOFT. You’ll also notice that my closet has a lot of solid colors. I honestly have maybe 10 shirts that I rotate through but they all match with different items in my closet.
By creating a capsule wardrobe, I don’t need to be buying a bunch of random clothing items. Instead I focus on buying a few key pieces, and am not tempted to spend money on clothes. It’s also a great minimalist way of living!
4. Focus On Your Needs. Not Your Wants.
Another easy way to save money is to change your mindset! Look at buying only things that you need and forgo more of your wants. Now you don’t need to get rid of wants completely. That’s actually a reason why I love budgeting! You can allow yourself the permission to spend on wants up to a reasonable amount.
But if you’re really wanting to save money, look at buying only things that you need. Which might mean avoiding those Target runs… Hey. I’ve been there too!
When Jacob and I got married and began our debt-free journey, I realized that we really didn’t need a lot. Basic needs include food, shelter, transportation and clothing. And all four of these can be really basic.
When you change your mindset to see that there are only a handful of things that you truly NEED, you may not be as inclined to spend on the extras.
5. Saving Money With Ebates
One of my favorite and easiest ways to save money is by shopping with Ebates. Ebates is a company that gives you cash back just by shopping online like normal. The way it works is you sign up with an Ebates account. Then visit the website any time you want to make an online purchase. You simply search for the website you’re wanting to shop with.
Ebates gives different cash percentages back depending on the online store. So when you search for the company you want to shop with, Ebates will show you how much cash back you can get from your purchase. Simply follow the link that Ebates provides to take you straight to that online store. And when you make a purchase, you’ll get your cash back percentage added to your Ebates account.
When you sign up for Ebates with my link, you’ll get $10 when you make your first purchase! Can’t beat that. I always visit Ebates before I make any online purchase and it’s an easy way to save money on online shopping that I’d be doing anyway!
Start Saving Money Today
So whether you are working on your debt-free journey or are trying to increase your emergency fund, there are always ways to start saving money! And you definitely don’t need to be a cheapskate or a weirdo to save a little cash. It just takes small and intentional daily choices.