Hey there! I’m so glad you’re here! Thanks for stopping by. So, you’re looking for some ways to keep a little more cash in your wallet, right? But, if you’re anything like me, you don’t have a lot of time to spend clipping coupons, chasing down deals or mailing in rebates. Can you really still save money and find good deals, keeping more cash in your pockets? Of course! And I’ve got 5 money saving tips to help you do just that!
TIME IS MONEY. SPEND BOTH WISELY.
You’ve heard that before, right? Time is money. My husband used to say this to me ALL THE TIME because I’d take on projects that were costing me so much time, it wasn’t worth the money I was making on them. The same is true of some of the most popular money saving tips and techniques out there.
To be blunt, that pretty much sums up how I feel about couponing. You’ve probably seen photos where the proud purchaser has 12 bottles of juice, 18 tubes of toothpaste, 4 bottles of shampoo and 28 boxes of birthday candles that cost a whopping $19.38, right? While impressive, where would I put 28 boxes of birthday candles? And I’m picky about my shampoo.
Basically, extreme couponing isn’t for me. Know yourself and figure out what will work for you.
NOT EVERYONE SAVES MONEY THE SAME WAY
These are ways I help my family save money. I definitely didn’t use these same money saving tips when I was a college student. And another mom may not use the same methods in her family that I use in mine. Figure out what will work for your situation and do it! If something is helping you keep more money in your wallet, that’s all that matters.
Use these tips, adjust these tips or just plain ignore them. Do what works for YOU and forget what doesn’t. Maybe you try something new and discover it isn’t for you. That’s okay, now you know. Knowing what doesn’t work can help you save just as much money as knowing what does work.
5 MONEY SAVING TIPS TO KEEP MORE CASH IN YOUR WALLET
Money. Everyone wants more. But, when you’re trying to make ends meet, it can seem so much more important than just a lofty goal and a wild ambition. It feels like sink or swim. No one wants to sink. Whether your trying to pay the rent, get out of debt or inflate your savings account, here are 5 money saving tips to help you keep more green in your wallet TODAY.
MONEY SAVING TIP #1: MEAL PLAN
I don’t know about you, but our food budget is one of the largest parts of our monthly expenses. It’s not quite up there with the mortgage yet; but, it rivals our car payment, and sometimes surpasses it. Feeding my four guys is much more affordable when I plan out our meals. I use these printables and plan one or two weeks at a time. This stops us from buying food we’ll end up throwing out because we didn’t have a plan for it and it’s gone bad. It also helps us not eat out as often.
MONEY SAVING TIP #2: SHOP WITH A LIST
One of the small things that actually helps us save money is to use a list when we go shopping, and not just to the grocery store. We make a list of items to buy before we go into any store, generally speaking. I do this when I’m shopping online too. It’s so easy to add those little extra things to your cart. “It’s only $5.” Even if it’s just $5 a week, that’s $20 a month. But, think how far that $20 could go on your grocery budget or the diaper budget. You know, money you actually need to spend.
I keep a list on my fridge and when we run out of something or need to replace something, I add it to the list. Shampoo, toilet paper, new socks, contact solution – not just groceries. I meal plan and then make a grocery list from our meal plan so we aren’t buying things we don’t need. Shopping with a list helps us only spend money on things we actually need, and not on impulse buys.
MONEY SAVING TIP #3: COUPON APPS
I’m not a big couponer, really I’m not. But, there are some coupon apps that make it easy to use rebates or coupons. I like a lot of these apps because you don’t have to do the coupon redemption while you’re at the store. My faves are:
- Ibotta. I mainly use Ibotta for groceries, but they have a lot of other offers too. You can find offers for multiple stores and you have up to two weeks to upload a receipt and get the rebate. I try to upload my receipt when I’m putting my purchases away at home.
- Restaurants and fast food. If you frequent a particular restaurant, you might as well be using their loyalty program. Capriotti’s and Costa Vida are really the only ones I use, but it helps make our occasional meals out a little more affordable.
- Retail stores. It seems every store has an app, right? The ones I use offer a little something extra usually. Walmart (for their savings catcher), Costco (for the member coupons) and Target (for their cartwheel coupons only available in the app). If I’m in a particular store, I might download their app while I’m there and see if there are any coupons available. I especially do this for craft stores.
MONEY SAVING TIP #4: AUTOMATE YOUR SHOPPING
If you routinely buy something, automate that! Not only will it take the task off your to-do list, it can save you a trip to the store. Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program will have these things show up on your doorstep when you need them with ZERO EXTRA EFFORT FROM YOU. That’s something this busy mom can get behind. You can save up to 15% when you use the Subscribe & Save option and there are over 100,000 products available for Subscribe & Save.
MONEY SAVING TIP #5: NO-SPEND CHALLENGE
In my house, with all the testosterone floating around, a little competition can accomplish great things. When things get tight or we want to bulk up the bank account, we institute a no-spend challenge.
Follow these 3 steps to have a successful no-spend challenge.
- Define the goal. Are you trying to make ends meet, get back on track or get caught up for any reason? Do you need to buckle down and have absolutely no spending? Or are you trying to save money and pad your bank account? Do you need to save as much as you can or a set amount? Figuring this out will help with the next step.
- Set your rules. No spending at all or just the bills? What about groceries or gas? When does your challenge start? When does it end? Set rules so everyone knows what is expected.
- Evaluate your challenge. Once your challenge is over, evaluate how you did. Did you stick with your rules? Did you accomplish your goal? How could you have done better?
BONUS MONEY SAVING TIP: KNOW WHEN TO BUY IN BULK
Warehouse stores can be great. But, it’s so hard to get out of there without spending $100, am I right? Will you really eat all of those 5 lbs of strawberries or will you end up throwing away half of them because you can’t eat them fast enough? Do you have somewhere to store that 36 pack of toilet paper? There are definitely things worth buying in bulk from a warehouse store. If it doesn’t have an expiry date (like toilet paper), you’re probably pretty safe.
Check bulk items at grocery stores too! You don’t need 5 pounds of baking soda from the warehouse store, but it’s usually a lot cheaper to refill your baking soda container than it is to buy a new one. And you can buy as much or as little as you need. Dry goods are a great place to save buying in bulk. Candy is another good one because you can get just a little bit and it’s cheaper than checkout stand goodies.
PUT THE CASH BACK IN YOUR WALLET TODAY!
So, there’s 5 money saving tips I use keep more cash for my family. Some of those may not work for you, and that’s okay. Try another one. Remember time is money. Spend both wisely. If it doesn’t work, it’s okay to move on. But, these methods won’t bulk up your bank account over night. Try these strategies for at least 30 days to see what they can really do for you and your family. It might seem like just $5 today, but you might be surprised to find it’s a $20 pack of diapers by the end of the month. Go see how much cash you can hang on to!
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