Do you love a good bargain? Yep, I do too. Learning to save money and always find the best deal is not only great for your budget, but it can be fun too! These 18 creative ways to save money each month will show you how to save on everyday expenses even if you are already on a tight budget.
Let me show you how!
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Creative Ways to Save Money
Saving money is not rocket science. By making a few simple changes to your daily routine, most people will start saving money right away. Try these 18 creative ways to save money each month and see how much your family saves!
Create a Budget
Want to know how to save money each month? Create a monthly budget. Duh, right? It seems obvious, but many of us skip this vital step. Having a budget simply means having a plan for your money and this is absolutely KEY. This quote from Dave Ramsey really sums it up…
A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.
Creating a budget doesn’t have to be this big, difficult thing. It’s actually pretty easy. This post will walk you through the process — there’s even a free budget printable!
Read: The Easiest Way to Create a Simple Budget
Write Down Expenses
Keep a small notebook in your bag or use your phone to keep track of EVERYTHING you buy. Most of us use credit and debt cards for all our purchases which means we never actually see our money. Writing down your purchases helps you really understand how much you are spending on little things throughout the month.
Slash Your Food Budget
Are you spending a ton of money on food? It’s so easy to do! Here are some simple ways to lower your food bill each month.
- Limit eating at restaurants/getting take-out to once per week
- Meal plan
- Use digital coupons
- Stock up on sale foods
- Only shop once per week
For more details on ways to save money on food, check out this great post: 9 Brilliant Ideas to Save Money on Groceries
Use Cash-Back Apps
I ♥ coupon apps! My two favorites are Ibotta and EBATES.
The Ibotta app is amazing because it actually gives you cash back on grocery store (and other) purchases!
To use it, just add offers (like save $.50 on milk) to your Ibotta account. After your shopping trip, take a photo of your receipt and upload it through the app. Within 48 hours, you will receive cash back for all your qualifying purchases – so easy!
Right now, get a $10 welcome bonus from Ibotta when you sign up and redeem your first offer! Who doesn’t love free money?!
EBATES is another great cash-back app. This browser extension is a popular way to save money shopping online. When you visit a website that offers cash-back, click the button to activate the offer and then go ahead and make your purchase. Afterward, you will receive an alert with your cashback total!
Get EBATES Now (it’s super easy)!
Switch Your Phone Plan
Don’t pay $100 a month for a cell phone plan. That is SO much money! My family has been using Walmart Family Mobile for about 3 years now, and it has been such a good experience. We have traveled all over the US and never had a problem with coverage or dropped calls.
My phone bill is only $30 a month and that includes unlimited data (first 3gb is up to 4G LTE). Switching your phone plan is such an easy way to save money fast!
Lower Your Internet Bill
You know how internet companies offer a lower price for new customers? Well, after a year or so that low price expires, and you are left with a much higher bill. Go ahead and give your internet provider a call and just ask them if they can reduce your bill. I’ve done this several times, and have always been able to negotiate a lower price.
Audit Your TV
There are so many options when it comes to TV these days. Make sure you do your research and find a service that best fits your family’s budget and preferences. My family loves Sling because it has a great selection of live TV channels (with lots of kids channels and sports channels) plus on-demand video. It’s a great price too — only $20 a month.
Sign up for Sling today and get $5 off your first 3 months of Sling TV!
Another money saving option is to get an antenna. Lots of people use antennas these days to get TV for FREE. We have this antenna and it works great!
Save on Household Supplies
Household supplies like paper towels, plastic baggies and dryer sheets seem inexpensive, but these convenience items can really add up over time. Invest in reusable products like a set of kitchen towels to clean up messes, high quality lunch containers, and wool dryer balls. These not only save you money in the long run, they are better for the environment too!
I highly recommend the Utopia Kitchen Towels (super cheap and great quality), Rubbermaid Lunch Container Kit , and these wool dryer balls.
Change the Thermostat
You can save about $100 a year just by lowering your thermostat by 5 degrees in the winter and raising it 5 degrees in the summer. My husband actually installed the ecobee Smart Thermostat so we can control the temperature of our home from anywhere. It’s pretty cool!
Just by changing your thermostat, you save 5% – 15% off your electric bill per year.
Adjust Your Laundry Schedule
Doing small loads of laundry several times per week can really increase your water and electricity bills. Instead choose one day per week to wash the laundry. You can wash a couple large loads instead of a bunch of smaller loads to save on water. After washing, dry one load first and then immediately dry the second load. You save money on electricity because the dry is already warm. Or you could hang your wet clothes on a line outside to save even more money.
Say No to Impulse Buying
If you struggle with impulse buying like I do, learning to say no is tough! I find the 30 day rule works really well for curbing impulsive purchases. If you see something you love and feel like you can’t live without it, tell yourself you can have it in 30 days. If you still really want it after a month (and it doesn’t completely blow your budget), go ahead and get it.
Save on Entertainment
Instead of paying for entertainment, try to find free things for your family to do together. My family loves visiting the library, going to the splash park, camping out in the backyard, and swimming in the community pool. When you look, there are usually a bunch of free things to do in most communities.
Use the Library
The library is a great resource for free entertainment. Besides books, they have movies, CD’s and programs for everyone from babies to adults. Plus most libraries have some pretty cool online offerings as well; find things like digital books and magazines and even foreign language programs all online.
For the kids, the library can be a great place to play and learn. My daughter begs to go to the library all the time. She loves to play with the toys and puzzles, visit the art station, read some books and, of course, socialize with other kids.
Unsubscribe from Store Newsletters
I used to subscribe to the newsletters of ALL my favorite stores to get in on the sales! But you know what? The sales emails are so tempting, I ended up spending way more money! Those marketing people sure do a good job 🙂 Unsubscribe from store email lists. When you are ready to shop, use Honey, a free browser extension that hunts down the best coupon codes for your purchase.
Never Pay Full Price
Always shop sales. ALWAYS. If there is something you want to buy, wait until it goes on sale. If you really want to save money, you can also hunt down a coupon or use the Honey browser extension to find a coupon code to pair with the sale.
Plan Your Outings
We have busy lives and those busy lives require a lot of driving (and gas). Make your driving more efficient by grouping your errands and other outings into as few trips as possible.
Always Find the Cheap Gas
Before you head to the gas station, use a site like GasBuddy.com to find the cheapest gas prices near you.
Get Outside and Unplug
When it comes to creative ways to save money, this my favorite! It is so easy to get wrapped up in our finances and buying more stuff. Going outside and working in the garden or riding bikes with the kids is such a great way to get away from all of that and just clear your head.
I hope these 18 creative ways to save money each month help your family. As I said before, saving money is not hard. It’s all about making small changes to your daily routine and these tips are a great way to get started.
How do you save money each month? Share in the comments below!
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