How to Save Money in Almost Every Area of Your Life

While it’s great to focus on increasing your income when paying off debt, building wealth, and more, it’s also important to continue to make an effort to save the money you make. The two go hand in hand. If you’re used to spending your money, you may be wondering how to save more money every month.

Since I vowed to never give up on saving and living well on less, I’ve comprised a list of actionable ways to save money in each area of your life. These tips don’t require a ton of effort or time on your behalf and they don’t involve pinching pennies. These are REAL ways to save money and a lot of the techniques I use. So let’s get started!

Housing

Everyone knows I’m all about affordable housing. I agree wholeheartedly with financial experts who say you shouldn’t spend more than 30% of your income on housing. I understand that sometimes that’s hard depending on where you live. The bottom line is, you can control where you live to a certain extent. Don’t try to live in a home that you can’t afford.

Get a roommate, live with friends or family until you get on your feet, and pay them what you can, rent, or buy a smaller more manageable home. Basically, do whatever you can to avoid becoming house poor.

If you like the city more than the suburbs or rural areas, you are probably going to pay more for housing. Be prepared to pay for parking, nearby amenities, and extra taxes and fees just for the hell of it. A relative of mine who lives in Chicago told me you can’t even get a grocery bag for free anymore when you go shopping out there. Bummer.

You may not even like the city that much but just need to live closeby for work. If that’s the case, do all of the above and work on securing a modest place to live while increasing your income and saving in every other area of your budget.

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Food

Just because food is a necessity, doesn’t mean you have to overspend on it each month. I know this is an area where a lot of people struggle (self-included) at times, but here are a few simple hacks that I learned that help me save more money in the grocery store without sacrificing delicious and filling food.

• Try to shop less, around two or three times per month.
• Don’t buy any processed foods.
• Cook with fresh, whole ingredients.
• Learn to love rice and beans, stews and soups, and other meals that you can prepare in batches with a large crockpot.
• Try out the $5 Meal Plan so you can get better at meal prep and cooking food at home instead of ordering out.
• Bake your own desserts instead of buying them. Let box cake mixes become your BFF.
• Shop at discount stores like Aldi and check the sales papers every week to plan which deals you will take advantage of.
• Prep freezer meals ahead of time for the days where you don’t know what to cook and don’t have the time for meals made from scratch.
• Try your hand at price matching your meat.
• Shop online? Use Rakuten to save money on all online purchases.

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Entertainment

What is your entertainment budget like? I’ve seen everything, from $500/month to the $0/month that Mr. and Mrs. Frugalwoods impressively pull off each month. Mine is about $50/month. I combine it with my $60/month dining out budget for a total of around $110 to spend on paid fun and restaurant meals each month.

Once you stop associating entertainment and fun with having to spend money, you’ll start to see move savings. Frugal entertainment requires some creativity on your part because sometimes you’ll need to create your own fun or search for free or cheap events to attend.

Try having a no-spend weekend but still attempt to get out and do something fun with your family.

• Look up nearby events to attend
• Take your kids to the park or library
• Host a game night at your house for family and friends
• Go hiking at a state park and bring food to picnic there afterward

The list can go on and on. If you want to save money on entertainment and do more free or low-cost things with family, it’s crucial that you research what you need to do and plan/call ahead.

You can also download coupons online and take advantage of other weekly specials, discounts, and offers to lower the out-of-pocket costs for your entertainment. One of my favorite ways to do this is via Groupon, but you can use whatever you want.

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Your Kids!

Kids cost money. We get it. Becoming a parent doesn’t have to be a death sentence to your finances though. It’s best to start teaching your kids gratitude at a young age and place an emphasis on experiences and quality time together as opposed to things. Teach them how to work for what they want and how they shouldn’t compare themselves to friends or worry about money as a child.

Say ‘no’ when necessary, use hand-me-downs and buy used, utilize coupons for baby formula and their other favorite foods and snacks, don’t spend money on fancy items, and buy their clothes and shoes during the sale season.

Here are a few more things you can do:

• Ask your doctor for formula if you need to (they usually give out full cans if you ask).
• Buy the sales clothes and buy them a size or two bigger (that means you’ll be shopping for summer clothes during the winter to prepare for the next summer, and so on).
• For older kids, give them an allowance or “paycheck”. That way, they are responsible for their wants. Once the money is gone, it’s gone.
• Start cloth diapering! This doesn’t work for everyone, but it can save you a small fortune on diapers if you’re able to start.
• Enroll them in just ONE activity at a time. Not only does this save you time each week, but it also saves you money and allows them to focus on the one task they’re doing. If they want to switch, they can, but it should only be one sport, club, etc at a time.

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Insurance

While it’s not advised to skip out on insurance completely, you can cut back on your premiums instead of dishing out hundreds or thousands of extra dollars per year that could be best spent elsewhere. Try to bundle your insurance to receive a discount, If you have auto insurance and renter’s homeowner’s or life insurance, see if you can get everything under one roof and get some money taken off the premium.

With life insurance, it’s best to lock in a rate when you’re younger, but with auto insurance, younger people face higher rates. You can lower your auto insurance by having a great driving record, driving less, and having a car that has special features like anti-theft protection.

When you are signing up with an insurance company, it’s important to compare rates and coverage offerings among a few different carriers, then ask about their discounts and try to qualify for as many as you can. Also, ask about their rewards or benefits over time to see if they intend to lower your premiums each year or not.

Additional ways to save on insurance include signing up for auto-pay and paying your premiums every 12 or 6 months because most companies will give you a discount for having fewer payments.

Related Posts:

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Travel

I’m nowhere near a travel expert, but I’ve learned a thing or two from seeing how other personal finance bloggers roll when they go on vacation or travel abroad to view the world. The most important thing I’ve learned is that traveling can be nearly free. SAY WHAT?!

If you have good credit and know how to churn credit cards or utilize certain credit cards for rewards and points to redeem for travel, you can wind up with a few free flights or hotel stays after a few months of regular spending.

The most expensive part of traveling is booking the actual flight and reserving where you will stay. For your flight, join loyalty programs and look for flash sales that airlines have several times per year. For lodging, skip the pricey hotel and try Airbnb to save big on your stay and enjoy more of the local area. Once you knock those two major expenses down, you can save even more money on your overall trip by choosing off-seasons to travel, packing light, and avoiding tourist traps.

Related Posts:

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Online Shopping

Shopping online has become the norm in our society. It’s convenient and often costs less than heading out to a retail store to make a purchase. You can still save on your online purchases by signing up for a loyalty rewards or cashback rewards program to do your shopping through like Rakuten or Swagbucks.

You can also shop exclusively on Amazon and enjoy their weekly sales and free 2-day shipping when you sign up for Amazon Prime. Cyber Monday is another good day to save on online shopping. It occurs the Monday following Black Friday in November as an extended sale for thousands of online retailers.

Related Posts:

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Utility Bills

Ahh, utilities…You can pay up all your debt, stop using credit cards, and even pay off your mortgage. After everything is said and done, you’ll still have utility bills to take care of in order to live comfortably. Heating and electric bills can be the worst, especially if everything in your house is electric.

My biggest savings tip is to try to avoid turning on your air or heat for as long as you can during off-seasons. In the spring we use fans or get fresh air by opening the windows as long as we will be comfortable and in the fall we wear socks and sweaters around the house and save our heat for the heavy winter months.

If you have a programmable thermostat, set the temperature in your home and turn it off when you leave for the day. Invest in energy-efficient light bulbs and power down your computers and electronics at night and unplug several items around your home. You can also check your water heater and replace your shower head with something more efficient so you don’t have to run extra water while you wait for it to heat up.

How To Save More Money Every Month: Bottom Line

And now you know how to save more money every month, without sacrificing! These may seem like small insignificant ways to save, but they add up and make a difference when you receive your bill at the end of each month.

And the best part? The more money you save, the more you can invest and live your best life!

 

Have you tried any of these saving techniques before? What areas of your budget do you have trouble saving money in?