No matter your financial situation, no one ever wants to spend more money than they need to. It's your responsibility to make sure you're aware of the money that leaks away on a daily basis due to habits and lack of attention.
What potential savings are hidden from you? It depends on your habits. Habits are hard to break and take effort. Are you willing to do the work to break the habits and save money?
Cut out Subscriptions
Whether it's a good or a service, many of us have subscriptions that are just a part of our regular day. These can include gym memberships, streaming services, cloud storage, delivery, gaming services, education, and many more. Are you aware of how many you have and how much you're paying for each of the various services you've signed up for? Remember to look at multiple bank or credit card statements since subscriptions can be billed monthly, quarterly, or annually. Are you getting the value that makes the fee worthwhile for you? It’s often less expensive to pay a per-use fee (think shipping on Amazon or free shipping if you can wait a few days for delivery) rather than paying a monthly or annual fee. This is one of the easiest tips for saving money because it often takes only a few minutes of review.
Shop in your Pantry First
It's so easy to make a list of what items you need and then go to the store and buy whatever's needed. How many of the items—specifically spices and other shelf-stable groceries—are already in your pantry? How many containers of paprika and cans of red beans do you really need? Making sure you check what you have first can help you with saving money by reducing waste and duplication.
Take Advantage of Coupons and Store Sales
This isn't about extreme couponing and the time and effort that it requires. It's about the store or item coupons that come at least once a week in your newspaper or mailbox. These are convenient and take moments to review and clip the ones that are relevant to your purchases. Set a goal to save money—even just five dollars a week—using coupons and put that money aside or track it for reference and use it toward increasing the amount you pay on credit card bills or other debt. Adjust your savings goal to make it a challenge but not out of reach. Every little bit of money saving helps.
Leverage Leftovers
This may sound silly, but are you using your leftovers or tossing them? To me, leftovers are a gift—a free meal with minimal effort. When I cook, I try to intentionally prepare extra so there are lunches available. When a good home-cooked lunch is available, it's much easier to say no to purchasing lunch at work. Leftovers can be used as is or as the basis for something else, such as a stir fry or soup. I know too many people who refuse to eat leftovers, effectively throwing away food and money. Learning how to start saving money can be as simple as reducing food waste.
Plan ahead - Time vs. Money
Convenience costs money. Going out to eat or ordering in costs more than cooking a meal at home. The challenge is that time is limited. Whether it's planning ahead for holidays and other celebrations or menu planning with a shopping list, the more organized you are, the less money you have to spend. When you consider the drive time to a restaurant, waiting in line or at your table for your food, cooking doesn’t necessarily take more time than going out to eat. It's the planning ahead part—making sure you have the ingredients to cook—that makes the difference. Smart planning is one of the most effective tips for saving money.
Do your Best with What you Have
While you don’t have the ability to reduce every dollar you spend, you have more control than you realize. It's a matter of choosing to make the effort to break the habits that are getting in your way of decreasing your expenses.
There’s no one right answer, but there are many strategies to consider and some may work for you.
Evaluate your spending habits—anytime you reach for your wallet or a cash app on your phone, think about what you're spending and why. Lower your threshold for spending that’s “too small to count.” So often we find it easy to spend $5 or less (or whatever your minimum threshold amount is) and not think about it. Make it a point to think about every dollar.
If you haven’t done budgeting before, you should learn how to start saving money with a simple plan. Every dollar should have a name and a destination. The goal is to have money at the end of the month, not the other way around.
Make a list of your goals and priorities. Seeing the larger goals that are being delayed by today’s spending can be a great motivator to make changes in your spending habits. Every change you make contributes to saving money and helps you achieve long-term financial freedom.
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