Finding ways to save money is something I often put on the back burner because it seems like too much work.
We’re already working hard to put food on the table and on top of that we also have to keep ourselves from overspending? Well, yes, yes we do.
The good news is that there are tons of simple ways to change your financial habits to build up your savings and live less worried about money overall. And this is regardless of your income.
Now, for some, the word frugal (a word you’ll see often paired with saving) is a scary thing they wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.
But living frugally doesn’t necessarily have to mean giving up your Starbucks run. It might just mean being introduced to new ways of saving or simply doing more of what’s already working.
Related: How To Save Money On Organic Meat
So enough babbling, how can you save some more money and improve your finances with small lifestyle changes? Here are 53 ways to save money on a tight budget.
Get cash back for shopping and referring your friends
This wouldn’t be a complete frugal and money saving list if I didn’t mention Ebates as a way to make money online just for shopping for what you’d get anyway.
When you shop through a store that is affiliated with Ebates (chances are if you shop at it, it’s an Ebates affiliate) then you get a certain percentage of your purchase back in your Ebates account as cash. When you refer each of your friends to open their own account you also get an additional $25 bucks.
It’s that simple. Try Ebates out and get a $10 sign up bonus.
Open an online bank account
Online bank accounts are great because they often offer you perks that brick and mortar banks sometimes don’t.
For example, I bank online with Chime (I’m in love with this account). They don’t charge you ATM fees or transfer fees. And they have an automatic savings plan that rounds up your amount to the next dollar for every purchase and put it away for you.
As we all know, change starts to add up fairly quickly. And its automatic so you don’t even have to think about it. Of course, after opening your bank account it’s time to start padding it with extra money, and there are more ways to do so than one (more on that later).
You can sign up with Chime here and get an initial $25 (while funds last) when you set up an initial direct deposit of $200 or more.
Use Groupon to go out
If you aren’t an introvert like me and you enjoy going out often, try subsidizing it with Groupon. Now, Groupon isn’t just any old coupon deals site. We’re talking 70% off kind of deals at select places/restaurants for each given day.The other day I snatched up two tickets to the movies for $13 bucks!
Try Groupon next time you go out and save some bucks by signing up with them here.
If you’re a meat eater
Try a subscription box like Butcher-Box.
They send you a monthly personalized box of organic, grass-fed meats for a monthly fee. One less thing you have to go out and buy, and they often run special bonuses depending on the season. The box ends up costing you about $6 per meal.
How to save on travel if you have pets or want a free stay
With Trusted House Sitters, you can exchange a service, like taking care of someone’s home and pets, for a free stay in their home.
Pretty straight forward stuff, though there is a screening process. It would be awesome to save money on pet sitting if you’re a pet owner when you need to travel.
Find out how you can get started with Trusted House Sitters and get free stays here.
How to save money on groceries
Lozo is a pretty cool site I recently discovered. Once you get on the site, you enter in your grocery list, and it’ll scour over 400 sites to find multiple coupons for each item.
Try lozo.com on your next grocery run.
DIY your own rain catcher
This is genius.
And it’s especially helpful for people with big yards or outdoor gardens. This might not be a familiar concept for some. But a rain barrel is simply a device you put together to collect rainwater to water your garden, your yard, or for whatever else you might need to use relatively clean water for.
A great thing is that you can decorate the barrel or plant flowers around it to really integrate it into your background. It can make for an entertaining DIY project that will also save you tons in the long run. It’s also not costly to install, and the gallons of water it’ll save you money on yearly are, well, priceless.
Here is a pretty cool one you can check out.
Bulk cook your meals
This one not only saves you money and space but time as well.
If you bulk prepare what you’ll eat for most of the week then you won’t have to worry about certain foods going bad while they sit in the back of your freezer. Bulk making your meals is two-fold: You’ll save money in the process, and all the time it takes to make it throughout the week.
If you set aside a couple of hours on the weekend (I like using Sundays) to make some meal staples you’ll be golden for the rest of the week.
Not to mention you’ll also avoid the temptation of going out to eat.
Related: How To Make Your Home Smell GOOD With These 17 Genius Tips
Invest in energy saving light bulbs
My mom used to use energy-saving light bulbs and it made a difference in our light bill (especially when paired with unplugging all electronics at night). They are an affordable investment that can keep you from constantly having to replace cheap lightbulbs again and again.
My favorite ones are the daylight fluorescent spiral lightbulbs you can put up everywhere around the house.
Learn to use a crock-pot (it’s really easy!)
This is how easy crock-pots are: get up in the morning, pop a few ingredients in, set the temperature, and let that baby simmer throughout the day to be ready for lunch or dinner. I couldn’t understand other people’s obsession with crock-pots until I bought one myself.You can find cheap ones like this one that are worth investing in.
And the best part? The amount of recipes you can make with a crock-pot are overwhelming.
Rent unused rooms in your house
Yes, Airbnb is everywhere and yes, you can make money off your spare room to help pay the bills.
If you seriously have a room in your house that you aren’t using consider renting it out to make some extra money on the side. It’s silly to let a spare room sit there gathering dust. Airbnb makes the process of setting up your own room for rent pretty easy.
Start your Airbnb account and take advantage of your spare space (not to mention you can get $40 towards your fisrt trip).
Create your own spirits
If you like beer then why not try brewing some at home? It’s a great pass time, and you can even experiment with some of the flavors to make it your own. You’ll also save on a beer trip to the local grocery store.
Here is a great DIY post I found on how to get started making your first beer at home.
Unplug electronics every night
This works if you want to lower your electricity bill. Leaving your electronics plugged in, even though they are technically off, will still use electricity. So get to unpluggin’ every night and make it a habit.
Related: 65 Creative Ways To Make Money From Home
TV is old school…
Well, if you really really can’t live without your TV then try bundling it with your internet provider for a lower deal.
If you can part ways with your cable company, try subscription based tv like Netflix or Hulu.
Find cheaper gas prices
Here are three sites you can use to find where the cheapest gas is:
Taking the time to check for the cheapest gas option near you or on a trip can be worth it in the long run. As we all know little gas expenses add up.
Check them regularly to check for the nearest spot near you with the best deal on gas prices.
Make your own detergent
Did you know you can make gallons of your own detergent for a fraction of the store price? Why waste your money paying for name brand packaging and marketing when you can make bucketloads of your own effective clothes detergent at home with simple ingredients?
Here is a quick DIY detergent recipe courtesy of houselogic.com.
According to the site, the mixture comes out to about 7 cents per load. Wowsa.
Start a ‘do not touch’ fund
It’s never too late to start an emergency fund, especially because you never know when you might need it. This can be as simple as setting aside $5 a week with automated apps like Clink or Acorn.
Or you can do it the old school way and take out a few bucks in cash to add to a stash.
Try biking
Try biking to places that are near? Does your mom live near and do you visit her often? Try biking there!
Or is your local gym/park close where you go to workout? Try biking there too! The buns and calf definition you’ll get are just an added bonus. You get the idea.
Use this handy cycle to work calculator to see how much you could be saving!
Keep up with your credit card rewards
Many of us (me included) don’t pay too much attention when picking a credit card, which is a bad mistake. Many credit cards will offer cashback systems that can help you save money and redeemable cash/rewards.
Here’s a NerdWallet comparison of the best cash back cards you can check out.
Regularly sell old things
