It’s New Year’s and we’re full of New Year’s resolution. Chances are many people have resolved to save money.
This is a great resolution and I’m here today to give you fifteen simple things you can try to save some money (note: these are good any time of the year!)
- Turn your thermostat down a degree (or up when you run the A/C) – Each degree you change your thermostat by can save you around 2% on your energy bill. Chances are you won’t notice a one degree difference (and if you do, your body will adjust)
- Plant a shade tree – When the weather warms up, plant a shade tree on the side of the house that gets the most sun. You might not see the benefits right away, but as the tree grows, you’ll be rewarded with shade that will provide additional comfort to your home, as well as lowered energy bills.
- Clip a coupon – If you don’t clip coupons, there’s no need to go full tilt into couponing. But, try cutting or printing out one coupon. You don’t even have to get the Sunday paper. There are coupons online, in your junk mail inserts, or even at the grocery store. Clip and use one, and you’ll probably find yourself naturally working in more.
- Eliminate clutter – Reducing clutter will help you keep track of your things, leading to you not having to buy something you already have, but have forgotten about or can’t find.
- Drink tap water – Bottled water is expensive. Most tap water is just fine. If you don’t have good tap water, purchase a good filter pitcher system. This will still yield significant savings.
- Make your own coffee – Buying premium coffee, half-and-half, and sugar will still cost less than visiting a coffee shop every day.
- Check your phone data plan – If you have a smartphone and are paying for data, make sure you can’t lower your plan and save some money.
- Buy generic brands when grocery shopping – Most ‘store brand’ stuff is manufactured by the same companies that make the brand name items. Save a few bucks by shopping for the generic goods.
- Track your spending – Many times, people don’t save because they really don’t know what they’re spending their money on. If you track your spending over a week or a month, you might be surprised at how much you’re spending in certain areas, which could lead to a change of habit resulting in saved dough.
- Lower your internet speed – If you have a cable modem, make sure you can’t lower your data speed. Most home users don’t come close to utilizing the bandwidth of your ‘standard’ plans, so do some checking and see if you can knock a few bucks off that bill.
- Drive smarter – Smarter driving habits, like laying off the gas when you anticipate a red light ahead, can save you money on gas.
- Air dry the dishwasher – The electricity used to run the heater after the wash cycle is pretty significant. You can switch this off, then open the door a crack after the cycle is done, and your dishes will dry within an hour or two.
- Re-organize your pantry – Put your canned goods, dry goods (pastas and such), and jar food in front to back order by date, so that you see and use the stuff that is set to expire sooner. This will reduce your waste.
- Leave your money at home – When you go shopping, leave some or all of your money at home. You’ll find that if you don’t have it in your wallet, you won’t be as tempted to spend it.
- Save the money! This is the most important part of the entire process: When you save money, don’t spend it on something else. Otherwise you haven’t saved!
These are some pretty quick and easy ways to start saving money. Very few of these are life changing or require significant effort. But the best part is that, as simple as they are, they can add up to some significant money saving on your part.
What are you waiting for? Use these tips and start saving money today!
Thank you for reading.