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Every day you are faced with many different opportunities to spend money. However, you are also faced with many different options to save money as well. The list of money saving hacks below will help you save thousands of dollars every year.
And the best part – they don’t require much effort.
Every time you pull out your wallet to pay for something, try to ask yourself if this is the best way to spend your money.
When you challenge yourself to think of different options, you may be surprised at how many solutions you will find that do not require spending a dime.
To get you started, here is a list of 20 money-saving hacks that will save you thousands this year.
Ask for a better deal
I think most of us are embarrassed to ask for a deal. We think that the salesperson may judge us or we may appear cheap. However, asking for a discount is not being cheap – it’s being smart!
I don’t always think to do this but when I do, I’m often surprised at the positive results.
Recently, I was at a department store getting ready to check out when I asked the salesperson very nicely if there are any promotions going on right now.
I hadn’t shopped at that store for a few months but in the past, I had received discounts via mail a number of times so I thought it was a fair question.
Lo and behold, she gave me a coupon that ended up taking off 35% off from the sales price. Score!
Moral of the story – just ask. You never know what discount you’ll be able to score by just being polite and courteous.
Check out the store brands
There was a time when I did not buy store brands. When I think about it, I think about all of the money I wasted buying name-brand items.
Once I finally tried store-brand foods, I realized there was often not much difference between the store brand and the name brand. In some cases, I even liked the store brand better.
This is particularly true with foods I use when cooking. Store-brand canned beans work just as well in chili as name-brand ones at a fraction of the price.
Aldi and Trader Joe’s are two stores that have built their entire business model on store brands. If you walk into either store, you will quickly notice that 95% of the items are store brands.
In many cases, the store brand item is made by the same factory that makes the name brand item but with different packaging.
By not having to pay for the marketing and advertising, the store can offer the off-brand items at a lower price.
Try travel hacking
Ever since I discovered travel hacking a few years ago, I’ve never looked at traveling the same way. I have not paid for flights in several years.
My husband and I frequently are able to get hotels for free as well, making for some pretty sweet vacations.
Even though our travel budget is only $2,600 for the year, we are able to go on luxury vacations without spending much out of pocket.
As I type this, I’m on a free flight to Salt Lake City where we are going skiing for three days. We are staying in a ski-in/ski-out luxury resort and flying back first class – all for free.
How? We use airline and hotel points to pay for our flights and lodging so the only costs we have out-of-pocket is food and sightseeing. How’s that for a money saving hack?
For more details on how we vacation on a budget, check out this article on travel hacking.
Switch to a prepaid cell phone plan
An easy and painless way to save money is to switch to a prepaid cell phone plan. You can wait until you are out of contract and make the switch or do some math to see if breaking your contract makes sense.
When my husband switched from AT&T to Cricket (which runs on the AT&T network), we ended up saving $52 per month just on his line.
That’s saving us more than $600 per year to use the same network that he was already using and pay less money. Mind blown!
My phone is going to be switched next although in my case I’m on a grandfathered plan with an employee discount and I pay much less than he did so the savings won’t be as big. It still makes sense to make the switch over though.
Depending on your carrier, there are other options for switching to a prepaid plan. If you are on the Sprint network (or if you’d like to get on the Sprint network), Republic Wireless is a great option. Sprint does not work as well in my neck of the woods but if it works better for you, give Republic Wireless a try.
For a list of other prepaid wireless cell phone carrier options, just do a quick search for the cell phone carrier plus the letters MVNO (it stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator) like this:
[cell phone carrier] + [MVNO] or for example, AT&T MVNO
This should pull up any options for wireless prepaid options that operate on that network.
Go for the biggest size or the best bang for the price
One easy way to save money, especially while grocery shopping, is to go for the biggest or heaviest item, depending on what you are buying.
For example, if you’re shopping for lettuce, which is usually priced per head, buy the biggest head of lettuce you can find. It may seem silly but you are paying the same price so why not get the biggest one for your money? I’ve seen some heads more than twice the size of others in the same stack – all for the same price.
The same goes for bagged items such as potatoes or apples. Weigh the bags and pick the one that is the heaviest. You may be surprised to find as much as a pound variation (or more!) beyond what’s listed on the bag.
I like to go a step further and look for the bag with the biggest number of items (such as the most apples) since we work on a per-item basis in our house – i.e., I’m using one apple or three potatoes so it makes sense to get the bag that has the most.
I know, you too now want to go count the apples and potatoes in a bag when you go shopping. Go on, I dare you! 😉
Stock up during sales
I like to leave enough room in my budget to stock up on items I use frequently when there’s a big sale. This works best on items that have a longer shelf life such as cereal or pasta although I definitely try to stock up on more perishable items such as meat and bread by freezing any excess for later use.
Another great way to save money is to get a rain check if they are out of the item that’s on sale.
I actually prefer to get a rain check because it means I can come back at a later date when the shelves are going to be full, all the flavors will be available and I won’t be fighting the crowds.
In addition, getting a rain check can help you get a good price on an item by saving it until you find a coupon. Just make sure you read the fine print and don’t let the rain check expire.
Shop through cash-back websites
Cash-back websites such as Ebates.com are money in your pocket for doing the same thing you were already planning on doing.
I love Ebates! (check out this post featuring my review of the pros and cons of Ebates)
I can’t believe how much money I’ve left on the table before I knew about Ebates.com. If you shop through their portal, you get a percentage of what you pay as cash back. They also have coupons you can use toward your purchase, further saving you money.
It’s like savings magic!
Click here to sign up for Ebates through my link and get $10 for FREE after spending $25!
Get paid to grocery shop
Do you grocery shop? Oh, you do? Then you need Ibotta in your savings arsenal. Ibotta gives you cash back for the groceries you already buy.
All you have to do is sign up, download the app, add your grocery rebates and scan your receipt when you get home. That’s it! The money adds up in your account until you reach the payout threshold.
There are no coupons to remember and no one knows if you use it. Only you and your pocketbook – win, win!
Click here to sign up for Ibotta through my link and get a $10 as a FREE welcome bonus!
Get the smaller cart at the grocery store
This may be unusual advice but go for the small cart at the grocery store if you have that option. Research has actually shown that we subconsciously try to fill our grocery cart with stuff even if we don’t need it.
Something about the large abyss of a grocery cart makes it easy to say ok to impulse buys since they disappear amongst the pile of other stuff in our cart.
Using a smaller cart helps you be more intentional about what you buy. It also allows you to see much easier what you already have in your cart and how much room you have for everything else on your list (you do have a shopping list, right???).
Always search for a coupon code
Sometimes I think I should get the words “always search for a coupon code” tattooed on my forehead. It’s so ingrained in me, I don’t even think about it.
I’m constantly amazed at the fact that people won’t take 30 seconds to hop onto a search engine and do a quick search for a coupon code for whatever they are looking to buy – that’s money that does not have to leave your pocket, people!
Just do me a favor and do a quick search next time. Better yet, use a coupon code and go through Ebates so you can also get cash back because who doesn’t like getting free money?
Check Groupon for a deal
Another easy way to save money is to do a quick search on deal websites such as Groupon and LivingSocial to see if you can find a deal for whatever you are planning to buy.
From restaurants to golf and electronics, I’ve found discounts on just about anything that way.
I also use deal sites to buy gifts such as massages and facials. I usually call the vendor after buying the Groupon and arrange for them to charge my credit card for the tip so that way the gift receiver does not have to worry about that.
Even with the tip, I’ve saved hundreds on gifts by going through deal websites.
And don’t forget to go through Ebates.com if shopping at Groupon or LivingSocial so you can get some cash back – sweet!
Always ask for an upgrade
This is another one of those pieces of advice that makes me smack my head when I find out people are not doing it. It takes an extra 30 seconds to ask for an upgrade when booking a hotel, flight, car, etc.
Just because you ask for an upgrade you may not get it but it never hurts to ask. The worst thing that can happen is that they tell you no and you are at the same place you’d have been before you asked. No big deal!
But it can also pay off good and you can be chilling in a sweet one-bedroom luxury suite overlooking the mountain in Park City on your ski vacation. Ask me how I know this 😉
Oh, and did I mention it was all for free? For how we get free hotels, flights, etc., check out this post on travel hacking.
Split food at restaurants
I don’t know about you but I hate how huge the portions are at restaurants. I always feel way too stuffed and there’s usually food left over! One of the easiest ways to save money and food waste is to split an entree.
My husband and I have started splitting food at restaurants and it’s really helped keep our food budget down while we rarely go home with leftovers.
We get just enough food to eat and since we have pretty similar taste, it’s not really a hardship.
Bring your lunch
Eating out every day is for the rich and those bad at math. At least that was my conclusion after forgetting to bring my lunch a few times.
Most things around my office that I’d like to eat for lunch end up costing me about $10. Doing that five days a week, every week means spending $2,600/year just on work lunches. That’s crazy talk!
Not to mention most takeout is not exactly healthy. I’d much rather spend my money in other ways and also save my waistline. Pack your lunch and bring it to work with you every day.
You can also keep some emergency backup supplies at your desk such as peanut butter and bread just in case you forget your lunch.
Always bring snacks
To piggyback off my previous point about bringing lunch, go ahead and bring snacks while you are at it. You can either pack some snacks with your lunch every day or keep a variety of snacks at your desk for when the munchies strike.
We all know that at some point during the day, you’ll want a snack. It happens almost every day so I’m not sure why most people are surprised as they make a mad dash for the vending machine.
Don’t be caught unprepared for the very predictable dip in blood sugar bound to happen in mid-afternoon. Just bring snacks!
Cut cable
Cutting cable is the new thing. No seriously – do a quick online search and you’ll find that lots of people are cutting the cord. There are now more and more options that let you still watch your favorite channels while saving you cold, hard cash – no contracts required!
I’m going to be honest and say I don’t watch much TV. I do watch some movies but for the most part, if our TV disappeared, I’d only notice when my son asked to watch a show.
However, I finally convinced my husband to cut the cord. With great options like PlayStation Vue and Sling TV, you can still watch your favorite channels (including sports!) for a lot less.
I also like knowing that the price stays the same so no more surprise price hikes – I’m looking at you Spectrum!
Would you like to try out Sling TV for free before making a decision? Sign up through my link for a 7-day free trial.
Wash everything in cold water
Consumer Reports did extensive testing to find out if water temperature affects how clean your clothes get when washing them in a washing machine.
Spoiler alert – for most things, cold water does the job just fine.
Detergents are actually formulated to do a great job of getting rid of stains and dirt when using cold water so there’s no need to spend extra money on heating up laundry water.
I also try to hang dry the majority of my clothes since it saves on electricity and preserves the fabric (what do you think all of that dryer lint is made from?).
When looking to buy a house, consider sun/shade
This one may not be top-of-mind for most people looking to buy a house but it can make a big difference in your utility bills over the long term. We live in the South where the summers are hot and the winters are not too far behind (hello 80 degrees in December).
When we were looking to buy our house, we really loved the two giant trees that shaded the front and back yards.
Despite the over 100-degree summers, we can keep our thermostat at 78 degrees in the summer without our house getting really hot. Having those shade trees helps keep the house cool.
Check for employee discounts
Do you know if you have employee discounts through your job? You may be surprised to find out that you actually do!
One example is cell phone plans – many people don’t realize that they could qualify for a discount on their cell phone plan through work.
Even if your employer does not currently offer any discounts, you can bring it up as an idea for them to offer that in the future. It can be a great, low-cost way to improve employee satisfaction.
It never hurts to ask!
Use less
This one may seem obvious but many people don’t pay attention to how much they use or they end up just using the recommended amount. For example, when washing clothes, do you just pull off the cap and fill it with detergent to the fill line? Yeah, I thought so!
Try using a little less next time – I bet your clothes will come out just as clean. Laundry detergent caps are made so big with the goal of getting you to use more detergent so you run out faster and go buy more. Try using less until you find the sweet spot.
The same goes for any number of products you use on a daily basis from face cream to toothpaste. Try adjusting your usage until you are only using what you truly need.
It may seem like a small and insignificant change but when done across the board with everything you use, it’ll save you thousands.
Your turn – what are some of your favorite money-saving hacks?
Resources that I love:
If you’re looking to save money on your shopping, then I highly recommend checking out these ideas!
Amazon Prime – With free unlimited two-day shipping and no minimum purchase required, Amazon Prime is the perfect solution for your holiday shopping. You get a FREE 30-day trial membership for signing up through my link. I absolutely love my Amazon Prime membership!
Click here for a FREE TRIAL of Amazon Prime through my link!
Ebates – Get cash back for any purchases that you are already making online. Just go through the Ebates cash back portal and you will get a percentage back of your total order price. You can also use coupons on top of going through Ebates for even more savings. Read my review of Ebates here. You get $10 FREE cash back after you make a $25 purchase for signing up through my link.
Click here to sign up for Ebates through my link and get $10 for FREE after spending $25!
Ibotta – Get cash back for purchases, including groceries, clothing and more! Download the app on your phone, check it before heading to the store so you can add any rebates that interest you, then shop as usual. When you get home, just scan your receipt and enjoy the cash back. It’s such an easy way to get some extra cash!
Click here to sign up for Ibotta through my link and get a $10 as a FREE welcome bonus!
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