Amazing Tips on How to Save Money Easily

Tips on How to Save Money That You Can Start Implementing Today!

When you are trying to pay off debt, save for a large purchase or emergency fund, or just put more towards retirement, it is important to save money any way you can.

Here are some of the best tips on how to save money that I use all the time to help me get ahead.

There are tons of ways to lower the numbers needed for your monthly budget for things from food to shopping to activities and more. Even making a few small changes at a time could drastically reduce your bills and increase your savings today!

Keep reading for the best ways to save money every month!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.

Tips on How to Save Money Shopping

There are lots of great money saving apps and extensions. Using them is a no-brainer way to save tons of money on things you would be buying anyways. Here are some of my all-time favorites!

Honey 

Do you HATE searching the internet to try to find a coupon that is still valid? I know I do, and yet I am always looking for a bargain, so I used to spend wayyy too much time scouring the internet for coupons.

Thankfully I have since learned about Honey.

Honey is an amazing, google chrome extension that searches for available coupons and automatically applies them at checkout. This can save you anywhere from 10-20% and sometimes even more!

So let’s say you are looking for a product on Amazon. You find it, add it to your cart, and then Honey will automatically search for and apply the best coupon. Boom! Money saved!

Ebates

The first easy way to save money when shopping is by using Ebates (now called Rakuten).

To use Ebates/Rakuten all you have to do is sign up for a FREE $10 welcome bonus by joining with my exclusive link. After that, you can get cash back on TONS of online purchases. 

As the largest cashback website, you can use Ebates to save on purchases at over 2,000 stores. You can log in to the site and click on the store you want, or you can install the google chrome extension which will automatically search for bargains for you.

It is seriously a no-brainer way to save tons of money on things you would already be purchasing! 

Dosh

I am super excited about this FREE app as I just discovered it. You know how you can get credit cards with great cash back options?

Well, Dosh helps to convert any credit or debit card into a cash back machine!

Dosh offers cash back on purchases at thousands of stores and restaurants whenever you pay with your card.

It is the perfect addition to your money-saving aresenal if you do online or in -store shopping. Plus, it doesn’t require you to scan any receipts or search for coupons. It is truly automatic once you set it up.

All you have to do is download the app on your phone and link any and all credit or debit cards you use (yes, you can link more than one card for even more opportunities to save). Then, spend like you normally would and see the cash roll in.

Dosh will even give you a $5 bonus just for signing up! You do have to have $25 before you can cash out, but with the chance to get up to 10% back, I’m sure you’ll get there in no time.

With bank-level security, you can also rest assured that your card information is safe and sound.

Ibotta

Last but not least is yet another way to save on your everyday purchases. What Ibotta has that Honey and Ebates don’t is savings on GROCERIES (in addition to hundreds of other stores). 

Maybe you don’t do tons of online shopping, but we all have to eat. It’s one of those purchases you just can’t avoid. 

Luckily when you download Ibotta, you can find tons of coupons that will earn you cash back on your purchases, all for FREE. 

The best part about joining Ibotta is that when you use my exclusive link to register, you can get up to $20 in welcome bonuses! Wouldn’t you pick up a $20 bill if you saw it lying on the ground? This is basically the same thing. 

Save Money By Monitoring Spending

I think we all have areas of our budget that tend to get out of control.

Or maybe you signed up for a subscription a while back that you NEVER use?

These are small areas that can add up big costs if you don’t keep them in check. An amazing way to save money is to find these areas that are costing you and eliminate them!

Going through all of these areas of your budget and looking for recurring purchases could take a lot of time, but lucky for you there is a much easier way.

Enter Trim

A great way to find ways to cut unnecessary expenses is by using an amazing program called Trim.

Trim works for you to help you identify spending habits that are costing you money.

For example it works to identify subscriptions you have but never use so they can be canceled.

It also automatically fights fees charged to you by your bank which can easily add up.

Trim will also send you spending alerts (if you set them up) so you know when you are getting close to overspending. This will also help you realize those pesky spending habits that add up like spending $5 on lunch every day for a month (which could add up to over $150!).

If staying on track seems to be a struggle every month, this is the perfect program for you.

If on the other hand you are a budget wizard who never overspends on a category, you may not need this program. Also, could you please teach me your ways? Like for real?…

Tips on How to Save Money on Food

Here are some of the best (and easiest HOORAY) ways to save money on food. If you feel like your grocery bill is out of control, this one’s for you!

Find out when your grocery store marks down close dated products.

When the expiration dates for products start getting closer, your grocery store will likely mark down the prices.

My favorite thing to do is to grab the close dated meat. The price is significantly less and the date listed is usually the date you need to freeze your meat by.

Since I freeze almost all meat as soon as I get home, this is a great way to save lot of money.

Bring your own lunch

Eating out is expensive especially if you get into the habit of doing it every day. By packing your own lunch you will likely not only eat healthier, but you’ll easily save a ton of money as well.

Look at the unit cost

Looking at the unit cost of whatever you are purchasing can help you see whether or not buying in larger quantities is really saving you money.

While it generally does, there are definitely some times where you save more money per unit by buying two smaller packages rather than one bigger one. Sneaky grocery stores!

Plan out your shopping list ahead of time based on the weekly ad

Most grocery stores mail out and/or post their weekly ad online. This will give you a sneak peek at the best deals. Then you can decide what you might want to stock up on.

Buying items when they are on sale and meal planning is such a smart and easy way for you to save money on food. This is especially true for seasonal items like produce.

Just be sure to get the store rewards card (a free option) if they have one to maximize your savings.

Check out my grocery receipt from today for food that will last Joel and me 2 for the next two weeks. I saved $66.06 (39% OFF groceries) just by shopping items that were already on sale.

If you would love to save a ton of money but don’t want to mess with extreme couponing, this is definitely the way to go!

I got all these savings with only 3 coupons and the rest were based on shopping the weekly ad.

What would you do with an extra $60 or more every time you shopped for groceries!?

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Pack food for road trips

I’ve said it once, but I’ll say it again, eating out can quickly eat away at your budget.

Road trips are no exception. Who wants to pay $12 for a greasy McDonalds meal that makes you feel sick afterwards anyways. (Hint, I just made this mistake and it was a sad day for my stomach and my wallet.)

Save yourself some money and a stomach ache and pack your own food in a cooler for when you are on the road.

Save money on utilities

Monthly utilities are unfortunately one of those costs that you just can’t avoid. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still work to decrease them.

Turn of your lights when you leave the room

Leaving the lights on all day when you aren’t even in the room is just a waste of money.

If you have energy efficient lights (which you should!) the cost won’t be that huge, but still. Why not save a bit of money by getting into the simple habit of turning the lights off when you leave the room.

Contrary to popular belief, turning the lights off and then back on doesn’t use more energy than just leaving them on when leaving the room for a short time.

Turn down the thermostat

This has got to be one of the best tips on how to save money. Lowering your thermostat settings is a HUGE money saver.

To give you some perspective, Joel and I just raised our thermostat by a measly 2 degrees (it was getting pretty darn cold). Our heating bill jumped by almost $15 for the month even though the weather outside got warmer.

Toss on a sweatshirt and a blanket and turn the heat down a bit and you could save a pretty nice chunk of change over the course of the winter.

Also be sure to lower the temp at night and when you are gone for even more money saving.

Winterize your house

Just like turning down the thermostat is a great tip on how to save money on utilities, so is winterizing your house.

Tons of warm air can escape through your windows and poorly sealed doors. Installing plastic over the windows and weather stripping on the doors can help keep that precious heat inside your house and more money inside your wallet.

These things are both easy to do yourself and don’t cost a lot of money up front either.

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Save money on activities

I have an entire post dedicated to saving money on activities that you won’t want to miss!

There are tons of free or inexpensive options for getting together with friends or planning a memorable date with that special someone.

Some of my favorite affordable activities are hiking, going for a walk, going to movies on the “cheap night”, and splitting meals at restaurants.

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Tips on How to Save money on transportation

Take care of your car

Your car is a big expense, but for most people, it is also a necessity. Although you might not want to spend that $50 on an oil change, DO IT ANYWAYS!

Routine maintenance costs way less than major repairs needed due to negligence.

Shop around for gas

Did you know you can shop around for the best gas prices without driving all over town?

One of my favorite apps is the Gas Buddy app.

It shows you gas prices at different gas stations near you so you can head to the one that will save you the most money.

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Shop around for car insurance

One of the best money-saving tips when it comes to transportation is to save on car insurance. It pays to shop around and get several quotes to make sure you are getting the best rate.

Personally, I use Geico and have saved so much money with them compared to other companies that are out there!


Update, Geico is NOT a good deal in Michigan which is where Joel and I are moving next. We decided to go with Good Sam instead, especially because of the RV. It saved us $2500 a year to switch!!! Case and point on why you should always shop around.

It is definitely worth it to get a quote every once in a while to make sure you are getting the best rates still.

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For even more great personal finance advice, be sure to check out how to budget.

Wondering where to save all the extra money you’ll have now? Learn what is a Roth IRA and prepare for your future today!

Drop a comment below with any of your favorite tips to save money!