Twenty Creative Ways To Save Money

20 Creative Ways To Save Money

Do you feel like you just can't seem to get ahead and your quickly sinking into a financial hole? Here are twenty easy changes you can start today that will help you save money. It's the little steps that go a long way. Seeing results from small changes here and there will give you encouragement to maybe start making bigger changes in your life for the better. (that is a post for another time) These changes do more than just save money. 

Be diligent and you will be rewarded with less stress and more confidence!

1. Cook at Home: Instead of eating out, try cooking at home. It’s healthier and saves a lot of money.
2. Buy in Bulk: Purchase items in bulk to take advantage of discounts.
3. Use Public Transportation: If possible, use public transportation instead of owning a car.
4. Cancel Unused Subscriptions: Review your subscriptions and cancel any that you don’t use.
5. DIY Gifts: Make your own gifts instead of buying them.
6. Energy Efficient Appliances: Invest in energy-efficient appliances to save on utility bills.
7. Sell Unused Items: Sell items you no longer need or use.
8. Grow Your Own Food: Start a small garden and grow your own fruits and vegetables.
9. Free Entertainment: Take advantage of free entertainment options like parks, museums, and local events.
10. Use the Library: Borrow books, movies, and music from the library instead of buying them.
11. Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies: Homemade cleaning supplies are often cheaper and just as effective.
12. Repair Instead of Replace: If something breaks, see if you can repair it before buying a new one.
13. Buy Used: Consider buying used items instead of new ones.
14. Plan Your Meals: Plan your meals for the week to avoid impulse buys and waste.
15. Carpool: Share rides with friends or coworkers to save on gas.
16. Cut the Cable: Consider cutting the cable and using streaming services instead.
17. Drink More Water: Not only is it good for you, but it’s also free!
18. Make Coffee at Home: Skip the expensive coffee shop and make your coffee at home.
19. Exercise at Home: Instead of a gym membership, try exercising at home or outdoors.
20. Hand-Me-Downs: If you have kids, consider hand-me-downs or swapping clothes with friends.

Little changes can give the biggest rewards! Keep reading for more details! Here are some great reasons to cook at home.

1. Healthier Diet: The more you cook at home, the healthier your diet, the fewer calories you consume, and the less likely you are to be obese or develop type 2 diabetes. You can control what you put into your food and your body.

Bonus points! Home cooking instruction significantly increases a person’s confidence in his or her food preparation skills, which translates into eating a healthier diet. YAY!

2. Buy in bulk: It's cheaper to buy buy the unit, even if only a few cents a week. Multiply that by 52 weeks in a year and you will see a bigger savings. You will have a nice supply on hand which means fewer shopping trips and fewer impulse shopping opportunities. Buying in bulk is better for the environment, smaller packaging, smaller foot print. You will learn to shop wisely, learning what will keep in your cupboards for a rainy day and what needs to be consumed weekly.

3.Use Public Transportation: On average 16 cents of every dollar is spent on transportation per household! And 93% of those dollars is for maintaining, operating, and purchasing the vehicle. You could be saving more than $13,000 dollars by taking public transportation and avoiding rising auto insurance, fuel and maintenance fees. If you are a commuter, you will save on average more than $800.00 per month just by using public transportation. Another option is to carpool with a friend or co-worker. Avoid parking cost if at all possible! Walking is a better option and a healthier one too.

Choose to be the one to control your finances. Not corporations, not the city, and not a car, truck, or motorcycle.

Do some simple math to see how easy it can be to save serious buckaroos! 

OK, not like that Buckaroo! LOL like these buckaroos!

4. Cancel unused subscriptions: Companies make millions of dollars on the backs of busy hard working people like you. Take the time to cancel all un necessary subscriptions.

DO NOT GIVE YOUR MONEY AWAY

5. DIY: Make gifts and presents, bake or cook a healthy meal for someone. People really do enjoy hand made gifts, and who knows maybe your gift will be the family heirloom.

 DIY, as in fix it yourself. Save hundreds by learning to fix things on your own. Unless of coarse it is something only a certified professional can fix. Make wise choices here, do not risk having to call in a professional to fix your mistakes. That will add more to your already increasing costs.

6. Energy Efficient Appliances: Pay attention to those emails you get from your utility company. You should be getting ideas for cutting costs with better and more efficient appliances. I am not suggesting you hire your utility company to overhaul your home which could cost you thousands, because often the emails offer their costly help. No, I am talking about discovering how you can lower your energy costs by managing the temperature and using appliances at certain times of the day. If your home is needing upgrades then definitely see what and how to make affordable choice for lowering your energy costs. Always check for appliance rebates, sales and discounts before making big purchases. Ask a lot of questions and write everything down.

7. Sell Unused Items: There are many online platforms that can help you sell unused stuff taking up space in your home or garage. It's fairly easy take at least three pictures at various angles and post it. Anything from clothing, appliances, books, crafts, electronics, and pet supplies. Everything and anything is sold online these days. Here are some ideas to consider;

* online marketplaces* local classified ad * consignment stores * garage sale * Ebay * Amazon

* used book stores and * specialty resale shops. Be careful of scammers on online platforms 

(or anywhere for that matter), never meet people alone and get cash in hand before handing over the item.

8. Grow Your Own Food: This could be a fun family activity, " the joys of gardening" With container gardening's growing popularity, you can have a beautiful vegetable garden on a balcony. A large backyard is no longer necessary! You can even create a wall garden.

9. Free Entertainment: Here are some great ideas but I'm sure you can think of more!

1. Go to the museums, zoo, or aquarium. Check their websites for dates for FREE entry, or student, Teachers, seniors, and military discounts throughout the year.

2. Go to the library and check out books! read, read, and read. One of my favorite activities!

You can also download onto your cell phone or eBook reader " free" books offered by Amazon and other book sellers.

3. Look for " free" movie rentals, often where you can read " free" books you can stream movies for free as well. An online search will bring up many options. Some are great others are bait and switch for catching your email address, so be wise and use reputable websites from known book sellers like Amazon, Barnes and Noble etc. And remember if you sign up for something by accident, you can always cancel it.

4. Play games, you can play card games, board games, video games, do puzzles, or create a new game! I know you can come up with something interesting!

5. Volunteering and helping others is always a good option. Help out at the local animal shelter, read to children at the library, check with local organizations for volunteering opportunities, search online, I know tutoring in math is always needed!

6. Walk around a farmers market, even if you don't need anything. It's great excersize and a fun experience. Grab your drink and go enjoy some free sample. 

(often available at some stalls)

7. Check your local community center for events and happenings, don't miss out on those free community events. Sometimes it's a free breakfast!.

8. Take a walk around your neighborhood, local park, beach or head out to a hiking trail.

10. Use the Library: not only can you get books from the library, but often there are free events, book readings and more.

11. Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies: It's not as hard as you might think. There are many homesteaders showing you how to make your own safe household supplies. You can feel good about saving money as well as knowing the products your using are safe for your family and pets.

12. Repair Instead of Replace: Sometimes if it's broke you can fix it! 

13. Buy Used: Used, recycled, thrifted, and resale shops are great places to find good deals on items that still have a lot of life left. And every good deal means more money in your pocket!

14. Plan Your Meals: Meal prepping is great for keeping your waist line in check but it will also save you cash. You will not be tempted to go out to eat when you have a premade meal waiting you, or knowing ahead of time you have everything ready for your planned meal to be cooked up in a jiffy. Knowing what meals you will have for the week and rotating them throughout the month eases your mind, your waistline AND your wallet. That's a trifecta right there!

15. Carpool: choosing to car pool is a great way to stamp out the morning commuter stress! You save money and have less stress. A win win!

16. Cut the Cable:  It's time to get tough! Do you really need cable? check to see exactly what use use cable for. If you feel you do need to keep your cable then call the cable company and tell the Rep. It's costing you too much money and you need to cut costs. The Rep. should give you options that will give you savings. However often the savings are only good for one year, make note and set an alarm on your cell phone alerting to any need to cancel or change the plan. I know someone who does this every year. He takes a calculated effort to save money where he can. HE RETIRED EARLY! so I know it works...

17. Drink More Water: Cut out the fancy coffee and drinks, stop handing over ridiculous amounts of money for flavored water. Make it a weekend treat if you must, just not a daily habit. No one needs these high calorie, high cost drinks. No one!

18. Make Coffee at Home: It's easy and affordable. There are always sales and discounts on coffee. Remember there are better ways to spend your money, better yet do not spend it, save it!

19. Exercise at Home: Find great excersize videos free on you tube to help keep you focused on having a good time. You can do dance cardio, use canned food for weights, or sit in a chair and get your excersize on. All for free!

20. Hand-Me-Downs: Reuse and repurpose old clothes, t- shirts, shoes and more. items too old for a hand-me-down, can be used as a house hold or garage rag or towel. Put old towels and blankets in your dogs house for them to enjoy a refreshed cozy abode.

Enjoy the wonders of this world. It is not only work and pay bills.

 Before spending think of all the ways you could use that money and then decide if what you were thinking of buying is worth the money.