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When I first started this blog, Finsavvy Panda, I was excited and eager to share my best money saving tips with my readers.
Since I studied finance, worked at the bank as an analyst, and managed my own money, most of my family and friends would naturally come to me for personal finance advice and tips on how to save and invest, so I thought why not start a blog about money and finances?
In fact, I initially wrote a lot of blog posts about different ways to save money and tips on how to increase your net worth, but I unpublished many of them. I thought they were either silly, too personal, or not explained properly.
As you can see, I made a ton of blogging mistakes and learned a lot of lessons in my journey. That’s expected to happen when you’re a new blogger, so embrace and celebrate every mistake and win that comes.
I only left a few of those embarrassing articles published on my blog like 50 ways to save money and another one about ways to trick yourself to save $1,000 each month. I also decided to leave my 26-week savings challenge to help my readers save $1,000 by Christmas.
Two of my original favorites, but cringeworthy at the same time (because it’s so personal), are How To Stop Blowing Your Money on Unnecessary Things and 10 Things I Stopped Buying To Save Over $10,000 . You can probably change that title now to “Save Over $20,000” due to the crazy inflation we’re experiencing – hah!
A lot has changed since I started Finsavvy Panda in November 2017! It’s crazy when I reflect back on these “saving money” and “wealth building” types of posts because I did not realize how much I’ve learned and grown over the years.
Save this image here to your favorite Pinterest board so you can come back for this ultimate list of the best saving money tips!
80 Best Money Saving Tips From Finance and Business Experts
During my whole blogging experience, I was able to virtually meet many amazing personal finance bloggers in addition to other bloggers who are not in the personal finance niche.
Just by interacting with them behind the scenes and reading their blogs, I learned that everyone comes from different backgrounds with different financial challenges. Not everyone has the same thoughts and opinions about the best ways to budget, save, and invest their cash.
On top of that, I had no idea that money could come across as an overly sensitive and touchy topic when I started this blog. What gives?
Because there’s no such thing as “the right way” or “one way” to save money, I created this blog post on the best money saving tips where I seek the opinions of many financial experts and money-savvy readers. I wanted to hear from them and find out what they actually do to save money.
So, here, I invited readers of Finsavvy Panda including personal finance bloggers and business owners to give us their best money saving tips. I purposely divided the categories into the following sections to make this post flow better based on the different answers I received:
- Saving Tips on Budgeting
- Unique Ways to Save
- Saving Tips on Food
- Recurring Monthly Bills and Costs
- Saving Tips on Shopping
- No Spend Challenges
- Money Saving Apps
- Saving Tips on Automating and Investing
- Frugal Saving Tips
I want to say thank you so much to those of you who participated and shared your real-life experience on how you save money each month!
My hope is for everyone to learn from everyone and to see that we all have different mindsets along with financial situations that are unique to us. You can’t compare yourself to someone else, but you can learn from them and try to see why they chose to save and invest a certain way.
Enjoy this post about the best money saving tips!
Money saving tips about budgeting
Are you always wondering where your money went at the end of each month?
“But I didn’t even buy that many things… where did all the money go?” I would often say to myself.
I was just like you and that’s when I decided to create my own printable Power Up Budget Binder, which shows you the exact steps I took to help me save my first $100,000 in my 20s. During that time, I didn’t have a six-figure paying job! When I realized how wasteful I was with my money, I became a little more mindful of my spending and decided to invest the remaining in stocks and funds.
Spending money is so easy (similar to eating junk) but saving it can be a challenge (similar to eating healthy) and that’s why budgeting (similar to dieting and exercising) is one of the most important things you can do to save money. It allows you to track your spending and find areas where you can cut back. There are a number of different ways to build a budget including these different methods here, so find one that suits your personality and works best for you.
Here are some fun and smart ways to budget and save money each month according to the experts who’ve done it and see results.
1. Look for a budgeting method that works best for you
2. Create a budget worksheet
My best money saving tip is setting up a budget on a budget sheet! Take note of all your primary expenses such as your phone bill, utilities, car expenses, rent, food, etc. Then write down how much you make per month. Subtract the two and figure out how much you have left over! This is your personal entertainment and miscellaneous budget. This has helped me immensely with my money spending because I know how much I have in the bank at all times without any worry. It also keeps my frivolous money spending at bay! – Evangelia from Healthy Living Hippie
3. 20% of my savings are for the “fun” stuff
Sushi and the 50/30/20 budget are my go-to money-savers. I tend to use 50% of my earnings to cover the essentials and use 30% on savings and debt. The last 20% is for fun. I don’t use all of that, which is where the sushi comes in. My family and I LOVE sushi so splurging on a sushi dinner makes me feel like I am winning at life, and I don’t spend unnecessary money on other things. Find a treat item/action that you commit to that makes you feel like you are living your best life, and you might find that you spend less on other things. I save about $300 per month by treating my family. – Caitlin from Caitlin Van Wyk
4. I budget using the cash envelope method
My favorite saving money tip is the budgeting envelope system! Every month my husband and I sit down to do a budget meeting. Anything not bill-related I take cash out of the bank and put it in envelopes or an accordion file. For example, I do:
- $50 for clothing
- $50 for decor
- $50 for activities
- $50 for holiday
- $50 for random
So I take $250 cash out for that month and put the money in the labeled envelopes. Whatever is in the envelopes, I know I can spend. Once it runs out, it runs out. This helps to not overspend, which can happen so easily using a debit/credit card! You can do as many envelopes as you want to keep you on track with your budget. – Danelle from Wild Flour Farm House
5. Get some exercise and budget at the same time
My spouse and I go on a daily walk and this is when we check in on our finances together. We don’t do this religiously every single day, but every few days we’ll catch up on the budget and spending for the month. We share finances and have similar retirement goals, so we need to be on the same page. When we didn’t do this, we were easily spending over $500 a month and going over the budget because we had no clue what the other person was doing until we checked the credit cards. – Alexis from Fitnancials
6. Use a budgeting app like YNAB or Mint
One of the biggest things that helped me save money was figuring out where my money went every month. The simplest way to do this is to download your bank statements for the last three months and categorize each line using a simple spreadsheet or an app like YNAB or Mint. You need to set aside an hour a month. That’s all it takes. Tracking expenses helped me to understand where I was overspending. Reducing costs like eating out, grocery shopping, and cell phone subscriptions enabled me to increase my saving rate by 20% within six months. – Sara from Gathering Dreams
7. Attend a monthly budget meeting and track your net worth
Do a monthly money meeting by yourself, with your significant other, or with a friend. This takes 20-30 minutes a month and can help you optimize your finances and find areas for improvement.
During the monthly meeting, you should do a few things:
- Track your net worth (record the value of all your assets, e.g., savings, investments, car, house, etc. and subtract your liabilities, e.g. debt)
- Review your financial goals (and set new ones if needed)
- Pay off your credit card balances
- Check your credit score and reports to make sure they’re accurate
- Transfer money to your investment accounts, savings, etc. (you can also try to automate this)
It’s not a lot, but getting this done every single month (and recording your progress in a spreadsheet, notebook, or similar) can put you in an entirely new mindset when it comes to your finances. A bit of organization and consistency will have you feeling more conscious about your spending and more confident with your investments! – Dylan from Swift Salary
8. Create multiple savings account
Open multiple savings accounts and auto deduct money into each account (Capital One). I currently have 18 savings accounts with names such as Vacation, Paris, Christmas, Donations, New phone, etc. Tiny additions to these accounts help me to see how close I am to my goals. The money is there when I need it. I have saved over $20,000 this way and the accounts grow every time I get paid. – Jessica from Tall Girl Tiny Habits
9. Keep a record of every nickel and dime spent
10. Review your bank statements periodically and track non-essstentials
11. Pay yourself first
My tip for saving would be to decide on an amount that they could consistently be able to save each month and still pay the bills. It doesn’t matter how small that amount is as long as they can consistently meet that. Now on each payday, immediately transfer that amount to another account (or withdraw it then stash it somewhere that cannot be easily accessed), in other words, pay yourself first each payday. This has helped me save around $100 per month (this roughly translates to 15% of my income). In case the reader still doesn’t have a job, he can substitute his allowance. – Rex from Financially Free Gen Z
12. Track your money on a spreadsheet and divide them into funds
As a student, saving money is essential but challenging. I enter the amount I’ve been paid into a spreadsheet that keeps track of my money. It’s split into two sections. The first section is fixed, where my bills and I need to pay. The second section uses the remaining money and is divided between four funds: Emergency Fund (30%), Savings (25%), Presents (25%), and Spending Money (20%). I’ve saved around $170 – $230 a month. – Ryn from Ryn Johnstone
13. Paying my tithe keeps me accountable
Saving money was ingrained in me way back when I was a kid. My parents encouraged us to save part of the money we received from them and other people. The saving habit stuck with me since then. As an adult, I save 10% of my salary every month. When I get paid, I subtract 10% from my tithe and another 10% as savings. Paying my tithe helps keep me accountable because I must pay myself after paying my tithe. – Rachel from Savvy Moms Ville
14. Save at least 10% of your monthly salary
My favorite way to save money is through budgeting. When you budget as an adult, you are able to see where your money goes. Thus, making you face the gravity of your situation. Also, the 10 percent rule helps me to save more. Therefore, whatever I get outside my salary I know I am still responsible for saving ten percent of that money. – Marshalee from Self Savvy Development
Related posts about budgeting for beginners:
- How To Create a Budget For Total Beginners
- Which Payment Type Can Help You Stick To a Budget?
- What is the 50/30/20 Rule in Budgeting?
Creative and unique money saving tips
There are many creative and unique ways to save money. One way is to trade services with friends or family members. For example, if you’re good at cutting hair, you could trade haircuts with a friend who is good at something else, like painting. This can be a great way to save money on services you would normally have to pay for.
This is actually similar to what I did with my family when I was living with them in my 20s. My mom and grandpa would cook every meal for the family to help us save time and money from ordering unhealthy takeouts. As a token of appreciation, I would buy gifts for them, give them some spending cash, and treat them to dinner at the restaurants they love. It’s a win-win and everyone is happy!
There are many creative ways to save money and here are what some experts consider their best and unique money saving tips!
15. Live more for less and retire early
One of my favorite money saving tips is to live minimally. I don’t consider myself a hardcore minimalist and I still love certain things, but there are certain aspects of my life that I try to simplify and minimize such as my home and wardrobe. I hated having to throw away stuff that almost never got used or having to buy storage for stuff I don’t use. I don’t have an exact figure of how much I save from this per month, but I know that this has helped me a LOT in saving $100k in 3 years without a six-figure income. I used this money to move from the US/Puerto Rico to the Philippines to retire! – Jane from This Mama Blogs
16. Save money and graduate from college faster
A great way to save money on college is to take challenge exams for college credit. Nearly 3,000 colleges and universities accept them, although they usually don’t advertise them. Exams are available for courses usually offered in the first two years of college.
CLEP and DSST are two common types of challenge exams. The exams are multiple-choice, and no letter grade is awarded on your official transcript if you pass one. You are issued a credit for the course, and your GPA is not affected if you barely pass. If you happen to fail an exam, no record of the attempt is made on your transcript. That’s much better than failing a course and having an “F” dragging down your GPA.
Exams for both types are currently under $100 each. A student could earn 30 credits for about $1,000 and skip a year of college. Study guides are available to help you prepare. – Cy from Frugal Budgeter
Related post about frugal living and money saving tips for college students:
- Smart Ways For College Students To Save Money Fast
- Legitimate Ways For College Students To Make Extra Money
17. Find creative ways to make extra money to save more (and even get out of debt)
The best thing I’ve done to pay off my debt quickly is that I’ve found ways to make extra money. I was able to pay off $40,000 in student loans in just 7 months mainly by finding ways to side hustle. This included doing things such as selling items on eBay (items I had in my home, as well as flipping items to resale), mystery shopping, taking part in market research studies, having roommates in my home, writing online, and more. – Michelle from Making Sense of Cents
18. Drink more water (it’s good for your wallet and waistline)
My first thought for saving money is to drink a lot of water – you’ll save on food and medical expenses in the long run. – Blogger from Totally The Dream
19. I put aside my savings from a side hustle into an envelope
I work in a part-time job and earn around $360 plus a casual job where I earn $60 a month. Every time I receive my working income, I save $100 in an envelope along with the $60 that I pretend does not exist. That means I set $160 per month aside. Thanks to this method that I have been using since January, I am able to pay for my driving school. – Resh from That Independent Girl
20. Consider these creative money saving makeup hacks
There are 5 primary money saving makeup hacks I’d like to mention. First, lipstick can double as a blush (this was called rouge in decades past). Second, you can use brown or black eyeshadow as either eyeliner or (third) as a brow definer. Fourth, concealer can double as an eyeshadow base. Fifth, drugstore foundation is your friend and can usually be used in lieu of their luxury counterparts. If you replace these makeup items every 3 months, as you should, this should save approximately $480 (almost $500) per year. – Mary Beth from The Blushing Poet
21. Buy less junk food and save more
I buy discounted stuff but only expendables like flour, edible oil, and detergent but never consumables like chocolate, chips, and similar. If you have an extra detergent at your disposal you won’t wash more but if you have more snacks at your home you will eat them more. – Peter from Dollar Sanity
22. Unique money saving tip for pet owners
As a father of two cats, the first thing I think about when going on holiday is making arrangements for my cats to be taken care of. That would be sending them to a cat hotel so they can have a proper guardian while I’m away from town.
Some people say that it would be a luxury and cost a lot of money to send their cat to a hotel. I agreed. So I figured out that I could cut some costs by hiring a cat sitter. It was a blessing for me and my furry friends. I saved a lot of money while they were able to enjoy their stay in the comfort of their home, which is a big relief. Here is a quick breakdown of the expenses and how much money I saved:
- Cat Hotel Expenses: Per night: $20, Total of cats 2, Duration: 7 days, Total: $20(2) x 7 days = $280
- Cat Sitter Expenses: Per day visit: $15, Duration: 7 days, Total: $105
- Total money I saved: $175
With that extra money that I saved, I decided to purchase a wireless home CCTV for easy viewing from my smartphone. It’s even possible for me to communicate with them through CCTV even though I’m thousands of miles away! But, they chose to ignore me all the time. Facepalm.
So long story short, what I’m saying is that if you have a pet like me then the method might work for you and save you some money. Give it a shot! – Nazeef from The Genius Cat
23. Share streaming subscriptions with families and close buddies
In today’s climate, it almost does not make sense to pay for a single streaming subscription, let alone more than one. Platforms such as Netflix are becoming household necessities – so reverting back to basic cable is not really an option.
You can however get your monthly payments down to a single subscription and still enjoy multiple platforms. You do this by working together in a collective and sharing access to each other’s platforms. So, for example, I pay for Amazon Prime (It’s good for delivery costs anyway) and my parents pay for Netflix and my brother pays for Disney+. We all share access which means we get to enjoy 3 platforms for the price of 1.
It really is that simple. My only advice is to make sure you are sharing with people your trust! – Chris from Life Upswing
24. Limit Your Tiktok/Reels Consumption
If you’re trying to save money, one area you might not think to cut back on is your TikTok and Insta reels consumption.
When you’re mindlessly scrolling through the app, you’re more likely to come across ads and videos of products that you didn’t even know you wanted. Suddenly, you find yourself wanting to purchase something that you really don’t need.
If you cut back on the amount of time you spend on TikTok, you can avoid seeing these ads and videos. This will help you save money because you won’t be as tempted to make unnecessary purchases.
So next time you are scrolling through TikTok’s or Reels, think about how much money you could be saving each month! – Rohit from The Branded Bucks
25. Save with an adult piggy bank and only break it once it’s full
One thing that has allowed me to save money easily is a piggy bank. (Yes, I know what you’re thinking) A fully grown man relying on a piggy bank to save money. Tell you what, it actually works!
I have been able to save over $1000 each month using piggy banks or rather “saving boxes” as I prefer to call them.
The one trick that has allowed me to save effectively with piggy banks is to choose one that is close to impossible to break. I use metallic “piggy banks” because they are more of small rectangular boxes with a small opening at the top where I can drop the money into the box. Despite how tempting it might be to break the saving box or rather “piggy bank”, it is a very difficult task to accomplish and one that I can’t do alone.
I also ensure to commit to dropping at least one $50 note each day as well as any excess change I have on me at the end of each day. Since there is no way to know exactly how much is in the box, I only break it once it is full.
For those that may find committing to saving a particular amount of money each day difficult, you could simply drop in all the excess change or any amount of money in your wallet in the box as you retire at the end of the day. Those small amounts begin to add up real quick and you will be amazed how much you save at the end of the month. After all, throwing some petty cash in a box wouldn’t hurt, would it? This has worked and still continues to work really well for me. – Bruno from Making Sense of Pennies
26. Achieve your savings goal with a group or community (AKA “Susu”)
We have a type of savings that we call a “Susu”. It’s a group of us that save money on a weekly basis. For example, if there are 10 of us in the group. We all agree on a set amount, let’s say $50 each. So that’s $500 the first week. The agreement is to contribute for a set number of weeks. So if we continue for 10 weeks, that’s a saving of $5,000 collectively. At the end of the 10 weeks, the pot is split evenly. So everyone pockets $500 in savings. I love this type of savings. We have done it many times. It’s really great for the holidays too! – Anjali from It’s Anjali
Money saving tips about food and groceries
Oh my, we all know that food and groceries can be a big expense including our dining out experience and those expensive but delicious Starbucks drinks! So, it’s important to find ways to save money in this area of your budget.
One way to do this is to plan your meals in advance and make a grocery list that includes only the items you need. You can also look for sales and coupons to help you save money on groceries. Another tip is to cook at home more often, which can save you money compared to eating out. There are so many clever ways to save money on groceries – just check out what these brilliant and money-savvy people do to reduce their waste and spending on food.
27. Save at least $250 per month by packing your lunch
One of my favorite (and easiest) ways to save money is by eating out less. I like variety and eating out is one way to try different cuisines. When we have a savings goal, one of the first things we do is to eat more at home and pack our lunches. Simply packing our lunches alone saves us about $250 each month, not including savings from homemade dinners, etc. – Enoch from Savvy New Canadians
28. Save money by going meatless with a couple to few meals per week
One money saving tip I’ve implemented over the last few months is to try and have one meat-free meal per week, or even two or three. I realized I was eating a lot of meat, which made up a massive portion of my grocery budget. But switching to a meatless day or meal a week has helped me save around $40-$50 or so in grocery costs per month for me. It’s also helped me explore some new recipes since I have to get a bit more creative than just eating meat and potatoes all the time. And replacing meat with protein sources like eggs or beans has been very affordable and still tasty. – Tom from This Online World
29. Religiously plan every single breakfast, lunch, and dinner (including snacks)!
My top recommendation for saving money is meal planning, meal prepping, and cooking affordable meals at home!
Every single weekend, I religiously plan every single breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack for the upcoming week. I always choose cheap meals that are also family favorites!
Once I have my plan, I double check my pantry to see what ingredients I have or still need. I then write my grocery list based on our meals and order my groceries online for delivery or pick-up. Ordering online prevents impulse purchases, which saves me even more money!
All in all, the entire process of meal planning and cooking at home saves me over $300 each month! This is $300 that can be put towards paying off debt, an emergency fund, or even a fun vacation! – Amanda from Frugal Mom Guide
30. Be creative and search for YouTube recipes
One thing anyone can do to save is to cook at home more. The price of groceries increased 13.5% year-over-year in August, but it is still way cheaper to cook at home than eating out. What I do is buy whatever is on sale, then figure out what to make. Last week, the pork loin was $1.17 per pound and the eggs were 99 cents/dozen at my grocery store. I picked up a pack of the wonton wrappers and made jiaozi with salad for dinner. It’s time to be creative and search YouTube for recipes! – Joe from Retire By 40
31. Buy groceries once a week to save time and money
Apart from travel and rent, food is my biggest expense. To save money on food costs and time and energy buying groceries all the time, I create a meal plan on Sunday and buy groceries once a week. I repurpose ingredients and make enough dinner for 2 days. Here is a real meal plan I use:
- Monday: Lunch – Avocado on toast, Dinner – Chicken curry
- Tuesday: Lunch – Egg on toast, Dinner – Chicken curry
- Wednesday: Lunch – Tuna salad, Dinner – Chicken paprika with lemon cumin couscous
- Thursday: Lunch – Avocado on toast, Dinner – Chicken paprika with lemon cumin couscous
- Friday: Lunch – Egg salad, Dinner – Eat out – Aisha from Out and Beyond
32. Save at least $1,000 per month by dining out less and cutting Starbucks
As a family of 5, the best way we have found to save money quickly is to eat out less. We started tracking our spending with the free app Mint and couldn’t believe how much money we were spending each month on eating out and at places like Starbucks.
By setting limits on eating out, such as only eating out once per week and only going to Starbucks or a coffee place 2x per week, then cooking and making coffee at home the rest of the week, we saved around $1,000 a month. – Erica from I Spy Fabulous
33. Make cheap easy meals
34. DIY everything including homemade baby food
35. Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry
One of the great ways to save money is to reduce the frequency of eating out and making delicious food at home. Here are 5 simple ways to be on budget for your groceries: enjoy grains more often, buy frozen veggies, plan your meal on food that is on sale, make extra and plan to use leftovers like meal prep, and do not go grocery when you are hungry. – Lily from Lil Nurse Writer
36. Write down your grocery list and only buy what’s on the list
I want to thank Ling so much for writing this blog post about budgeting for groceries to help folks save money. Writing down a grocery list forces us to avoid buying things we don’t need! The article has helped our family save around $100+ per month just by using a list. – Jim from Stop Snoring Pronto
37. Choose store brands over popular brand names to save money
My favorite way to save, without cutting out the small niceties, is to shop for store brands over name brand products, at the grocery store in particular. Frozen waffles $1.50 box savings, brown and serve sausage patties 2.50/lb savings. Using this simple and quick substitution we easily cut $80-$100 a month on our grocery bill. – Thom from DIY Wood Craft
38. Cook more at home
Eat out less and cook at home, more. You will be quite bamboozled if you take out time to track your expenses from restaurants, monthly. Make it a habit of cooking and eating your own food, rather than buying out and you’ll notice significant changes in your accounts. – Dee from Digi Tech Drive
Money saving tips on recurring bills and how to cut expenses
Phone bills, cable, streaming services, internet, rent, mortgage, and utilities – these are just some of the bills we have to pay every month. While some of these bills are fixed, others may fluctuate depending on usage. One way to save money on recurring bills is to negotiate with your service providers. My husband is a researcher and loves to shop for the best deals, so I usually leave it to him!
You can also look for ways to reduce your usage, such as streaming services instead of cable, or using energy-saving settings on your appliances. Take it from these experts who love to shop around and lower their bills.
39. Only spend on streaming services you actually use
It used to be that saving money meant cutting cable, but with the number of different streaming subscription options now, I’ve found myself easily spending as much or more than on cable. One thing I’ve done to save money lately is cut down on the number of subscriptions I use, and only use them for a season, for example, YouTube TV during football season only. I would estimate it saves at least $50 a month to keep a closer eye on the number of streaming services we subscribe to at any one time. – Andrew from Wealthy Nickel
40. Switch to a cheaper wireless provider with the same features
Several years ago, my wife and I switched to a discount wireless provider and cut our monthly cell phone bill by 50%. We saved $70 per month or more than $800 per year. We use Cricket Wireless, but there are several other companies that also offer discount pricing. The best part of it has been that our service is still just as good as it was before. – Marc from Vital Dollar
41. Take advantage of “new customer” offers
42. Negotiate for better prices on cable and cell phone
My ninety-two year (92) old parents would like to thank you so much for your tips about saving money on a low income to help folks that are trying to make ends meet on a fixed income. Learning how to negotiate better prices on their cable and cell phone bills has helped my folks save around $50+ per month. They appreciate your personal finance blog and so do I. – Jim from Find Precious Wealth
43. Cut back on expenses that don’t add value to your life
There are a lot of small expenses that add up over time, so try to identify and cut back on these costs as much as possible. This could include sticking to a budget for clothes and accessories, limiting your spending on entertainment, and avoiding unnecessary trips. This small hack has literally helped me save up to 60% of my monthly income. – Sanu from Mastery Blogging
Money saving tips on shopping and purchases
Who doesn’t love to shop?
I used to be a former shopaholic spending mindlessly on clothes, handbags, accessories, beauty products, and unnecessary stuff. I even racked up a lot of savings from using cash-back apps like Rakuten and Swagbucks over the 10+ years of using them.
While it can be fun, it’s also important to be mindful of your spending. One way to save money when shopping is to wait for items to go on sale (I know, obviously, right?). You can also look for coupons or promo codes to help you save money on your purchase. Another tip is to only buy what you need and resist the temptation to impulse buy. Here’s how these shopping addicts are still able to splurge and enjoy while saving a boatload of money in their bank accounts.
44. Save on the big purchases and shop smart
While there are a number of ways to save money on everyday shopping like food and clothing, it’s important to shop smart for bigger items.
If you are looking for an upgrade either with large kitchen appliances or electronic gadgets, it’s best to wait for the right time. Believe it or not, there are a number of deal days throughout the year.
Amazon Prime days, the Fourth of July sales, End of Summer sale, and the big Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales are a few worth mentioning. Get the essentials you need during these events and save yourself paying full price.
If what you need to buy can wait, then definitely take advantage of the deal days and save some money! – Saranya from One Fine Wallet
45. Buy quality over quantity to save money in the long term
My major money saving tip for the past 2 years has been to discipline myself to reduce impulse buying. I now choose quality over quantity. So instead of buying items that I will like for a month or two, I buy one quality item that will last years. This has greatly increased my ability to save extra money. – Anna from Roses of Anna
46. Know the best times to book your flight for cheap
47. Pay for a full subscription instead of month to month
48. Buy and sell used clothes
49. Save money on baby stuff and diapers!
50. I revisit my expenses and resist the urge to shop online
A personal money-saving tip that helps me save 400+ per month is I intentionally monitor my spending (like a hawk) and try to stick to a budget. Paying attention to my spending habits means smart spending for me. I try not to spend on unnecessary things, I do home-cooked meals most days of the week, continuously revisit expenses I can cut, and resist the urge to shop online. – Shaneek from Meet Shaneek
51. Buy gently used (or “like new”) items and clothes
The way I save money is by buying gently used items and clothes. There are so many physical stores and websites where you can get gently used clothes for a significant amount less than you’d pay for new clothes. I also love buying books secondhand, especially if it’s for reference or educational books. You can get multiple books for the price you’d pay for one new book. It’s common to buy furniture and some appliances used, but you can save money buying smaller things used too! – Kara from The Storied Lives
52. Balance saving and spending without sacrificing enjoyment
There’s no doubt that eating out is expensive. We love dining out with friends, but we should keep our eating out to a minimum. Unless we have set up passive income generating tools that can pay for our restaurant. In Los Angeles, there are a lot of nice places to eat and have a good time with friends. I have decided to limit my out-of-home dining experience to save money.
I also avoid impulse buying. Impulse buying means you purchase something without planning to do so beforehand. If you want to achieve real financial freedom, you must plan your purchases beforehand. When you are ready to buy, the best deals will always be available. Don’t let advertisers control your wallet. I saved over $2000 a month as a result of these tips. I hope they can help you as well. – Chris from Smart Finance With Chris
Apps that Help You Save Money
There are several different apps that help you save and budget. Some of these apps are designed to help you budget, while others help you find deals and discounts. Aside from saving money, there are also apps that can help you earn money by completing tasks or taking surveys online. Here are real users who share their experiences with using apps to help them reach their financial goals.
53. Take advantage of money saving apps
Believe it or not, even the most savvy savers are not very good at certain money saving tricks. Like myself, I am terrible at clipping coupons and sticking to a list at the store. I’m a lazy saver because I have a busy lifestyle.
To combat this struggle in one of the most expensive aspects of life like the grocery store, I take advantage of technology.
Depending on where you live there are apps that can help you save money without ever touching a coupon, or being restricted to certain purchases. Ampli will actually keep a tally of where you are spending by linking your bank and giving you cash back on your purchases. You cash out directly to your bank account and never have to clip or click to earn. The technology is safe and secure as it was created by the well-known RBC banking techs.
There are many more apps available depending on how you want to save and where you shop. Take advantage of technology. We worked so hard to get it this advanced, use it to help you save more. – Amanda from Funky Frugal Mommy
54. I make sure to use cash-back apps every time I shop
I love buying things on sale when I need them. That’s usually my shopping method on Carters.com, buy on sale, then make sure I use Rakuten or Swagbucks where I’ll earn a percentage of the purchase. I get even more cash back from my Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card where I’ve earned $126.55 in cash back over the past 12 months. – Cybele at Money Bags Mom
55. Use an investing app like Acorns
I found the Acorns app very helpful with saving. They round up every dollar you spend and put that extra cent into an account for you. It just sits there and grows while you do your normal spending without you missing any of that change. You can even have it transferred to your bank account if you ever get in a jam and need that money back! – Aerie from Raising My Littles
56. Plan your groceries and use an app to get cash back
Before heading to the store, take inventory of what you already have on hand and make a list of only the items you need. This will help you avoid overspending on items you may not actually need.
When at the store, stick to your list as much as possible. Impulse purchases can quickly add up and before you know it, you’ve spent way more than you intended. You can also use barcode scanning apps to scan your grocery bills & receipt and get cash back on items you already buy.
If possible, try to do your grocery shopping once every 1-2 weeks. This will help cut down on gas and save you time. – Rohit from The Branded Bucks
57. Use a budgeting app to help you track your goals
My best money saving tip is to budget a “me” fund every month. I’m a huge fan of using a budgeting app. It helps to know what money is coming in and out so you can budget for every area of your life. A budget gives you permission to spend money and keeps you on track to meet savings goals. I always have a “me” fund each month with a small chunk of money to spend on whatever I want. It makes me more mindful so I don’t spend willy-nilly. It makes me a more conscious consumer and helps me save money because I’m not buying every little thing I want. It challenges me to think intentionally about how to spend that money and not waste it. I’ve saved anywhere from $50 to $100 per month on trivial purchases. – Skye from Thriving and Inspiring
Related ways to save and make extra money with apps that pay you:
Money Saving Tips about No Spend Challenges
Did I mention that I was a former shopaholic? So no spending challenges are near and dear to my heart. A no spend challenge is exactly what it sounds like – a challenge to not spend any money for a set period of time. This can be a great way to save money, but from my personal experience, it’s not always easy. It’s no different from going on a strict diet, so it’s important to create a healthy balance by avoiding the extreme.
There are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success, such as setting a realistic goal, coming up with a plan, and finding a support system. Learn what these smarties suggest when it comes to putting a freeze on your spending game.
58. Create a “no touch savings” fund
59. Turn savings into a game and try a “no money day”
60. Don’t buy anything if it’s not essential
61. Don’t spend the tips or gratuities you get from customers
Money saving tips about automating and investing
This is one of my favorite money saving tips due to the powerful effect of compounding interest!
There’s no doubt that automating your finances can help you save money by making it easier to stick to a budget. You can do this by setting up automatic transfers into savings accounts or investing accounts. Combine automation with investing and you’ll be on your way to financial success!
When you invest, you’re essentially putting your money into something that has the potential to grow over time. This can help you reach your financial goals quicker and build your wealth over time. There are a number of different ways to invest, and here are a few successful stories of personal finance bloggers and entrepreneurs who swear by it.
62. Start with a small amount and invest in the markets
I prepare a 12-month rolling forecast of our income and expenses by significant category using history as a guide. This provides a good estimate of how much our income will exceed our costs. The excess becomes our savings goal and is automatically transferred to our investment accounts at the end of each month. From there it either remains in savings for emergencies. Or, it gets invested for higher returns. It was only about $50 a month when I was in my early 20s. Over time, it became much more! – Tom from Dividends Diversify
63. Save time and save big by automating your savings
It’s no secret that saving money can be tough. So my favorite tip for saving thousands of dollars each month is to automate my savings.
Having a portion of your income automatically deposited into a savings account is one of the best ways to save money. This way, you’ll never even see the money and will be less tempted to spend it.
I’ve set up an automatic savings transfer of 30% of my income. This has helped me to save $5,000 to $10,000 each month, allowing me to reach my financial goals much faster. For example, this strategy helped me pay off my mortgage in three years rather than fifteen, and to purchase a new car without having to finance it.
Now you don’t have to transfer 30% of your monthly income into your savings account; even a 10% automatic transfer would result in a significant difference in your savings over time. This means that if you make $3,000 per month, you will automatically save $300 without even thinking about it! And if you invest that money, you could easily have saved several thousand dollars by the time you retire. – Amira from A Self Guru
64. Pay yourself first so you can prioritize investing
My favorite tip to save money and that I’d recommend to anyone regardless of their current financial situation is paying myself first. I know this may sound cliché, but this is one of the key principles of personal finance. “Pay Yourself First” means that you should pay your own savings and investment accounts first. And this is exactly what I do. Each month, after receiving my paycheck, $300 automatically transfers into my emergency fund account and from there, $100 goes to my investments. Saving before I do any other spending has helped me prioritize my long-term financial goals and within 8 months I have saved a total of $1.600 for my emergency fund and also this allowed me to be able to invest $800 in my stocks portfolio. – Marc from Hack The Penny
65. Exchange services with your family so you can save more to invest
How I save money is by exchanging things or services with my family members! My family is big, so we tend to cook for each other, exchange gifts, or borrow things from one another because it saves so much time and money. When everyone is busy with work and life, it’s great to have someone there to give you a helping hand when you need it. By doing this, I get to save extra money to invest.” – Cindy from The Money Dreamer
66. I save time and money by investing in my business
Running an online art business can get pretty expensive – from supplies to software that can get really pricey quick! Because of this, I challenge myself to budget and only spend on things that push my business forward like hosting my blog, Photoshop, and art supplies. If I feel I need to spend my hard-earned money on something, I take the time to find free alternatives, try it out, and if I see great potential that’ll help me trade time for money, I’ll consider investing. Doing this has helped me save hundreds of dollars every month. – Amanda from The Buzzed Artist
67. Setup an automated deduction from your paycheck
My favorite tip on how to save money is setting up an automated deduction from my paycheck via direct deposit which I had Human Resources set up for me. I had it set up for $100 dollars per 15 days of my salary and it goes to my savings account. In this way, it’s easy for me to save since I will only spend the money I have at hand and never look back on the $100 deduction. I started this journey almost a year now and mind you it does great wonders. – Joyce from Luvs Money Tips
Related post about building wealth and investing:
- How To Save Money and Build Wealth From Scratch
- The Guide To Becoming a Millionaire When You Feel Like You’re Broke
- Passive Income Ideas That Will Allow You To Quit Your Job
- 5 Amazing Money Quotes By Warren Buffett That Will Make You Rich
- Should I Pay off Debt First or Save First?
Frugal money saving tips that are economical
Don’t mistake frugal for being cheap. Frugal is being mindful and judicious when you spend your money. Being frugal means finding ways to save money without sacrificing quality or your lifestyle. It’s all about being mindful of your spending and finding creative ways to save. Check out what these frugal living experts have to say about saving money!
68. Give new life to old items
I would recommend trying to find new uses for old items to reduce waste/buy less. My favorite garden bed is actually an old stock tank and it actually looks quite nice. – Lauren from Lauren’s Organic Gardening
69. Be fit and frugal with your health and wellness spending
I have been looking for ways in which I could be more frugal with my money and more generous with my health. My favorite measure I took was to give up the fancy gym subscription and run outside in the park instead. Apart from saving money, this allows me to save more time (I don’t need to travel to the gym), spend more time outside, and create my own flexible workout timetable. Monthly saving: $85.5. – Tatiana from My Freedom Hustle
70. Reuse clothes that are not visibly dirty or actually dirty
My family and I use an undershirt every day to avoid getting clothes dirty/oily. This is huge because my kids were creating piles and piles of clothes that took money and time. My time is money and my kids are messy. Dramatic effects on my laundry loads and detergent purchases. – Jessica from Study Bunny Media
71. Stop buying hand soap from bath and body works
Make your own soap using Castile soap and essential oils. Revive brand has amazing scents for low, low cost. I was spending $60-80 dollars a month on hand soap and body wash. And now it’s more like $5 dollars a month because the bottle of Castile is big and lasts for months and the oils go a long way. 10-15 drops per batch. – Jessica from Study Bunny Media
72. Stop buying books to read
I am an avid reader and bookworm but I buy the book and then it’s just more clutter in my house. Now I go to the library, buy on kindle – they actually cost less and create zero clutter, or borrow books. – Jessica from Study Bunny Media
73. Make your own damn iced and hot coffee
74. I was able to save time and reduce food wastage
75. Stockpile and buy quality items in bulk
76. Search for answers and learn online
77. Shop for lower-price gas
I fill up a 23 gallon tank vehicle. The gas at Sams Club and Costco is $1.25 cheaper in my area. A Sam’s membership cost me $0 for signing up. I fill up twice a month saving nearly $60 a month. – Dr. Thompas Campi from Mental Wellness Now
78. Go to the library for hidden treasure
79. Be frugal by not shopping for new clothes every season
80. Save money while saving the planet
81. Grow your own vegetables
82. Reduce your electricity consumption
I reduce my electricity consumption by switching off those appliances that are not necessary to use. While those are considered necessary, they can be switched off when retiring to bed. I also control my recharge cards by avoiding unnecessary calls. You can resort to text messages when necessary. As for transportation, I reduce costs by avoiding unnecessary trips. Confine your trip to business and seminars only by riding your bike for a short distance journey. – Sani from Sani Mgr Blog
83. Create an overall frugal lifestyle and shop smarter
A few simple frugal tips I use for saving money each month are mainly on food costs. Groceries are crazy expensive and keeping a stocked fridge for a family of 4 can be a struggle. Pre-planning dinners for the week and having a set list for the grocery store is helpful, but beyond that, I always buy meat in family-size packages and then freeze it into meal portions.
Buying family-size crackers, cereals, and other lunch box goodies are much cheaper that those cutsie snack packs. Kids could really care less what bag their cookies come in.
Avoiding pre-made meals from the freezer section helps as well, fresh is always best! When fresh fruit and produce are in season, I like to freeze or can it to keep on hand. These small tips save our family around $200 per month on groceries.
A couple of other tips, I streamlined monthly bills to get rid of a lot of kids’ apps and subscriptions not really being used and also re-negotiated our cable bill to cut down costs.
Lastly, we are a family that camps a lot, and heading over to the dollar store for many supplies is a big money saver. Essentials like sunscreen, bug spray, cooking utensils, toiletries, and restocking the first aid kit can all be covered at the discount store. Fun extras for the kids can be picked up there too like games and bubbles. All these tips together can save about $400 per month in total. – Amanda from Camp Cook Create
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Lily
Nice content, I always love to post 🙂
Melissa Thompson
This is amazing! I’m so grateful you included my little post too, I also loved reading all of these tips. 🙂
Amanda
Thank you for sharing such a wide range of great money saving tips and ideas! Very helpful and I will definitely refer back to these often! Also very glad for chance to contribute to the post 😁
AISHA PREECE
I learned so much from this comprehensive post! thanks for sharing 🙂