Do you need to find some easy ways to save money after the holidays? Obviously, reducing the big line items in your budget, such as your mortgage and car payments, are going to have the biggest impact on your ability to save. But most of us can’t do that. But there are some ways to save on the little things. Here are 3 painless ways to chop your budget.
3 Easy Ways To Save Money:
1. Save on gas. Take a good look at all the driving that you’re doing and see if you can reduce it. I know, in our area out in the boondocks, it’s hard to get anywhere without driving! Can you telecommute one day a week? Or carpool the kids to school or sports practices? Could you combine errands to make less frequent trips?
Tip: If you can’t cut down on your driving, use a site or app like gasbuddy.com to keep an eye on gas prices in your neighborhood. I just found this and now whenever I am out, I can see which station has the best price on gas!
Don’t go too far out of your way to get a good price, but keep it in mind if you have to fill up and happen to be near a cheaper gas station.
Tip: If you can’t cut down on your driving, use a site or app like gasbuddy.com to keep an eye on gas prices in your neighborhood. I just found this and now whenever I am out, I can see which station has the best price on gas!
Don’t go too far out of your way to get a good price, but keep it in mind if you have to fill up and happen to be near a cheaper gas station.
2. Use up food in your pantry. Do you always find yourself running to the grocery store last minute trying to figure out what to serve for dinner? A meal plan might help, but also take a look in your pantry and challenge yourself to only cook from things you have on hand for a week or two. You can get creative with things like sandwiches or casseroles and cut your grocery bill for a little while.
Tip: It helps to make a list of recipes you can make with the supplies on hand or you might still end up running to the store for that one item you need.
Tip: It helps to make a list of recipes you can make with the supplies on hand or you might still end up running to the store for that one item you need.
3. Give up the coffee or fast food run. I am seriously guilty of this when I am out and get hungry. Sure, a quick bite can’t hurt, but it eats up the budget. Coffee shops can also be a huge budget-buster. If you can’t give it up entirely, start making it at home! You can buy gourmet coffee blends and fancy creamers for the cost of a cup or two of your favorite drink. Remember, you don’t have to go cold turkey. If you enjoy your drink or fast food several times a week, see if you can gradually cut down until you indulge once a week.
Even just a few of these changes can add up fast! What is your best easy budgeting tip?
Im already saving on gas right now. I actually carpool a lot so it saves me so much on gas money now.
I think a great way for me to save money is to use up the food in my pantry AND my deep freezer! I have so much food laying around sometimes! It comes in handy when i need to save money
I am all for saving money. One of the things that I like about summer is because I get to eat organic veggies off my garden.
I need to stay on top of my fresh veggies better than I do. Starbucks is my downfall when I go anywhere. Their beverages really do cut into my budget.
I always make sure to meal plan with recipes that share items. It really helps cut down on the food bill. I also always make my first stop Aldi 🙂
These are great tips. I have gotten better at using up food we have, I don’t like to waste.
Nothing saves money better than eating your own food. Plus, it tastes better when you cook it!
Great tips, I need to get that app. Right now I try to gas up at Costco, they are usually cheaper than most places.
One of the best methods I used to save money was to start using coupons and to prep meals os you don’t send so much money eating out.
These are some great tips, simple but truly effective. I am using up all my food in my pantry and cooking
These are all great ways to save money. It is so important not to spend all your money on things like coffee and even fast food when you have both from home. Walking is always a great way to save money on gas as long as where you are going is not to far.
Giving up a fast food run is a good idea because it also inhibits you from buying other items while out on your “run!”
Food in general, is a good place to focus on to reduce the budget.
This is such a brilliant tips! I’m really glad that I don’t mind about fast food this time.
Wonderful tips. I love the idea of giving up fast food trips. We only have maybe one or two a month if that and its usually pizza I say we ditch it completely!
Very good ideas to save money! I like to go through the fridge once a week and do a mish mash kind of dinner with what we have on hand before it goes bad. Makes for some fun and interesting dinners!
Great tips and I agree with all of them. I usually buy in bulk because of the discounts I can get. I will have to try that tip about saving on gas too. Cutting down on costs is one of our goals this year because we’re planning on one big time vacation abroad. 🙂
We could be saving a lot of gas if we just thought ahead. There are so many trips back and forth between my husband and I – a little planning would go a long way.
This time of year things are always a bit tighter financially. If I would just stop buying so much coffee I would save a ton.
These are all great suggestions! I know we have saved a ton of money by making coffee at home.
These are great tips for cutting costs on everyday purchases. My family and I try to make smart financial decisions and saving is a top priority.
Convient foods, fast foods and eating out is the biggest cost and waste of money. We grow, raise, can, dehydrate almost all our own food. We even grow our own wheat and grind for breads etc. I don’t go to the grocery very often.
These are all get tips! I can’t tell you how much I saved when I finally decided to cut fast food out of my life (not to mention how much healthier I become!).
These are all great tips. You don’t have to slash and burn your budget to save money. Thanks!
These are all great tips, although giving up my daily Dunkin Donuts would be really hard.
These are great tips. I really need to start using up more food from my pantry. There is a lot that just sits there untouched.
These are great tips! And I’m happy to say I’m starting to do these. I live in Pennsylvania (one of the highest gas tax states in the country) but work in Delaware. I only buy gas in PA if I’m not going into DE. I have to drive 50 – 55 mins, 36 miles each way every day. I did try to get one day to telecommute, but our company CEO doesn’t believe in working from home, so therefore, I can’t :(.
The food in my pantry is definitely there and I’ll still find reasons to go buy. Told my daughter, NO MORE. We need to empty out that pantry before I do another big shopping trip!
These are great tips. It amazes me how people complain about not having any money yet they are still stopping at either Starbuck’s or McDonald’s every day. Do they not realize how much that is costing them?
I’ve been making sure I use up all the fresh veggies in the fridge before they go bad. I hate to throw out veggies that I forgot was in the fridge. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how my coffee at home tastes so much better than the popular coffeehouse I visit. Having coffee at home is definitely a way to chop the budget.