15 Money-Saving Tips That Actually Work

Saving money in today’s economy might sound like a steep challenge, but with the right tips, it is achievable.

Whether you need help diversifying your income, lowering your expenses, or increasing your savings, there are actionable ways to achieve your financial goals.

Clever And Realistic Ways To Save Money

This article covers the top 15 money-saving tips that won’t disappoint you.

1. Track Your Expenses

The first step to saving more money is to know your spending habits. Track every dollar you spend throughout the month and categorize it based on the type of expense it is.

Once you know how much you spend in each spending category, it’ll be easy to identify areas for improvement.

2. Create A Budget

It’s tough to avoid overspending without a proper budget in place. Hence, you must start budgeting your income to avoid overspending and increase your savings.

A common budgeting rule is the 50-30-20 rule, where you allocate half of your income to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to your savings. However, you can start with a lower savings rate or establish a specific savings amount as your goal.

3. Cut Out Unnecessary Spending

Avoid wasting money on products or services that don’t provide any or much value to your day-to-day life.

For example, if you’re subscribed to an unnecessarily expensive cellphone plan or frequently dine out, consider exploring cheaper alternatives to allocate more funds to the things that truly matter.

4. Set Goals For Yourself

Finding motivation or tracking your progress through your money-saving journey can be tricky without specifying your goals. That’s why it’s crucial to know your short—and long-term financial goals.

When setting goals, I highly recommend using the SMART model, as it’s a straightforward template for structuring objectives.

5. Set Up An Automatic Savings Account

To ensure you always remember to set aside money for your savings, automate transferring funds to your savings account. Most major banking institutions already offer automatic direct deposits, so you shouldn’t have trouble setting one up.

6. Cancel Unnecessary Subscriptions

Make it a habit to regularly check your subscriptions and cancel the ones you haven’t used for the past few months. Canceling unused subscriptions can save you money without much sacrifice, and if you ever want to subscribe to the same service again, you can always easily do so in minutes.

7. Pay Off Your Debt As Soon As Possible

The longer you take to pay off your debt, the more money you will put in the banks’ pockets instead of your savings. Consider using debt payoff strategies such as the Avalanche or Snowball method to be debt-free as soon as possible.

8. Save Any Unexpected Income

Your budget, which typically only uses your regular income, should already be enough to cover your needs and wants. So, whenever you come into unexpected income, such as cash gifts from friends or supplementary earnings from side hustles, consider allocating them to strengthen your savings.

9. Buy Generic Brands

More often than not, generic items at grocery stores are just as good as those from well-known brands. With adequate research, you can find no-brand items that are just as healthy and tasty as your go-to branded products but at a significantly lower price.

10. Pack Your Lunch

Eating lunch out may be convenient, but it’s far from an economical choice. So, pack your lunch as much as possible to reduce your food expenses further. If pressed for time, meal prepping allows you to prepare multiple lunches in a single session.

11. Sell Anything You Don’t Need

Sell things you no longer need to declutter your home and earn extra cash. You can host garage sales or list your pre-owned stuff online on platforms like Facebook Marketplace or eBay.

12. Use Cash-Back Apps

Cash-back applications can help you save money, and many integrate automatically with your debit or credit cards. So, you can benefit from their monetary rewards just by setting up the application once.

13. Avoid Impulse Purchases

One of the biggest financial mistakes you can make is spending money on things or services you don’t want or need. Before deciding to purchase something, it’s an excellent habit to wait a few days first.

Take this cool-down period to research the product and carefully consider whether it is worth spending on.

14. Reduce Your Household Bills

Household bills are unavoidable, but you can lower your monthly outlay like many other expenses.

Consider looking for cheaper alternatives for recurring bills, such as your Internet or cable subscription. Those that are charged based on consumption, on the other hand, should proactively be used as little as possible.

15. Use The Cash Envelope Budgeting System

The cash envelope budgeting system is one of the best ways to avoid overspending and save more money. It physically limits how much money you can spend on specific spending categories.

The traditional approach of this budgeting method requires you to use physical cash and envelopes, but many applications, including YNAB, now allow you to mimic this system digitally.

By Enoch Omololu, Contributor