9 Easy Ways To Save Money That Don’t Require You To Be a Cheapskate

If you spend about five minutes scrolling on Pinterest, you’ll see around 3,285 pins sharing ways to save money, but how many of them are you putting into practice?

Creative Ways To Save Money

Saving money does not have to mean living on rice and beans; in fact, it can be achieved with just a few simple lifestyle tweaks.

We’re not talking about extreme couponing here; in fact, most of these tips take little effort or a small amount of work in the beginning and will really pay off over time.

Meal Planning

While it might take some work on the front end, consistent meal planning not only saves you a ton of time (once the planning and shopping are complete), but it can also save a substantial amount of money.

When you are randomly walking the aisles and grabbing your normal staples, you may end up sticking to your budget, which is great, but the odds are when you’re making dinner most nights, you’ll realize you’re short an ingredient or two. When this happens a few times each week, those extra trips to the store add up, and before you know it, you’ve blown your food budget.

Order Groceries Online

Another good way to combat this is to do your food shopping online (See #9 below.) Some local grocery stores offer this option on their websites, or you can use large online grocers such as Thrive Market or Amazon Fresh.

If you are already an Amazon lover, then Amazon Fresh will give you the same awesome service you already know and love on another level with the lightning-fast delivery you’ve come to depend on. Taking the time to plan your meals in advance allows you to head to the store (or the website) with a clear “plan” of attack.

Ditch Cable

Sure, you’ve likely thought of doing this, but maybe you worried you would be missing out on something. After a small adjustment period, you’ll likely be unphased by the lack of TV options, and now, a few years later, there are a ton of free streaming services.

Seemingly, sports is what holds a lot of people back from canceling their cable, but there are a ton of other options out there now to subscribe to different sports packages without your typical “cable.”

Buy in Bulk

If you belong to a warehouse club, you can save a good chunk of change buying your groceries in bulk. When price comparing, ensure you’re looking at the unit price so you’re comparing apples to apples. This means when looking at a case of soda, divide the total case price by the number of cans in the case to determine how much you’re paying per can.

This allows you to see how much money you’ll save by buying in bulk. One thing to note is that if you find yourself purchasing items you rarely use, it’s not necessary to tie up extra money in purchasing groceries and other household goods for them to sit in your pantry all year.

Using Cashback and Coupon Apps

These have really been gaining popularity in the past few years, and while each app might have a slight learning curve, once you know how to use them, you can become efficient and really save.

Use Credit Card Points

If you’re able to charge responsibly, using a credit card for the majority of your purchases can earn you credit card points you can redeem for gift cards, free travel, or statement credits – this is free money!

Check Your Statements

Check every open credit card account (regardless of the balance). Look for your points balance. If you can’t find your balance, then call the company and ask them what your rewards balance is and how you can use your points.

Use Your Points

Cash those bad boys in!  Redeeming your points for gift cards is usually the best route, but it doesn’t hurt to check out the other options.  Sometimes, you can even find discounted gift cards.

For example, if there is a $100 Lowes gift card on sale for 20% off, then you only have to use $80 in points to purchase it; plus, you can use a Lowes coupon or buy items on sale at the store…now that’s how you save money.

Bring Your Own Water

Bring your own refillable water bottle when running errands or going out to eat at casual restaurants and avoid paying $2 – $4 for bottled water on top of your meal.

Shop Your Pantry

We get so used to food shopping each week that we feel we can’t get through the week without going to the store and stocking up! When you’re shopping weekly (or whatever schedule you use), even if you’re meal planning and making good use of all the items you purchase over time, things still begin to accumulate.

Maybe you ran out of time one evening and ordered out instead of making the meal you had planned (and shopped for). Eventually, you notice less room when you’re putting the groceries away. This is a great indicator that you should shop in your pantry instead of the grocery store that week.

Take Inventory

Sure, you’ll still have to get to the store for your fresh items, but otherwise, take inventory of your pantry, freezer, and cabinets and put some meals together using those ingredients.  You will likely be surprised by how much food you actually have sitting around.

This is a great way to save money because you will be way under budget for your groceries that week, plus you’ll be rotating through your canned goods and other pantry staples before they expire, eliminating waste.

Try a Spending Freeze

This might sound scary, but a spending freeze will not only help you save money, but it is a fun way to challenge yourself, too. A spending freeze is just as it sounds; you freeze your spending, meaning you don’t spend money.  This is a super simple way to save money and maybe even add some extra to your cash envelopes while you’re at it. We love to do a spending freeze to get back on track after all the holiday spending chaos.

You don’t have to do much to prepare. In fact, if you prep too much, you’ll spend a bunch of extra money to “prepare for your freeze,” which would be counter-productive. Try this for as little as a week or as long as you want. You’ll start to evaluate your everyday purchases even after the freeze ends, which will likely result in even more savings.

Shop Online

Sometimes, online shopping can be a slippery slope. If you are someone who gets sucked down the rabbit hole every time you get near your computer, then this might not be the best option for you. But if this is not an issue for you, then shopping online can definitely save you money.

Many stores now offer a ship-to-store option that lets you avoid shipping charges. You purchase online, pay for the item, designate which store location you would like to pick it up at, and then you’ll be notified when your item is ready to be picked up.

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