Saving money is usually a burden people struggle to adjust to in their daily lives. Tracking expenses, dividing funds, looking for sales, and generally restricting yourself doesn’t sound pleasant, does it? For most people, finding a comfortable place to start is the key to saving money efficiently. After all, you don’t want to follow a strict budget immediately, which will feel nothing more than restrictive.
This article introduces some easy ways to start saving money on everyday expenses. The idea is to start small, and once you feel the rush of saving, you can move to other methods!
Cancel unnecessary subscriptions
Subscriptions can quickly pile up, and you end up paying for services you use once or twice monthly. By identifying such subscriptions, you can save money without effort!
Here is when you should consider canceling a subscription:
- You use it once per month or even less frequently.
- The subscription no longer holds value. For instance, you might have signed up for a streaming service to watch a particular show. Now, you keep it until a new season or new show comes along.
- You have similar options that you use more frequently.
- Try to see whether there is a free alternative.
Use cashback services
Consider signing up for cashback services. How do they work? Well, you can get some money back from your purchases. It could apply to purchases of particular products or stores. Sometimes, you do need to check which items guarantee you some cashback.
You can choose a particular service, like Rakuten, to start your cashback journey. You can begin by installing its browser extension, which lets you earn some money back when shopping online. Remember to check whether the store is a part of the service’s network. Additionally, you can get cash by shopping in physical stores.
You can also look at whether your credit card company offers cashback options!
Tips when shopping
Regarding shopping, we also have some easy recommendations for spending less!
- Try to buy generic brands instead of opting for more trendy ones. Of course, check the quality of the products beforehand. You’ll often see that you can get a pretty decent deal and spend less.
- When shopping online, use different discount services and apps to find the best option. Price comparison sites are trendy, letting you find a store with the lowest price.
- When grocery shopping, make a list of necessary items and stick to it. Also, notice in advance when you might be running low on hygiene or home-cleaning products. Then, you can find discounts early and buy everything cheaper.
- Buying in bulk can help save money, but consider the practical aspect (for instance, if you will use the products).
Start meal prepping
If you like eating out or ordering in, switching to home-cooked dishes for every meal can be overwhelming. So, start small, like cooking dinner or bringing lunch to the office. Also, consider cooking your favorite meals to feel excited about eating prepared food!
Another tip is to choose simple meals that won’t take several hours to prepare. Pasta, stir-fries, or salads are great options to make you feel more comfortable with meal prep. You can even find apps that help you cook recipes with ingredients in your fridge.
Utilize what you have
Sometimes, you can save money by realizing which products you no longer use. Then, you can sell them online (Facebook Marketplace is a popular spot for selling/exchanging goods).
Additionally, some of your assets can turn into free money. For instance, you can share your unused internet bandwidth. The beauty is that most of these apps work silently, and you won’t have to put any effort into earning through the internet-sharing opportunity.
Try a no-spend day
Once a week, plan a day or two when you won’t spend any money. That means you avoid buying fun products as well as essentials. This way, you can find ways to use up everything you already have (like groceries, canned goods, etc.). It’s a great option for decluttering, as you can clean your fridge or pantry.
Use your mobile banking app
The chances are you use a mobile banking application. Most of them have convenient features for tracking your expenses. You can look at the charts, suggesting the different categories of your expenses. Then, you can identify which areas cost you the most. While crafting an elaborate budget might not be your cup of tea, you can start by limiting the expenses to one or two categories you spend the most on.
Also, if you’re feeling a bit more advanced, you can set up different alerts, such as when the apps notify you when you reach certain expense limits.
Conclusion
All in all, saving money on everyday or monthly expenses doesn’t take much. Start at a comfortable pace, avoiding restricting yourself too much. Thus, consider cashback apps, canceling unnecessary subscriptions, shopping more cautiously, meal prepping, using your assets, and slightly limiting your spending!
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