How many times have you proposed to save to have more money at the end of the month or to be able to pay for the vacations you have dreamed of throughout the year? Many.
And how many times have you actually managed to accumulate the amount you needed? Surely very few.
Saving a portion of your earnings is one of those things that is easier said than done. But if you are looking for some money-saving methods that are really effective, you are in the right place.
Here I will teach you to take advantage of your money in 24 different ways; It does not matter if you earn a lot or little, or if you want to generate a small or larger savings to pay the expenses you have daily.
If you follow all the steps that I am going to show you below, you will save thousands of dollars every year to spend them in what you want!
24 Amazing Methods to Save Money Quickly
1. Doing surveys is the easiest way to save:
How many hours do you spend in front of your computer or watching your cell phone daily? 2 hours? 5 hours?
And if I tell you that there is a way to earn money that will not take you more than 30 minutes each day, and with which you will also have fun answering questions?
This is one of the best money-saving methods out there, filling out paid surveys.
I know it is not a way to cut your expenses as such, but it is a good way to increase your profits and save on other payments you have.
2. Bring your own food to work:
Another easy way to cut back on expenses is to bring your own prepared food at home to work.
Years ago, when I was away from home, I always did this instead of spending $ 10 or $ 15 buying something in a restaurant or in my company’s own cafeteria. With this strategy you will save more than $ 150 each month, and certainly eat much healthier.
3. Stop paying to watch TV:
Increasingly, there are more a la carte television platforms to which we are becoming addicted, and for which we have to pay monthly subscriptions as in the case of Netflix, HBO, Hulu…
But in addition to that, we usually have also contracted a cable television service that greatly increases the bill we receive each month.
Get rid of all those extra services you do not need , spend that time talking more to those around you, or planning the goals you want to achieve, and you can save a good money quickly and easily.
With the antenna you already have you can watch TV completely free, and your pocket will thank you.
4. Start your own blog:
This is not a way to cut costs as such, but there are many ways to save money by creating your own blog.
A blog will help you make more money, and it will mean having a second source of income with which you can save the profits you get for everything you want.
At first maybe the benefits are not great, but if you are consistent, write a couple of articles every week, and you monetize your blog, in a short time your income will exceed $ 1,000 each month.
Do not know how to create your own page on the Internet? Watch this step by step tutorial: How to make a professional blog in less than 15 minutes.
5. Use others’ houses to go on vacation:
Do you want to leave the city where you live to disconnect a little, but do not feel like spending a lot of money? Make a call to those good friends who live far away from you and ask them if you can stay in their homes for a few days.
This is a good way to save money on accommodation and spend a few fun days with those people you have not seen for some time.
Do not be shy or think it is something selfish: surely they have also spent some days relaxing in your house or even invited you to theirs because they were looking forward to seeing you again.
If at the place you want to go there is no one you know, try renting a private home through platforms like Airbnb where people like you rent their homes for a few days at lower prices than a hotel.
6. Challenge yourself to save more money:
A good way to achieve the goals you set yourself is by challenging yourself and pushing yourself to get where you want to go.
So why do not you set a goal to save a fixed amount of money each month?
You can start by saving $ 20 each week; Put that amount in an envelope or in your savings bank account, and after a couple of months, if it’s easy to get, raise it to $ 30 a week.
I tried this method a couple of years ago and since then I have managed to save each year only with this $ 2,400 strategy.
7. Download apps to help you save money:
If you feel that it’s costing you a little more than you thought to take away some of your profits to keep them, it’s a good idea to use apps that help you achieve your goal.
There are apps like Fintonic or MyValue that you will find in Spanish and free to download on your phone, and they will tell you every month how much you have spent on each of your payments so that you can better calculate where you should cut your costs.
8. Think well before making a big purchase:
We all had that sense of regret when we made a big purchase and then we realized that it was a mistake.
You may feel angry at yourself for wasting your money, or you have put yourself in unnecessary debt, or even get a little panic because you do not know what will be the next thing you do.
For this reason it is very important that you think well before making your next big purchase, regardless of whether the object you are going to acquire is a house of 1 million dollars or a TV of 200 dollars.
My advice is not to make the decision immediately, to let you spend at least a whole day to make your purchase, and before you do ask yourself these questions:
Can I afford to buy this?
In what other things more necessary could I spend this money?
Can someone loan me this object instead of having to buy it?
Will I be able to return it if after the purchase I no longer want it?
Do I really need this now?
Write down all your answers to these questions and think carefully about each one so you do not have to regret it later.
9. Get away from the debts!:
There are debts that are almost impossible to avoid, such as when you buy a house and the mortgage you will have to pay for it.
But many others are easy to dodge, and if you can do it, do not overdue .
For example, instead of asking for a loan and paying it in 20 months along with your interests, try to pay it in just 12 months to make it cheaper.
Or do not make compulsive purchases that can be very expensive. Remember the previous point, and think about it well before making any important purchase.
10. Organize your meals every week:
Planning the meals that I will do each week has completely changed my life. In addition to eating healthier now, I have managed to save a lot of money that I was just wasting.
If you also want to cut costs with your food, do this: look for the weekly offers that usually put different ingredients in the markets of your city and point them out.
Then do some research and see what recipes you could cook with these raw materials. Try to look for recipes that include fruits and vegetables as these are usually cheaper than other types of foods.
Once you have your recipes, create a menu of meals for the whole week that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as snacks.
Re-make a list of the ingredients you need for each meal, and go and buy them without leaving it.
I assure you that with this simple method your food will be healthier, and you will save a lot of money.
11. Check the bills on your phone:
That to pay only for the use that we made of our fixed telephone or our mobile is a thing of the past.
Now the most common is that we have contracted a plan for which we pay a fixed amount each month regardless of the use we make of the telephone service.
The problem is that many times we pay for an overly expensive plan that we barely use . If this is your case, check the bills on your phone.
Call your company and ask them what other contracts are cheaper to fit your needs, and when you get the right one for you, change it to cut costs.
12. Make a budget for all your expenses:
A budget makes people manage our money better. It’s that easy.
With this simple system we can look at a single glance what our income, what expenses we have, and what we should save more.
So start today to create a budget for any expenses you have in your life, even for the little ones.
If you do not know how to make one, read this complete guide step by step: How to make a budget to save (and not get out of it) .
13. Drive a more affordable car:
Are you lucky enough to have a car because you earn enough to keep it?!! Congratulations!! And would not it be amazing if you could make your car expenses even smaller?
A good way to do this is to review all the costs of your vehicle from the previous year. If that costs you more than 20% of what you earn each year, you should think about changing cars.
You can sell the one you currently have and change it to one that consumes less gasoline, with which your car insurance is cheaper, and repairs are less expensive.
14. Uses other alternative transportation methods:
Having a car, keeping it, and running it can be too expensive sometimes; And if you barely use your vehicle, but you still pay a lot for it, you may need to think about other, cheaper ways to get around.
For example if you live near your work, walk and you will do some exercise in passing. Or if you are further afield, use public transport or go cycling, a clean, ecological means of transportation, and totally free.
In case you have no choice but to go with your car to work, what you can do to save is to share it with other colleagues or neighbors who work near your area, and spread the gas costs among all.
15. Cut the times you go out to dinner every month:
How many times a month do you go out to dinner or order food to bring you home? And how much money do you spend on those dinners and those dishes prepared by others?
Sit down and figure it out, you’ll be amazed at all the money you’ve been wasting so far.
If for example you go out every weekend to dine out, reduce it to only a few times a month. I assure you this will not kill you, and your wallet will be very glad to see that you do not get so much money from it.
16. Keeps track of all your expenses:
If you really want to save money you should not only reduce your expenses and make a budget: you also need to control them and keep track of them.
This will help you to see which are the most problematic costs you have, and in which you should look better so as not to exceed too much each month.
Write down all the expenses that you have in a notebook, in a paper, or in a document in your computer, and when you see that a month you are going to leave the budget of some area, cut it .
As I said before in point 7, if you struggle to keep track of your finances the best you can do is to use some application with which to keep them at bay better.
17. Reduce your energy consumption:
If you perform a more exhaustive control of all the energy you use in your house, but you barely take advantage of it, you would realize that you can greatly decrease your bills.
So if you really want to save money in your home, follow these simple tricks with which you will pay less for the energy you consume daily:
Turn off the lights and disconnect any electrical appliances you do not use. If you are not in a room, there is no reason for your lamps, your television or your computer to be on if you is not using them.
Do not use the heating and air conditioning in excess. To keep cool when it’s not too hot, open the windows of your house and let the natural air cool your home. And if it is a day when the cold is bearable, instead of turning on the heating at the most, put on a robe or trowel with a blanket to keep you warm.
If you can afford it, install solar panels. In addition to being the energy of the future and avoiding more pollution with this, solar energy will save you a lot of money on your light bills.
18. Saves money on your food purchases:
A family of four usually spends only on meals between $400 to $700 each month. It’s a lot of money, especially considering that about 40% of those foods are thrown away.
That’s why you should look carefully at what types of food you spend more, and follow these tips to save every time you go to market:
Plan better how many times a week you go to the supermarket
Organize a meal plan with the steps I gave you in item 10
Go to buy always with a list of the purchase, and do not leave it
Check if there are offers for the products you are going to buy
Use coupons with which you get discounts on your purchases
Do not go shopping when you’re hungry! This will only make a more disorganized purchase
Avoid buying pre-cooked or ready-made foods; they are more expensive than the ones you can prepare at home
Sign up for loyalty programs that have in your market where you can accumulate points to get discounts on your purchases.
19. Receive returns for your purchases:
Look for platforms, loyalty programs and applications that give you a percentage of the money each time you shop.
There are many and available to any country in the world, such as Ebates, BeRuby, or Gelt.
20. Read books on personal finance:
If you want to change your life, I recommend you start reading finance books. Yes, money is not everything, but improving your financial situation will help you gain control over your life.
Some of the best books I have read to achieve a better state of my accounts are:
Image result for The Art of Making Money
The Art of Making Money: The Story of a …Book by Jason Kersten
Finance for children, by Leonor Villalobos
Personal Finance for Dummies Book by Eric Tyson
What Will I Do with My Money? Book by Ray Linder.
21. Look for easy ways to save money on entertainment:
Recently, a friend told me how expensive it was for him to go out and have fun, and that he had even been unable to afford certain basic necessities because the entertainment took away too much money.
When he told me that his monthly budget for fun was around $ 400, I opened my eyes like I had never done before and I said “how do I?”
If you are trying to get rid of high interest debts, I cannot think of any reason why you should spend $ 400 every month on “fun”.
There are many ways to have fun without spending so much money and even paying absolutely nothing.
For example, you can go to the cinema on the day of the spectator, where an entrance will cost you almost half the usual price; you can have dinner with your friends in your own house instead of going to a restaurant.
Or start doing other activities like walking in parks, riding a bike, having a picnic, and going camping…
22. Go to the library:
Today’s libraries have been much modernized and are great places to go to get some fun without spending a penny.
You can visit your neighborhood library to borrow a good book to spend the afternoon, or watch what DVDs have in the movies section to take you home and enjoy while you dine.
But also a library can be a good meeting point to do some fun activities.
Nowadays, many of these places have free workshops where you can learn painting, write your own book, or join a reading club.
23. Create a fund for emergencies:
An emergency fund is something we should all have, and in fact it is one of the best methods to save money because it will help you a lot in the future.
If you suddenly lose your job, you have an expensive breakdown at your home, or you have to pay a bill you had not anticipated, you’ll just have to take that money out of your emergency fund instead of taking it out of your regular income.
This way, you will avoid getting into debt when you have to pay any unforeseen expenses, and will give your life peace of mind because you will always know that you have a small security mattress that you can count on.
The easiest way to start your emergency fund is to withdraw a little money from your income each month – or each week – to an account or a place where you can save those savings.
You can start by putting $ 10 each week, for example, until you get the amount that you think is more convenient for you.
24. Buy second hand items instead of new ones:
Buying used furniture or electrical appliances like a refrigerator or a TV in good condition can be a great way to save money.
Sometimes you can even get these kinds of free objects if your friends, family, or neighbors want to get rid of them and they do not mind giving them to you.
Believe me: people are delighted to give what they do not want to others! It is much easier for them than to go looking for a place to donate and have to transport them there.
So if you need to change your old microwave, or it’s time to buy another table to eat, before going to a store ask your acquaintances first, and if none of them has what interests you, go to a second-hand store.
