Although we all want to save money, many of us fail to make a concerted effort to do so.
A user asked the forum, What’s something very simple that people could be doing to save money but don’t? Here are the common responses.
USE FREE SERVICES
“Make use of free services. Mostly the local library. Sometimes there’s a feeling that just because it’s free, it’s trashy or peasant-like. I don’t need to pay to see something in order to feel good about it. And libraries are amazing! Free books! Audiobooks! So many things.”
TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH
“Take care of your teeth: brush and floss every day – preventative care now will save you THOUSANDS later if you need major dental work!”
GET RID OF STORAGE UNIT
“More prevalent in the US, but get rid of your storage unit and most of the stuff in it. You’re often paying more to store things than it would cost to buy it all again.
If you can’t fit it in your home, re-evaluate if you need it.”
DRINK WATER; AVOID OTHER DRINKS
“Only drink water. Not only will you save money, but your body will also love you for this. Win\win.”
BUY WITH CASHBACKS
‘Buy everything with cashback/reward credit cards. It’s free money, and I make around 200$ per month with it. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.
Edit: I made a mistake; it’s more 75-100$ per month with a cibc dividend card. 4% on grocery, 2% on gas and recurrent, and 1% on everything else. Too close to my money, I don’t check often and use it whenever I feel like it’s gonna help.”
BUY SECOND-HAND PRODUCTS
“Shop secondhand. You can buy most everything in pretty good condition.”
DON’T BUY A NEW PHONE
“Don’t buy a new phone every damn year. There’s no point.”
PAY OFF YOUR CREDIT CARDS
“Pay off your credit cards even if you have to take out a loan to do it. Afterward, pay them off each month. Do NOT carry a balance on your credit cards.”
USE LIBRARIES
“Don’t buy books. Use the library or participate in a book swap.”
MAKE DOUGH FOR PIZZA AND BUNS
“Learn to make dough (pizza, buns), noodles, tortillas.”
START MEAL PLANNING
“Cut back on buying frivolous items, and start meal prepping instead of eating out all the time.”
QUIT ADDICTIVE HABITS
“Quit addictive habits.
“Smoking, drinking, coffee, weed, etc. They’re all expensive, and you’d save a bundle quitting. But people don’t because they think those things make life better. Some do, and some don’t, but the monetary savings can’t be discounted. If you’re broke, don’t smoke or drink.
Some people truly need weed for health problems. But nobody needs the others.”
TURN OFF LIGHTS
“Turn off the lights in rooms where there are no people.
Get one of those outlet strips where there’s one outlet that turns off all the others if there’s no power being drawn, then plug your TV into the control and your cable box and other stuff into the other so that they only come on if you turn on the TV.”
TURN THE HEAT DOWN
“Turn the heat in the house down 5 degrees and put on a sweater.”
DO YOUR OWN TAXES
“For Americans, do your own taxes. For most, it’s not difficult. The chain tax preparers charge way too much for basically 20 min of data entry.”
BUY CHEAPER MOBILE PLANS
“Double check your phone plan. If you’re paying $50/mo, there are plenty of carriers (Mint/t-mob) with cheaper plans.”
MAKE COFFEE AT HOME
“Making coffee at home instead of buying it for a ridiculously marked-up price.”
CHANGE YOUR OIL
“Learn to change your own oil. Extremely simple and can save you $60 bucks a change.”
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The article was originally published on Mrs Daaku Studio.