Easy Saving Tips

We all have those times when we need extra cash. Whether we’re saving for a Disney vacation or trying to squirrel away money for a rainy day, we know we’re going to need it. There are some easy ways to save bucks without completely changing your lifestyle.

Make a grocery list and stick to it

We’ve all been told not to go food shopping when we’re hungry, but with grocery pick up services, you can take that a step further by never having to physically step into the store. Some of these services have fees, but what’s a $5 fee compared to the $25 in impulse items and frozen meals you threw in your cart when you were wandering around the grocery with your belly growling, or the $30 in pizza you bought after you were too tired from shopping to cook? You can make a list and adhere to it online with Walmart’s free pickup, or use Kroger’s website to virtually shop your list and pay $4.95 for curbside pickup.

Cut the cord

If you notice that you only have a few shows or channels you like to watch, you can save money by ditching your cable in favor of streaming services like HBO NOW, which gets you all of their latest shows and available movies for $14.99 a month. You won’t be locked into a contract, so you can cancel the subscription any time. You’ll have access to HBO’s groundbreaking shows and a range of movies from new to old. If you already subscribe to Amazon Prime, take advantage of their Amazon Prime Video services, where you can watch many things, including their award winning original content, without extra charges. Netflix is always a popular option. Depending on how many devices you want to be logged into and the quality of the video, plans range from $8.99-$15.99.  You may have to wait several months after your favorite show’s season finale has aired before it appears on Netflix, but the upside is that they have so much binge worthy original content that you might not miss your old cable.

Make shopping a hassle

Don’t let your phone store your credit and debit card numbers. It’s so convenient to be able to buy things on the internet without having to get up off the chair and dig in your purse to look at your card number, expiration date, and security code, but that convenience also makes impulse shopping a passive behavior. Imagine the money you could save if you had to ponder whether those must-have shoes were really worth getting out of bed on a cold night to walk across your house for your wallet. By the next morning, you may have talked yourself out of the purchase all together.

Keep the change

Anytime you break a bill, put the coins in a piggy bank. I know toy banks can seem old fashioned, but there’s a reason people have used them since the middle ages: it works. If you save just fifty cents a day with this method, you’d have over $180 after a year. That may not sound like much, but it would buy a few shirts at Disney or a new microwave in an emergency. Every little bit really does help.

There are always small ways to trim the waste when you’re trying to save for a vacation or life’s unexpected expenses. You don’t have to sacrifice your favorite things.