5 Money Saving Tips To Use This Month

We all want to save money!
Building an emergency fund, starting a retirement plan, saving for things like a vacation, and getting out of debt is important to us.
With these money-saving tips, you can start saving this month.

Starting good money-saving habits can be difficult, especially if you have developed less than excellent money habits over the years.

Saving money isn’t just a good idea in case of emergency, but developing good saving habits will allow you to break free from living paycheck to paycheck.

Start being able to do more of the things you love with these 5 money-saving tips!

Let’s get started!

This post contains affiliate links, I will only promote products I trust. Read my full disclosure here.

 

5 Practical Money-Saving Tips To Use This Month

 

1. Save Money as You Go!

I cannot tell you how many months went by without a dollar being added to our savings account.
My hubby and I always had good intentions, but when the end of the month came there just wasn’t enough leftover!
We found that when we would wait, we would end up spending that extra money before even getting there.

It’s like when I ask my husband to hit the store before coming home from work.
If there is anything remotely snack-like on that list I will be lucky if it makes it to me.

Start saving throughout the month! For us, that means every paycheck we put a percentage or a set amount into our savings.

 

 

Another way to do it is to set up an automatic transfer with your bank.
When you treat your savings account like another regular monthly expense, you are far more likely to regularly contribute to it.

 

2. Stop Eating Out!

Okay, you do not have to completely stop eating out, but you should definitely limit it as much as possible.
Eating out is far more expensive and almost always less healthy.

When you stay in and cook on a day you would typically dine out, keep track of those savings! Calculating how much you are saving is fantastic motivation to keep doing it.

Staying in can be difficult though if you don’t know how to cook…
The good news, however, is that there are endless free resources online to help you learn!

From blogs, to apps, and even to many YouTube channels. Check out this channel for great recipes and this playlist for learning new techniques.

You can gain a great new hobby & skill while also saving hundreds (or thousands if you eat out as much as my husband and I used to) of dollars over the course of the year.

Keep a lookout for cheap and delicious dinner recipes!

 

3. Use Apps like Ibotta!

Ibotta is basically a cashback app, there are others like it, but this one is by far my favorite.

After only using it a few weeks my mother-in-law has gotten $87 dollars back and in my first 3 weeks of using it, I got $56 back!
It’s super easy to use, and has cashback options for almost anywhere you would need to shop in-store and online!

Earn a $10 welcome bonus when you use THIS LINK!

*Word of caution when using these types of apps though: The way these apps work is they work with retailers to get you to spend more.*

Getting cashback is an incentive to buy that product from that retailer in the first place.
It can be all too easy to buy things you don’t really need. Let’s say you see a $1 back offer on a product you don’t need; if it’s a $5 product, that is still $4 you didn’t need to spend.

When these apps are used well, they can save you a ton of money!

How I use Ibotta

Here is how I use them: After compiling my grocery list I look up each item to see if there is a matching offer for that type of item. If there is an offer for a similar product that makes it a better deal than my usual, I substitute.
I also keep a lookout for the really good deals and often alter my meal plans based on what I can save on.

(Everyone should be doing this anyway, by the way, don’t be so strict with meal planning that you pass up on good deals! See what good deals are in-store and with apps like Ibotta and base your meal plan off of them.)

Planning ahead is the best way to get the most cash back without wasting your money on products you do not need.

Even if you don’t want to put that much effort into using the app, you can still reap the rewards! You can easily save some money without planning ahead.
Simply scan your receipt to see if your purchases match any offers.

 

 

4. Shop Second-Hand!

We are in a wonderful age where there are dozens of ways to buy things second hand! From good ol’ garage sales and thrift stores to fancy online retailers and consignment shops.

Get to know these various second-hand sellers.
There are pros and cons to each of these things, but they will all most certainly save you money!

You can find just about anything you can think of in good condition and for a discounted price.
Bonus savings if you start selling second hand as well!

Before I make any purchase over $15 or so, I make a quick Facebook Marketplace search.

Last week I was going to buy a new package of 10 wooden hangers for $10.
I checked Facebook Marketplace and ended up getting 48 brand new wooden hangers for $20.
60% Savings! 

 

5. Stop Impulse Buys!

The other day I was out shopping with my husband (at a consignment shop might I add) when I saw a great play gym I know our son would just love!

Does he already have two perfectly good play gyms at home that he loves?
Yes.
Am I lucky to have a husband that reminds me not to impulsively buy things?
Absolutely yes!

So like with most things my husband or I want but don’t need, we knew it would be best to wait and see if I still thought it was a good idea.

We have a rule when shopping:
For most things we come across that we want, we wait a certain amount of time before purchasing it.
During that time the item has to be put back!

The time we wait varies depending on how large of a purchase it would be and how useful it would be if we were to get it.

For example: a spiffy new pair of cleaning gloves I may wait the rest of my shopping trip before deciding if it is worth going all the way back to that area of the store to get them.
For my hubby, a new toolset may wait for two weeks.
A new TV: a month or more.

By simply giving ourselves time to evaluate we save money in two ways!

One: It stops us from buying things we would later discover we don’t need.
And two: It gives us the opportunity to shop around a bit for that item and possibly get a better deal elsewhere.

 

Implementing These Money-Saving Tips:

Now that you have gone through 5 ways to save money this month, how can you start using them in a way that you will stick to it?

Changing habits is difficult. Start with a goal and a time frame.

For some of you that will be implementing all of these tips for 3 weeks. For others, a better goal would be two or three of these money-saving tips for a month.

Figure out what works for you and start building your savings from there!