Like the rest of us, you work extremely hard for your money. And so it only makes sense that you want to find ways to keep as much of your hard-earned money in your hands as possible. You know there are ways to save money fast, and you also are looking for other money hacks that can save you thousands.
You also have important financial goals you want to achieve that heavily rely on your ability to better save and manage your money.
Generally speaking, the more money you save, the faster and more likely you are to reach your goals. Regardless of what they are. Saving your money also comes with a sense of pride and empowerment, which can lead to further motivation for additional goals.
So then you’ve made it a mission of yours to work hard at saving more money whether through building a free financial plan or through making more money to save from gig economy apps. But knowing what to do next when it comes to finding ways to save money isn’t always as straightforward as it should be. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve worked on compiling 21 easy, effective, and proven money hacks that you can start using almost immediately to help you save thousands of dollars.
1. Build a free financial plan
Let’s talk about financial goals. How can you have financial goals without a financial plan? A financial plan can be considered the north star of your current and future financial picture. It’s there to guide you through your decision-making, and show you what moves you can and should be making next.
One of the best parts of a true financial plan is that it’s holistic, and covers every area of your financial life. By looking at your income, savings, investments, insurance, and even estate plans, you’ll uncover your financial strengths and weaknesses that will easily save you tens of thousands of dollars over the years.
Rather than paying anywhere from $500 upwards to $2000+, look for free alternatives like Savology. Thanks to Savology’s free financial planning platform, you can build a free, comprehensive financial plan in as little as five minutes.
2. Create and set a monthly budget
After you create your plan and review it, focus next on building a sound budget that you can stick to. Regardless of your preference (Excel spreadsheets, budgeting apps, or good old-fashioned pen and paper), make sure you plan for incoming deposits and outgoing monthly expenses. Once you’ve established your budget, try your best to stick to it.
For better results, try implementing a cash-only budget. This will really test your impulse spending habits. Now, not all of your expenses will work for this, but for most of your day-to-day expenses, they should. By paying for these with cash, you should be able to avoid the temptation of making impulse buys. It might be hard at first, but after some time passes you’ll be well on your way to saving thousands.
When consumers want to cut utility bills, they usually look at reducing usage. Another way to do this is by shopping for a new supplier. For example, natural gas in Georgia is deregulated. Consumers there can pick their gas supplier and cut their heating bill by picking the lowest rate.
You can create and set your monthly budget plan including all your expenses and the bills you need to pay. Try to cut down on the usage of some utilities or look for alternatives that are more cost-effective and budget-friendly. Setting your budget will help you avoid spending impulsively.
3. Automate your savings
By automating your monthly savings, you’ll feel instant relief knowing that your money is being put to good use immediately. Set up an automatic transfer or split a direct deposit to correspond with every payday. The real trick here is just getting started — even if you are only able to save $20 from every paycheck, that’s still $20 more than you were saving before. You can work on increasing the amount after, getting the foundation and system in place is your priority.
4. Try out a no-spend challenge
The best way to save your money? Not spending it at all. Pick one week, or even month if you can, in your calendar and challenge yourself to not spend a single dime. If you want to make this challenge ‘fun’, encourage your friends to get involved so that you can challenge and support one another. Keep in mind that it’s next to impossible to avoid spending entirely as you’ll have bills to pay, but pick one or two spending categories and challenge yourself with avoiding spending in those areas.
For best results, keep any cards or cash out of sight and out of reach. Deposit any cash you have lying around, and either hide or even freeze your credit cards right before the challenge. Yes… freeze them.
5. Put any extra funds into your savings account
Finding an extra $5, $10, or even $20 in your jean pocket or on your car floor feels like you hit the jackpot. Instead of spending the extra money you just found, make a better decision and put that money away into a savings account. Sure, it’s a very tiny amount, but over time it adds up and can end up easily being a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars that you would have otherwise spent. By funneling additional funds into your savings plan, you can grow your nest egg or even vacation fund faster.
If you are a home owner, you know that there is essential home maintenance projects throughout the year. So, putting extra funds aside can help prevent you from putting money on your credit cards, incurring interest costs.
6. Don’t keep up with the Joneses
Keeping up with the Joneses is dangerous to your financial well-being. It can have you spending money that you don’t even have in your accounts yet. This is a sure way to stack on the debt. Instead of worrying about what others around you are spending their money on, remain clear with your goals and stay focused on your values.
Look to your financial plan and budget to help guide your spending the decisions you’re making with your money. Everyone will have different needs and items they have to spend their money on, so comparing this with others would already be inaccurate and unnecessary.
7. Say no to emotional spending
We’ve all been there before. We have a bad day, so we treat ourselves to something that helps us feel better. However, trying to encourage positive behavior through impulse spending doesn’t solve the problem. Instead, try refocusing your energy and feelings toward other positive behaviors that don’t get in the way of your financial plan or savings goal. Go for a walk, exercise, read a book, watch a funny show or money. Avoid the temptation of purchasing something to fix your emotional state.
Although the feeling of buying something new can instantly lift someone’s mood, there are other ways of getting the same feel-good kick without spending one cent on it. Focus on resolving the cause of the problem instead of trying to mask it by throwing money at it.
8. Wait 72 hours before purchasing something
The 72-hour is a game-changer. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s both simple and extremely effective. The next time you’re considering making an impulse purchase, pause and give yourself 72 hours to think about your purchase. There’s a good chance that after 72 hours you’ve already forgotten about why you wanted to make the purchase in the first place, saving yourself hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. If it’s something you need to buy, look around for specials and, during the 72 hours, find the most cost-effective solution for adding this item to the budget.
9. Get rid of your high-interest debts right away
High-interest, revolving debts like credit cards are slowly but surely killing your financial plan and getting in the way of your ability to save. Instead, your hard-earned money is going towards interest payments that end up being extremely costly. By paying down your debt, you can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in interest over time. When you’re working on paying off these types of debts, focus on your accounts that have the highest interest and start paying those down first. Once you’ve finished paying one-off, work on the account with the second-highest interest, then keep going.
10. Pay down your remaining debts with Savvy
Savvy is a debt payoff method and planner that helps get you out of debt entirely by taking baby steps. Savvy comes with unique features that help you automate your budget to help remove any complexity when it comes to managing your debt. The best part is that Savvy makes paying down debt and conquering your finances fun.
11. Reduce or completely eliminate dining out
Alright, this one can be a really big ask for some people, but it’s also something that can have an immediate impact on your finances and your monthly savings rate. By eliminating just one day a week from dining out, you can easily save anywhere from $30 to $100, depending of course on where you eat, with you, and if you’re getting sides or drinks with that as well. Instead of eating out, get in the habit of making home-cooked meals and meal-prepping even one day a week. You can also consider other home projects to help save you money. For example, you could reduce your energy costs through saving techniques or you could improve water efficiency to lower your water bill.
12. Make a list before grocery shopping
It sounds silly, but it works. How many times have you gone to the grocery store without a list, only to find yourself grabbing items impulsively off the shelves? Personally, I’ve done it one too many times.
Now, I always write down everything I need to get me through the week and if I happen to see a few items that I didn’t have on my list, I might just get those as wells. Having a list keeps me focused, helps me stick to my budget, and also saves me time from having to go down every single aisle.
13. Second-hand for the win
Shopping second-hand is one of the best ways to save money on everyday items and clothing. This means that your dollar will go much further. The best part is that by doing a little research you can find second-hand items that are in just as good condition as new. I’d recommend exploring places like garage sales, thrift stores, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist for items you need.
Not all second-hand items will look like they’re from the dollar store. Shopping around could mean a person finding bargain buys that seem brand new. Just be careful of scammers who want a down payment or payment upfront before you have even seen the item.
14. Do your research and compare prices.
Before you rush down to the store or click checkout when you’re looking to buy something online, spend some time looking for alternatives and different places that carry the same product. Additionally, don’t forget to check for coupons if you’re shopping online. I almost always do a quick Google search that looks something like ‘
available discount codes. Not every search ends up resulting in a discount, but I’ve had the fair share that has earned me an additional 15%, 20%, and even 25% off.The same applies when it comes to research things like insurance, mortgages, or other finance-related services.
Ask yourself this. Would you spend a few minutes, maybe even a few hours if you knew it could save yourself a few hundred or a few thousand dollars? I know I would, and I do.
15. Borrow items instead of buying new.
I get it, there’s something nice about taking ownership of items that you might have a need for. But you know what else is nice? Saving that money if it’s something you don’t actually need or only have a need for a few times a year.
For items that you don’t need to own to enjoy or use, borrow from friends, family, or any neighborhood resources. A prime example is libraries. There are still so many people that go out and purchase books only to either read them once or let them collect dust. Instead, rent that book out at your local library if they carry it. Also, most libraries these days will have access to technology resources as well which can include things like laptops, tablets, and even microphones if you’re recording anything with audio.
16. Cancel or bundle your subscriptions
How many channels from your 300+ cable package are you actually watching? Quickly review and audit to see if you’re able to downgrade or even cancel your package altogether. Instead, you can likely save money every month by switching to popular streaming and subscription services like Netflix, HBO, Disney+, or Amazon Prime.
On that note, you should also check to see if there is any way of improving your current cell phone plan. Consider switching to a plan with the lowest amount of minutes that you’ll need and use. If you’re on a postpaid plan, reduce your monthly data limits. If you find yourself continually battling overage charges, set an automatic calendar reminder to check your minute or data usage.
17. Watch out for “phantom energy”
Phantom energy might be a new term to you. This is something that I recently discovered and have been following since. Phantom energy is the slow draining of energy that comes from keeping your appliances and tools plugged in. Instead of plugging them indirectly, plug your most-used devices into a power switch and flip off the strip’s switch whenever you’re not using the appliances. After doing this for a month or two, pay close attention to your utility bill to see if there are any differences in your cost and energy utilization. It’s also an eco-friendly way of saving a few dollars here and there.
18. Reevaluate your memberships, especially the gym
Do you have a membership to your local golf course? What about an event or networking group? And lastly, what about the gym?
Now’s your time to really take a good moment to audit those memberships. If you’re not getting your money’s worth and can attend events, or get a round of golf in by paying a fraction of the cost, then cancel them.
When it comes to the gym, only join one or remain a member if you’re confident that you’ll use the membership regularly. Keep in mind that there are endless free fitness opportunities, including running, walking, and cycling in your local neighborhood.
19. Monitor your bank account fees.
It’s easy to avoid paying attention to the fees you’re paying. In fact, I’d take a wild guess and assume that more than 50% of people are not aware of the monthly or annual fees they’re currently paying.
Yet, it’s one of the easiest things you can keep tabs on and even control. Your monthly account fees from your bank accounts can draw down your balance by small amounts over an extended period of time. While they’re often low, they end up adding up throughout the year and can cost you more than a few hundred dollars.
I’d recommend checking in with your bank to not only understand your fees better but to see how you can either get better rates or waive your fees entirely.
20. Look for vacation savings online
Again, this one comes down to spending a few hours and doing research. The next time you’re planning and preparing for a vacation and are looking for deals on flights and accommodations, consider using sites like Airbnb, Google Flights, and even Kayak to help you find deals and save money.
21. Choose a high-interest bank account.
Last but not least, choose a bank account that works on your side when it comes to the interest you receive. Keep in mind that online banks often offer higher interest rates than traditional brick-and-mortar banks. Having a high-interest bank account is a great way to grow your money while you sleep, helping you to meet your financial goals even faster. I’d recommend using a high-interest bank account for your emergency fund or sinking fund.
