When you are struggling to make ends meet, saving can seem an impossible goal. Even on the barest of budgets, there are ways to keep your money in your pocket longer. Start by saving money shopping. Coupons, deals and discounts are widely available and can save you time and effort, too!
Here are 5 easy, but often overlooked budget tweaks for starters:
1) Shop at your local $1 dollar store
Dollar stores can be a goldmine of bargains for everyday items. Sandwich bags, paper towels, trash bags, toiletries, and even groceries can be purchased for only $1 a piece. You’ll just have to skip the brand name items…you don’t need to stock your shelves with expensive stuff when the cheaper version will do just fine. Many of your cleaning products as well as hundreds of other everyday items can be purchased at dollar stores for a fraction of what you’d pay in a grocery or drug store.
2) Take advantage of sales, coupons and specials
Set aside a little time to each week to plan your shopping trip. Go through the circulars, take advantage of coupons and specials. Cut paper coupons, download digital coupons to your smartphone, or print fro m online.
To make things quicker and easier, try these online coupon sites:
- Coupons.com-coupons to print or use online
- TheKrazyCouponLady.com-Always something new to help you save!
- https://www.RetailMeNot.com-Mostly discount codes and online deals)
- https://www.savings.com-Print coupons, they keep all your favorite store flyers on site for convenience.
- And don't forget to join a few cash-back sites for even bigger savings. There are 21 to start with here: https://moneypantry.com/best-cash-back-sites/
3) Brown bag your lunch.
Most of us don't pay much attention to the money we spend on our morning coffee or ordering lunch from the office-until we add it up! That's a huge chunk of your weekly budget being spent on things we could be bringing from home-for FREE! If you are stopping at the coffee shop on your way to work every day, and ordering takeout for lunch, STOP!! Save yourself $20 to $30 a week by bringing your own! Cook and freeze individual meals at home so you can take lunch with you. It's cheaper and healthier healthier then frozen or take-out.
4) Consider shopping online
Shop online and you will find bargains so huge, it would be foolish to NOT take advantage. Not only is it quicker and more convenient, but it offers a wider selection of products than physical stores.
Many people hesitate to make online purchases for fear of their personal information will fall into the wrong hands. Never fear! Even if you still don't trust, many credit card companies offer one-time-use card numbers which are destroyed upon completion of the transaction, so you don't have to have to put your real information out there. If your credit provider doesn't offer it, there are websites that do (PayPal is one). You can also find discount codes, digital coupons, free shipping offers and more for even bigger savings!
5) A simple one: Save your change
Every Night, dump all your change into a jar. You’ll be amazed at how fast change adds up to dollars! Some banks have machines that will count the change for you, so you don’t even have to roll it! At the end of the month, you should have a decent amount for a bank deposit.
Before we part, check out these personal finance blogs for more advice on earning, saving and spending!
- Clark Howard - Money expert & NY Times #1 best-selling author helps you save more, spend less and avoid rip-offs!
- Money Under 30 - "We understand the struggle; we’ve been there! Money Under 30 has everything you need to know about money, written by real people who’ve been there. This site was founded in 2006 by David Weliver, who dug himself out of more than $80,000 in debt in just three years. If you’re in over your head too, we can help!
- The Penny Hoarder - "The Penny Hoarder is one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. Our goal is to improve the lives of everyday folks by helping them spend less time worrying about their finances and more time enjoying their lives."
- Frugal Rules - "When I started Frugal Rules, my goal was to create a blog that would teach people how to make decisions that lead to a life of financial freedom. Today, the site has grown into an online community where a symphony of talented staff writers lend their voices to the topics of Attacking Debt, Investing, Frugality, Financial Products and Tools, Financial Literacy, and much more.
- Northern Cheapskate - "Our goal is to make frugality accessible for anyone looking to pay down debt, save money, and live better for less.
You see, frugality isn’t about deprivation. It’s about learning to make the most of what you’ve got."
Set aside a little time to each week to plan your shopping trip. Go through the circulars, take advantage of coupons and specials. Cut paper coupons, download digital coupons to your smartphone, or print fro m online.
To make things quicker and easier, try these online coupon sites:
- Coupons.com-coupons to print or use online
- TheKrazyCouponLady.com-Always something new to help you save!
- https://www.RetailMeNot.com-Mostly discount codes and online deals)
- https://www.savings.com-Print coupons, they keep all your favorite store flyers on site for convenience.
- And don't forget to join a few cash-back sites for even bigger savings. There are 21 to start with here: https://moneypantry.com/best-cash-back-sites/
Most of us don't pay much attention to the money we spend on our morning coffee or ordering lunch from the office-until we add it up! That's a huge chunk of your weekly budget being spent on things we could be bringing from home-for FREE! If you are stopping at the coffee shop on your way to work every day, and ordering takeout for lunch, STOP!! Save yourself $20 to $30 a week by bringing your own! Cook and freeze individual meals at home so you can take lunch with you. It's cheaper and healthier healthier then frozen or take-out.
4) Consider shopping online
Shop online and you will find bargains so huge, it would be foolish to NOT take advantage. Not only is it quicker and more convenient, but it offers a wider selection of products than physical stores.
Many people hesitate to make online purchases for fear of their personal information will fall into the wrong hands. Never fear! Even if you still don't trust, many credit card companies offer one-time-use card numbers which are destroyed upon completion of the transaction, so you don't have to have to put your real information out there. If your credit provider doesn't offer it, there are websites that do (PayPal is one). You can also find discount codes, digital coupons, free shipping offers and more for even bigger savings!
5) A simple one: Save your change
Every Night, dump all your change into a jar. You’ll be amazed at how fast change adds up to dollars! Some banks have machines that will count the change for you, so you don’t even have to roll it! At the end of the month, you should have a decent amount for a bank deposit.
Before we part, check out these personal finance blogs for more advice on earning, saving and spending!
- Clark Howard - Money expert & NY Times #1 best-selling author helps you save more, spend less and avoid rip-offs!
- Money Under 30 - "We understand the struggle; we’ve been there! Money Under 30 has everything you need to know about money, written by real people who’ve been there. This site was founded in 2006 by David Weliver, who dug himself out of more than $80,000 in debt in just three years. If you’re in over your head too, we can help!
- The Penny Hoarder - "The Penny Hoarder is one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. Our goal is to improve the lives of everyday folks by helping them spend less time worrying about their finances and more time enjoying their lives."
- Frugal Rules - "When I started Frugal Rules, my goal was to create a blog that would teach people how to make decisions that lead to a life of financial freedom. Today, the site has grown into an online community where a symphony of talented staff writers lend their voices to the topics of Attacking Debt, Investing, Frugality, Financial Products and Tools, Financial Literacy, and much more.
- Northern Cheapskate - "Our goal is to make frugality accessible for anyone looking to pay down debt, save money, and live better for less.
You see, frugality isn’t about deprivation. It’s about learning to make the most of what you’ve got."
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