We all want to save money, as much as we can, but don’t want to sacrifice or feel restricted. We work hard and want to enjoy the fruits of our labor. The question is how can you easily make simple changes to save you big bucks?
These money saving tips and frugal living ideas will allow you to pay off debt faster, start an emergency fund, go on a vacation, save for retirement and more! You are in the drivers seat of what you want to use your savings for.
Start Slowly
My #1 tip is to start slowly. Just like a diet, it’s easy to be all-in at the beginning. But DO NOT try to make it happen overnight or you will feel deprived and become less likely to keep at it. Or worse, will binge all at once-aaak! Pick one or two of the following ideas, get used to it and then pick another one or two. Over time, this will add up to huge savings.
Watch how I save just over $3500 EVERY YEAR!!!
Get Cash Back
The first and easiest thing to do is start using Rakuten for automatic cash back on things from places like Amazon, Chapters Indigo, David’s Tea, Etsy, JustFab, Disney+, Knix, La Senza, Lululemon, gift cards and so much more! It’s super simple to use. Just go to their website and click the store you want to purchase from and you’ll automatically earn cash back. A couple new features they just started are in-store cash back and a browser extension so you don’t miss any cash back opportunities. I just got this cheque for $56.18!
RESULT: This year I saved $121.20 as a single female on a budget.
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Canada right here & US right here
Same Stuff Cheaper
I am a huge fan of dollar stores. My 2 favorites are Dollarama and Dollartree. They carry the exact same name brand products that you would buy at the pharmacy or grocery store. But, at a fraction of the cost. Some examples include Batiste dry shampoo, Voortmans cookies & wafers, Rubbermaid food storage containers, Hallmark cards & wrapping paper, Ricola cough drops, Ziplock bags and so much more.
Another option is to go from name brand to generic. Many of the name brand products we buy have no name or generic alternatives for a few bucks less. It may only be $2 here and $2 there but it can add up over time.
RESULT: Let’s say you swap out a few items each week for the generic version and also save money getting some of the same brand name stuff at the dollar store for a total of $8 a week savings. That adds up to $416 a year!
Cleaning Supplies
Lysol, Pinesol, Windex, Fantastic, Clorox, Tilex, Mr. Clean, Vim and so many more brands have made millions of dollars a year from selling cleaning products. There is a HUGE markup on these products consisting mostly of water to dilute the chemical cleanser. Why not save money, buy a concentrate that you dilute yourself and reuse your existing spray bottle?
Another option is to DIY your cleaning supplies? Simple ingredients such as vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, lemon, baking soda, etc. can be used instead to make your own cleansers. There are tons of recipes online to guide you. Again, take the slow approach, start with 1 and continue to make alternatives as your existing supplies get used up.
Instead of using swiffer cloths and paper towels which are expensive, you can use cut up old sheets, old towels or reusable microfiber that you can wash and reuse over and over.
Lastly, you can replace dryer sheets with balls of aluminum foil. They can be re-used for months and not only eliminate the static cling but also help keep your clothes separated which in turn speeds up the drying time by 40%.
The best part is not only will these 4 things save you money but you will also be helping the environment. Talk about killing 2 birds with 1 stone. It’s an absolute win-win!
RESULT: Let’s say you only replace 1 cleanser and 1 package of swiffer cloths/paper towels or dryer sheets. This will save $15 each month. That adds up for a total of $180 a year!
Instant pot and go
I get it. There’s never enough time in your day. So, where are you supposed to find time to meal prep and cook every night. But, what if you could throw all the ingredients in a pot and have it ready, nice and hot when you walk in the door?
I got my mom this instant pot for Xmas last year and she has gotten so much value from it. Not only is it super easy to use and program, but there are a ton of recipes online and cookbooks to keep the variety going. It is programmable and is 7 appliances in 1. A pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, saute, yogurt maker and warmer. It prepares food up to 70% faster and is dishwater safe to save you even more time.
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Another option, and the one I use, is a crockpot. Same concept but not as many options but it makes my life so, so, much easier for me. I love the variety of dishes I can make, how easy the clean up is and best of all, saves me time cooking and cleaning!
With both of these options, you can make recipes in larger batches and freeze the leftovers for lunches during the week. I also like that I can reduce food waste. By making a soup or stew with food in my fridge that is about to go off, some stock and rice or pasta, I’m no longer throwing out rotten food every week.
RESULT: Here, let’s say I save $10 in wasted food a week and $10 a week eating a frozen leftover instead of eating out. That adds up to $20 a week, $80 a month and a total of $960 a year!
Raise your car insurance deductible
This option is available to everyone. However, depending on your confidence level of your driving skills and your comfort level with a bit more risk, you could save 20% by increasing your deductible from $200 to $500. I have been driving for over 20 years and only been in 1 accident that was deemed my fault (my car went sliding into oncoming traffic). So, for me it makes sense to raise my deductible and save that 20%.
RESULT: 20% of my $2000 premium is $400 a year!
Cut the cord
Subscription services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Hulu have now become the norm and even have their own original content. The best part is that they are all commercial free. These options are available for $5-10/m and it no longer makes sense to keep paying $50+ for cable tv. If there is a specific channels you can’t live without, you can stream just that channel by subscribing to it online.
RESULT: By removing cable tv $50 but getting Netflix and Amazon Prime $10 each, you save $30/m. That’s $360 per year!
If you’re not sure about Amazon Prime, you can try it FREE for a month by clicking here and signing up. This includes not just free 2 day shipping, but also Prime Video and Prime Music for less than $10/m!
Unplug & wear a sweater
Personally, I live in a small apartment and even I have noticed how much more expensive electricity has become. I can’t imagine what the monthly bill must be like for a house. However, there are a couple major things that you can do to control your electric bill.
The first is to unplug anything that you are not using. That does not mean just turning the appliance off. I mean physically unplugging it. I’m talking about your toaster, tv, cell phone charger, blender, speakers and so on. I know that it might seem like that won’t make a difference and it would be such a hassle. But the truth is that you can actually cut your bill in half JUST doing this.
The second thing you can do is to lower your your thermostat. It is estimated that you can save 10% by decreasing your thermostat by only a few degrees. So, grab a sweater, wear socks and slippers and use a heater to warm just one room instead of the whole house.
RESULT: I will lowball this estimate and say you save $15 a month by slowly getting used to unplugging and decreasing the thermostat by only 1 degree. That adds up to $180 a year!
Lower your tax bill
Who doesn’t want to keep more money in their pocket instead of giving it to the government to pay their tax bill? So, what’s the easiest way to decrease how much tax you have to pay? Start a business.
Now, stick with me here because you will be shocked how simple it is. You don’t have to spend a ton of money to start a business. There are other options available and any business venture will work. But, if you’ve ever thought about starting a blog, now is the time!
It will cost about $5 a month for your hosting. So, it will cost you $60 a year. However, with a business, you can write off not just those hosting fees but because you are working from home, you can also write off a portion of your rent (or mortgage interest), home insurance, electricity, cell phone, internet and more.
RESULT: Start any home based business and you can easily save $1000 a year in taxes!
Conclusion
As you can see, I easily save over $3500 a year with these super simple steps and you can too!
What’s your plan to save money on everyday things?
Related:
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How to easily save $1000 in taxes every year
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