There has never been a better time to discover ways to save money and prepare for the future. So after an internet polling, these are the top-voted easiest ways for you to save money.
1. Cook Your Own Food
“Nothing will save as much money as always eating from home. If you dine in a restaurant in the U.S., $20 is not a $20 meal. There are tips, there are taxes, and there are drink fees,” shared one.
Another added, “You’ll never get out of the restaurant for less than $30. You’ll have to earn $45 to get that $30 in your paycheck. Looking at the big picture, a $20 meal costs you $45 of your labor. You can afford the best ingredients when you eat at home, and it will always be less expensive than dining out.”
Popular Reading: 14 High Paying Jobs Nobody Wants to Actually Do
2. Don’t Buy Every Nice Thing You Want
“Don’t give in to every impulse to buy nice things. For example, my wife and I could drive much nicer cars. But we’ve chosen to drive ‘below our means,’ which is a significant amount when you don’t have a car payment,” shared another.
3. Deposit Money for Monthly Expenses in a Separate Account
“List your monthly expenses (rent, mortgage, utilities, insurance, gas, groceries) and deposit that into a separate bank account. Then, use that account to pay your bills,” one stated.
“It’s better to put an extra $100 monthly in that account if something goes up, like gas or rent. So if your monthly expenses are $1000, put $1100 in that bank account.
And save the rest of the money that doesn’t go toward expenses. Leave only a small amount in your checkings to eat out and buy whatever you fancy.”
4. Don’t Have Children Until You’re Financially Able
One person volunteered, “Don’t have children until you are financially able. It might sound awful, but it can take upwards of $250,000 to raise a single child, and many people don’t think about it. There are expenses like food, clothes, toys, education, transportation, housing, etc.”
5. Don’t Always Buy Brand Name
“The easiest way to save money without changing your lifestyle is to buy off-brand food. For example, why spend three dollars on cookies when you could purchase off-brand cookies for $1.50?
For some things, the quality of the brand name may be worth it, but sometimes off-brand stuff can even be better than name-brand,” shared one.
“Around a year ago, I discovered that a local soda brand makes better diet cola than Pepsi or Coca-Cola and is also less than a quarter of the price for to liter. So, I’ve saved almost $1000 on diet cola alone just from buying the off-brand stuff in the past year.”
6. Delete Subscriptions You Don’t Use
Someone exclaimed, “Get rid of any unnecessary subscriptions! I recently looked at what services I’m using and got rid of Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Xbox Game Pass… I rarely use any of them. So that’s $40+ saved every month right there.”
7. Stay At Home
“As dull of an answer as it is, you must stay home,” one replied. “Sitting at home doesn’t cost much money (it might cost you more gas and power bills), but leaving the house costs a lot comparatively. Whether you’re spending money on gas for your car, partying with friends, or just eating, it adds up quickly,” another explained.
8. Create a Separate Savings Account
“Set a regular transfer from your checking to your savings. Determine how much you need to keep in the checking account and arrange a monthly transfer. Every modern bank has the option to do that.
It doesn’t have to be a lot, just what you can easily do. Once you get your feet under you, get a brokerage account and do the same monthly transfer,” one shared.
Popular Reading: 20 Surprising Jobs That Pay $100,000+ Per Year
9. Find Hobbies that Don’t Cost Money
Another added, “Video games make for an excellent time-to-money ratio hobby if you find something you can play for a long time without a subscription. Between that and sailing the seven seas for all your movies, anime, and TV, you can spend very little on entertainment.”
10. Save Money to Make Saving Easier
“Having some money helps when saving money. Getting a cushion fund makes it easier to make better long-term savings, instead of buying what you can afford now, but that costs more in the long run,” a final user commented.
We hope you enjoyed this Reddit-suggested list of helpful tips to save money. This article is inspired by the internet and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Wealthy Nickel.
