Everyone wants to save. Some want to save thousands, others, just to save a small amount. There are literally hundreds of ways to save money. Some are common, others are not.
This list won’t go through ones you’ve probably heard. Everyone knows ones like shop around for the best deals, or stop purchasing your morning latte.
I’m not saying their bad, certainly use them, it is simply that you probably haven’t heard of these!
1. Change your physical shopping location
You have probably heard every other finance blog say something like “Change the place that you shop at, instead of using X shop, use X wholesaler and see the savings!”
This is good advice. But, you don’t have to sacrifice normality for a few extra dollars (well, you might, just not from this!)
Change the store you shop at, not the company. For some of you, this may be difficult, especially if you live somewhere, where there is only a few supermarkets.
However, if you are able to. Shop around the same company, just in different chains.
Near where I live, there are three Tesco’s (a large British supermarket chain). The one closest to my house, is actually the most expensive in the local area.
By shopping around (and using some “quick maths” as my son calls it), I was able to determine that the shop the furthest away from my house was actually the cheapest.
This is one of the best ways to save money, as yes, it is a little time consuming at times, but you can get better savings at the same time!
2. Start your own coin collection
Do you want to know a fun fact about the Rothschilds? They have a massive coin collection, collected over hundreds of years.
This probably seems strange, after all, you are trying to save money, so that you can invest or go on that perfect holiday. Your not trying to start a coin collection.
But think again.
By calling it a ‘coin collection’, you are tricking your brain into thinking that your coins are valuable, and therefore you can’t spend them, without kicking yourself for it later.
So, take out your wallet, and empty all of your coins (and maybe some notes) into a jar. Everyday, come home and do the same. Day in, day out.
Hide the jar somewhere safe. After a few months, come back to it. Count all of the money you have put aside, trust me, it accrues really quickly!
This is one of the best ways to save money, as it is not only a trick on your mind, but is a great feeling once you count all of that money! You never realize you have that much spare change!
3. Sin jar
This is one of my personal favorite ways to save money, as we all have that one irritating habit.
Whether it’s overreacting, procrastinating or excessive worrying. You need to find your bad habit!
You may not like it, but doing this can actually help to kill two birds with one proverbial stone. It’s one of the best ways to save money, and one of the best ways to kick your bad habit to the curb!
Get a jar, and label it “[Your bad habit] jar”. Everytime you catch yourself doing your bad habit, you have to financially punish yourself. Each time you catch yourself doing it, you need to put a predesignated amount (something like $1 works) in this jar.
After a while, you will have saved enough money, and kicked your bad habit! It’s a win-win!
4. Get rid of your social media intake!
Personally, I don’t really understand the allure of social media, but, I do use it, especially for Finance Friday’s Instagram page.
This may sound like some old-timer ranting about “Back in my day!” and yes, you would be partially correct, until you realize I am only in my thirties.
Getting rid of your social media intake is one of the best ways to save money, as it allows you to focus, not on the latest celebrity news, but the latest financial news.
This in turn allows you to focus on saving more, investing more and eliminating your debt!
This is one of the best ways to save money, as it allows you to do the rest of the things on this list, whilst also not cutting you off from the rest of society! Which is apparently very anti-social…
5. Batch cooking
This is one of the best ways to save money, especially if you love to cook!
Batch cooking is where you cook a large meal once, and eat all of it over the next few days. There are a bunch of foods you can use this with, but mince meat is one of my favorite!
This is because you can do a chili with it one night, spaghetti bolognese the next and then lasagna the next! However, this is merely my personal preference, here is a list of best foods for batch cooking.
6. Games!!
I am a big fan of games, whether it is making investing, making a budget or saving, a game. Use everything on this list, but instead of just stopping there and repeating it each month.
Do it differently.
You saved $500 this month? Good! Now try to save $550! You saved $1000 this month? Great! Now save $1600, or even better, save $1700!
This is personally one of the best ways to save money- not only are you constantly searching for the best deals, you are trying to beat last month’s best!
You can even do this on a daily basis! You saved 50 cents today? Good! Now save 55 cents tomorrow!
7. Cut down entertainment
This is by far one of my favorite ways to save, if not my absolute favorite. This is kind of a two in one package here.
Not only can you cut down on your consumption of entertainment, as you can with your social media, but also, you can cut down your entertainment bills.
Chances are, that you have a cable package, Netflix subscription, Apple Tv, and perhaps more! Think about it this way: which one could you get rid of and it wouldn’t be the end of the world?
Then get rid of that one. And no, you don’t need all three, at least not really. Not only does it save you money, but it also saves you time, going through everything trying to get rid of it!
8. Use the library
What? Are you a dinosaur?
Sadly, no I am not a dinosaur, I am quite human thanks for asking (although being a dinosaur would be amazing!)
It’s often said that the rich read, and is one of the 7 steps to becoming a millionaire!
Naturally, if you’re trying to save money, you probably don’t like the idea of spending money on books. Instead, get a library card, they’re usually free, and you can get access to thousands of books for free!
When I was fourteen, I got a library card, and took out one of my most favorite books, ever– 1000 ways to make $1000. This book changed my life, and it not only gives an insight into how to make money, but also ways to save money too!
This is one of my favourite ways to save money as it is the best of both worlds. You get access to free finance books, and get them for free!
9. Buy a second fridge/freezer
But isn’t the aim of this to save money, not spend it?
Yes, it is. But it’s this small (well, maybe not so small) spend that will help you to save so much money in the future!
You probably don’t want to keep throwing food away. So why not make it last longer?
Next time you go shopping (shopping at a different store to the one you usually do, but still the same company), buy a few more bits. When you get home, put them in your fridge. They last many times longer!
Soon, you will probably need a new fridge or freezer (or both!) So go out and buy one! By doing this, not only are you doing one of the best ways to save money, but you are also preparing for hard times!
10. Car-sharing
You’ve probably heard of Uber. Uber and car sharing are very similar in many ways, but are also polar opposites in others.
Car-sharing is probably one of the best ways to save money out there!
It is essentially where you share your commute with several other people, and you all chip in for things like fuel, tax, insurance etc.!
By doing this, you can save thousands each month!
This is certainly one of the more creative ways to save money, and I personally think it is a better alternative to Uber! Although, just like Uber, certain car-sharing services are not available in certain countries, so you’ll have you check the company’s website first!
Have you got any other creative ways to save money? Why are they creative? Tell me in the comments!
