How much would you love to hit ALL of your savings goals?  We dream of having enough in savings that we don’t have to worry if one of our homestead revenue streams falls short for a few months or even the year. The only way to do this is by finding great ways to save money.

 

Of course, when that happens, I will probably just come up with new savings goals to strive towards.  If you already understand how to start saving money then you have a good foundation to hit all of your money saving goals.  

Once you have figured out how much you need to save with savings calculators.  You now need to find figure out what some easy ways to save money are. If you are looking for some easy ways to save money, there are SO many different easy money saving tips that you can follow.

So, what are some ways to save money?

Check out these 20 ways to save money

1.Make your own coffee instead of buying at places like Starbucks. 

For real, Starbucks is not cheap.  If you buy Starbucks at $5 a pop even just once a week you could be saving $260 a year! Talk about an easy way to save money fast!

If you feel really attached to your fancy coffee, you can still make your own for a fraction of the price.  We have this cute espresso maker which is reasonably priced.

 

2. Try store brand instead of more expensive brand names. 

One of the 20 ways to save money that I use is to give generics a shot instead of brand name items. Many times generics are just as good as brand names, but much cheaper.

(If you really love a certain brand, think about getting started couponing so you can buy that brand and still save money! Couponing in itself is a great way to save money.)

3. Stay organized. 

One of the ways to help save money is to make sure you have things in order!  If you are not organized you may be giving money up – late fees for bills you miss due dates on, expired food.

 

I use a system of budgeting spreadsheets, Google Calendar reminders and to-do lists to stay organized.

4. Make shopping lists.  

You may be wondering how making a shopping list is one of the ways to help save money.  But it is!

When you have a shopping list you are more likely to stick with what you plan to buy and not buy extra things running up a higher total.  I ALWAYS have a notebook next to me to make sure I write things down.

Also, making shopping lists is one of the great ways to save money on gas and also to save time.  If you write down all the things you need, you’re less likely to forget things and have to make multiple trips to the store.  For us that can sometimes mean a 2 hour round trip into town!

 

5. Turn off the lights.  

This is one of the super easy ways to save money.  When you leave a room, turn off the lights to save money on electricity.  There are also lots of other ways to save on electricity.

 

6. Dial down (or up) your thermostat.  

Use fans and turn up your thermostat in the summer.  Bundle up and turn down the thermostat in the winter.  This way you can save money one your heating and cooling bill.

This is one of the great ways to help save money because you use less electricity and therefore spend less each month.

 

7. Use EVERYTHING.  

Using everything is one of the big 20 ways to save money that I use.

Don’t waste anything, this is a great way to save money.  I cut open my mayo and mustard containers to make sure I get to use ALL of the products.

8. Ditch the paper towels.

One of the (possibly) scarier ways to save money is stop using paper towels.  Just use washable and reuseable hand towels.

9. Don’t eat out at restaurants and fast food.  

This is one of the super easy ways to save money fast if you are eating out a lot.  Eating out is SO much more expensive than shopping from the grocery store and making your own food.

10. Walk Instead of Drive.

This likely isn’t possible to always do, but it is one of the great ways to save money.  If you are going somewhere close by, save the gas money and just walk.  It will save you money and be good for your health.

 

11. Don’t pay late fees or convenience fees.  

A small $2 convenience fee seems minimal, right?  And maybe it is.  However, in the grand scheme of things, if you are paying several of these convenience and late fees each month they can REALLY start to add up.

We set up automatic billing on all of our monthly bills that we can – they usually actually give a small discount for doing this and you won’t ever forget and end up with late fees.  Plus, it saves a lot of time too!  So this is really a great way to save money that is so simple.

12. Cut out cable.  

This might be the top tip in my 20 ways to save money.

We gave up cable about 6 years ago.  I was really hesitant at first, I liked surfing through channels until I found something that I wanted to watch.

 

But, our cable bill was well over $100 per month!  This is an easy ways to save money fast- a lot of money – with minimal loss.

We now use a few streaming services like  Amazon Video (free with  Amazon Prime ) and pay WAY less to watch TV.

 

13. Get rid of things you don’t use.  

Extra things take up space, they may be using money to sit around also.

 

Even if they aren’t actively using money sitting around, you can make some money selling them an save that extra money.

14. Don’t buy new things that aren’t a necessity.

It can sometimes be easy to think, oh this -shirt, knick knack, cool electronic, even a candy bar at the gas station – is pretty cheap and looks WAY cool.

 

And so you buy it, but you don’t need it.  Save the money and don’t buy things that you don’t need.

15. Keep up with routine maintenance items.  

This is one of the huge ways to save money that is often overlooked.  And, I will admit, sometimes life gets in the way and I put these things off too.

Like getting my oil changed, I’m not even going to mention how many miles I am overdue!  However, if you do keep up with routine maintenance items like oil changes, filter changes and the like it will help those items perform better (saving money) and also help them last longer (also saving money).

16. Don’t carry a balance – so you don’t pay interest.  

Interest can really sneak up on you and not paying it is one of the ways to help save money.  It seems like a small percentage, right?

And then you get a bigger and bigger balance and that small percentage really starts to add up!

To put this into perspective, if you are paying only $10 a month in interest, over a year that is $120!  That is a decent amount of money that really doesn’t need to be spent at all.

17. Unplug when not in use.

Pretty simple, unplug your electronics when you aren’t using them.  This will help save you money on your electricity bill.

 

18. Shop sales & Stock up.  

We regularly shop sales (and do some significant couponing – Learn how to coupon with the Couponing for Beginners Planner).  When you find a great deal, stock up on that item!

Right now, we have about 100 boxes of pasta sitting in the kitchen cabinets!  We got it for dirt cheap and now we don’t have to worry about paying full price for it later.

Stockpiling is a great way to help save money.

19. Negotiate Prices.  

Although not all prices will be negotiable, some are!  Many times there will be flexibility in the advertised price of an item.  So, see if you can’t get it for a little cheaper.

20. Barter.  

Bartering is awesome because you get rid of something you didn’t want or need (or you give some of your time) and you get something you want or need in return.  We love local honey, but it is really expensive.  However, we had some available chickens (we have a small farm) and we were able to barter those chickens for a bunch of local honey.

These 20 ways to save money can help you build up your savings, work towards a goal (like a vacation) or just help you keep your budget balanced.

What are some ways to save money that you use?

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