You might be saying to yourself that it’s impossible to save money painlessly, it always involves effort and cutting back on things. Yet deep down, that really isn’t the case. You can save money withminimal effort, while also leading a happier and healthier life! Try out some of these ideas and see how painless saving money can be.
Set Aside Money, Cleverly
Most peopleget their paycheque, pay bills first, then figure out what’s needed for groceries; and the rest either sits in your wallet until you need it, or goes into the savings account. Instead of spending that left over money, or sticking it all in the bank and use it when it’s needed – take just a few dollars, even between $5 and $20 depending on how much you can give up, and put it in an empty cleaned out wine bottle for an entire year. Why a wine bottle? Because in order to get at that money out, you need to break the bottle, and that will be one big mess you that you’d rather not deal with. Trust me, an envelope in the sock drawer is just too tempting! This bottle will be for emergencies only, or if you don’t need it during the year, gift money for the holidays or something else that you’re saving for! You will be thankful that you did this when you need to keep what you have in savings, but still need to buy something at some point during the year, It truly is painless and takes just a few seconds.
Meal Plan or Pack A Lunch
Your grocery bill might be the biggest bill of them all some months, especially with little ones around {or 3 like we have}. Kidsseem to just eat and eat and then eat some more … ok, adults too. One way to save money is to plan out your meals for the week, and while it may seen daunting, it’s totally worth it. For each day, write down what you and your family will eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Include any special occasions. Once this is done, hunt through your pantry, fridge and freezer; and make yourgrocery list with the items still needed for those meals. This allows you to get exactly what you need and no more, so that extra items and items that might go bad before you eat them, are left out of the cart and off of the bill.
You can also pack lunches for everyone instead of going out for lunch or buying it from the cafeteria. Plan for those busy days of activity accordingly, and utilize those leftovers so you aren’t hitting a drive-thru as a last resort. If you plan your meals and pack lunches, many families of 4+ find that they can save over $25 a day by doing this and that is a lot of money being put back into savings!
Make Coffee At Home & Stop Eating Out
These are pretty straight forward ways of saving money. Cut down on those quick stops for items you have at home –and start making them at home. There are many gourmet coffees available that are cheaper and taste just as good as the ones in the store. Just think, $4 (on average) a day for coffee doesn’t seem like much, but that’s $28 a week, and over $1,400 a year that you could be saving!
Eating out is another culprit of money wasting. Meal planning and packing lunches as mentioned above can help with this. Instead of coming home from a long day and just wanting to spend the $30 on takeout for the family to get it done and over with, you can have a pre-prepped meal ready to heat up and eat, saving you tons of money and stress each year. During this time your slow cooker is your best friend, so prepare your meal on those busy days so that it’s ready when you walk in the door.
Unplug Your Technology
We as a society have grown very attached to our technology; phones, TVs, computers, tablets, gaming systems, as well as regular items such as lights. But do you ever unplug those items? Do you realize how much you are paying for electricity for chargers that aren’t plugged into a device being useful 100% of the time? Use power barsin your outlets, and unplug the strip when you leave the house. I’ve even gotten into the habit of unplugging the small kitchen appliances whenever they are not in use. Doing these things can save a large sum of money every month for the average family.
What are some other simple, painless ways that you can save money?
