Did you know there are ways you could start automatically cutting your monthly expenses over the next couple of hours? Ok, depending on what you’re doing right now, it might take a little longer than that, but there are steps you can easily take to lower your monthly expenses and potentially save >$2000 in one year. I was really impressed with these money saving tips and ideas. I have started saving so much money every month!
Money Saving Tips and Ideas
Shop for new car insurance
Personally, I went with the same car insurance payment for 2 years and never questioned whether I was getting the best deal. However, as I read more into money-saving tips, I saw this recommendation over and over again. Why? Because it works! When I finally decided to shop for quotes, I realized I was overpaying by $50/month! That $600 per year. Just by a simple internet search and phone call. If you haven’t shopped quotes recently, I challenge you to do it right now!
Cancel subscription services you no longer use
Take a moment to look over your monthly expenses. Do you see any recurring subscription bills? Examples include beauty boxes, audiobook subscriptions, exclusive website accesses, gym memberships. Write them all down and add them up. How much do you pay for these services each month? For each subscription ask yourself: Do I need this? If the answer is no, cancel the service! You might be surprised by how much extra cash you have each month after you cancel these subscriptions. When I did this exercise, I canceled >$80/month of subscriptions ($40 gym membership, $40 in website access, $11 for audiobook = $91/month and $1092/year!!). Saving is so easy!
Refinance your student loans
Unless your loan is currently deferred due to Covid-19, I strongly recommend refinancing your student loans. There are 2 reasons to refinance:
- You can easily drop your interest rate significantly, especially if you currently have >6% interest on your loans. Once you reduce your interest rate, the total amount of money you pay over the course of the loan drops, which gives you the chance to pay the loans off even faster!
- Many loan companies offer cash incentives when you sign up for their service. This is free money that you can put toward paying down your loan.
Refinancing can potentially save you thousands of dollars and it only takes a small amount of time. Go ahead and start comparing quotes now.
Sign up with a new cell phone plan
Cell phone plans are expensive, especially if you haven’t shopped around for cheaper alternatives. I paid $115/month for my family’s cell phone plan (3 lines), and then I realized that I could bundle my internet and cellphones. The result was magical. I went from paying $115/month to paying $60/month for the same service. That is a $55/month savings, $660/year!! If your internet company doesn’t offer packages, consider any of the following services as recommended by CNET (this list is not all-inclusive):
- Black Wireless
- Consumer Cellular
- Mint Mobile
- Red Pocket (especially good for affordable family plans)
- Tello (build your only plan)
- TextNow (100% free calls and text messages)
- Ting (Only pay for what you use)
- Visible (Any plan you like, as long as it’s unlimited, for $40 including tax.)
Automate your savings and/or loan pay downs
Now that you’ve reduced your monthly expenses, consider putting the savings into a high yield savings account. The intentional savings may help you increase your emergency savings, vacation savings, or anything else you may need in the future. Alternatively, you can put these extra savings onto loans you are currently paying down. If you’re paying down your loans, go ahead and increase your monthly contributions.
The amount of effort to follow these steps is minimal. I saved >$2000/year by following these easy, money-saving tips!! If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to save money, or fighting to pay down your loans, try some of these tips and let me know what happens. How much money will you save this year?
Cheers
FI Addict