Super Easy Ways To Save Money:
Everyone wants easy ways to save money. And yet many people struggle every month to pay off their bills without ever investing time figuring out how to save money.
That makes no sense. Here’s a list of the most impactful money saving tips you can use now to save some serious bucks:
Create a budget
The first step in determining where you can save money is identifying how you are spending it. The simplest way to do that is to create a budget and start tracking your expenses.
Knowing where your cash is going will help you spot areas where you can save.
Refinance your home
Housing is one of the costliest expenses for any individual or family. If you pay a mortgage, consider refinancing.
Check this out: A 30 year $250,000 loan with an interest rate of 4.75% requires payments of $1,304.12 per month ($15,649.44 per year). Reduce the interest rate to 3.75% and you would shrink your monthly payments by $146.33. That’s an annual savings of $1,755.96.
Interest rates are still low. Contact your lender to see what the current rates are, and if refinancing makes sense for you.
Save money on subscription boxes
If you’re gonna splurge, consider subscription boxes. They’re available for many items such as beauty and grooming, clothing and accessories, pets, food, and entertainment to mention a few.
The most popular subscription boxes also provide a great value compared to the cost of the items in the box. Depending on how much you spend to treat yourself each month, if you put that money in subscription boxes, it can go a lot further.
For example, you can get FabFitFun’s summer box which include this season’s curation of over $200 in beauty, fashion, fitness and lifestyle products for just $39. If you aren’t a FabFitFun member yet, you can join here and get $20 off an annual subscription, or use promo code FUN for $10 off a quarterly subscription.
Box Of Style was voted by Cube Awards as the Best Womens Box of 2018. The Box Of Style Summer Box contains over $400 worth of this season’s most coveted fashion, beauty and lifestyle items for just $99.99. Use this link and promo code BABELY25 at checkout for $25 off.
Look here for the best cruelty-free beauty subscription boxes.
Grieve your property taxes
Real estate prices have recently fluctuated in a big way. As a result, many homes are assessed higher than their actual values. If your home falls into this category, you are paying more taxes than you should!
Each State in the US has a process to grieve property taxes and you can either do it yourself or hire an attorney to do it for you. Most attorneys will only charge you if they cut your taxes so there’s no risk in trying.
You have the potential to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars by grieving your taxes, so don’t wait.
Slash your insurance premiums
It’s easy to see if you can reduce your insurance premiums. First, check your deductible amounts in your policy for your home and cars. If you’ve had no claims and your deductibles are too low, you can save money by raising them.
Taking a defensive driving class can save you money on your car insurance rates, and it will help make you a safer driver to boot.
Depending on your age, you can expect to save between 5-15 percent for a defensive-driving class discount. These classes can also reduce points you may have on your license.
Call your agent to determine all of the ways you can cut your rates.
While you are at it, make certain they apply all applicable discounts to your policy. It will surprise you to learn how many discounts are available for you to use.
Shop around as the competition is fierce. There’s an excellent chance that switching insurance companies for both your home and/or auto policies can save you hundreds of dollars or more.
Improve your credit score
Strong credit helps you get what you want, and for less money. It can help you get a car loan or a mortgage at reduced interest rates. It can also save you money on insurance premiums and helps you qualify for credit cards offering cash back or free travel.
Check both your credit reports and credit score. Your credit reports show how long you’ve had credit accounts, your balances and if you had late payments. The reports will also show negative information, such as accounts sent to collections or bankruptcy filings.
The AnnualCreditReport.com website is the quickest way to request reports. Alternatively, you can do it by phone or mail.
You can also get a free credit score, and sometimes free credit report information, from personal finance websites and many financial institutions.
Pay off your credit cards and lower your interest rates
The average consumer credit card rate is 16.75% as of January, 2017 according to the latest credit card tracking bureau. With the US Bank Prime Rate at 3.25%, credit card companies are charging 13.5% over Prime. Credit card companies are making big bucks off you!
High interest rates should discourage you from using your credit card and at least, never carry a balance. We know this is not the case as credit card companies earn billions a year from consumer’s lack of spending discipline.
Since you will likely need your card, call your credit card company and ask for a lower interest rate. Many times, to keep you as a customer, they will offer you a promotion and lower your rate for 6-12 months.
If you have available funds sitting in a low interest-bearing savings account, take that money and pay off your credit card balance. This will save you money on the cost of those high interest payments.
Shop for clothes in discount outlet stores
If you shop at Saks Fifth Avenue, or Nordstrom or Bloomingdales, stop! Each of these stores have outlets that offer the same name brands and advertise savings of up to 70% or more.
Leverage your employee benefits
The Unreimbursed Medical Flexible Spending Account (Medical FSA) allows you to set aside money to pay for qualified medical and dental expenses not paid by any group benefits plan for you and your dependents.
The Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (Dependent FSA) allows you to set aside funds to pay for expenses related to dependent care required to permit you to work. Both of these accounts require re-enrollment each calendar year.
Because these benefits are free from federal and state income taxes, they reduce your taxable income, which increases your take-home pay.
Check with your employer to see if these benefits are available for you.
Divorced? Check your taxes being withheld
Once divorced, you will file your income taxes as a single person, and perhaps as head-of-household. Contact your accountant to determine the amount of payroll taxes you should have withheld.
You may raise your take-home pay just by lowering your withholding.
Capitalize on your employer’s 401(k) match
Though not every company sponsors a 401(k) plan, of those that do, about 92% match workers’ contributions. If your company offers a 401(k) match, contributing enough of your own money might get you an additional $300 a month courtesy of your employer.
Assume your company will match up to 3% of your salary, and you’re a higher earner bringing home $120,000 a year. If you contribute $3,600 of your own money, you’ll get another $3,600 from your company.
This is a super easy way to save money!
Shop at big box and warehouse clubs
Membership warehouse clubs like Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club, or big box stores like Walmart and Target, have the potential of saving you a lot while giving you the best value.
Sometimes, with the cost of membership and buying more items than you need, you don’t save. Therefore, you need to have discipline and do your homework.
Unlike membership stores, big box stores are a great choice for everyone. If there’s one of these stores within a reasonable distance, it’s worth it to shop there and see for yourself.
Cut your cable and phone bills
For these expenses, the first step is to check your plans to see what services you need and what you are using. Do you need unlimited minutes or a data plan you are not using?
If your cell phone is always with you, do you need a land line too or should you eliminate it? Do you use all of the premium cable channels such as HBO and Showtime?
Getting a more modest plan can save you a lot. Compare available plans online and call your cable or phone company armed to ask for a better rate.
When you call, ask for the “cancellation department”. Those calls are routed to a team whose job is to keep you as a customer. Let them know you are thinking about cancelling their service and considering a better offer from their competitor.
Most times, they will provide a lower promotional rate to keep you happy. Try it. You have nothing to lose.
There are many easy ways to save money without sacrificing much. Get started today so you can put money back in your pocket right away!
This post may contain affiliate links which is at no cost to you. For more information, see our disclosures.
