Simple Little Tips to Save Money in Your Daily Life

          Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I will keep this very basic. You are here probably because you want to know how to save a little

money. Below, you will read about simple baby steps to start with. Think about your daily routine, i.e. shopping, banking, dining, even using a hair dryer, etc., anything you can think of. There are some things that need to be corrected to save money because we are doing them wrong, and also other things to be done so that we can save fair amount of money. These are simple, basic things that we can easily take control over and start saving money dramatically, which will be the main focus of this article. I am not going to tell you to do major changes in your lives or give up something like cable or pizza. There is no need to go crazy or torture yourself. Life is too short. Start with these simple little tips. They will add up at no time. (Related: How to Make Extra Money When You Have a Full-Time Job)

So, here we go!

Buy in bulk, but be careful about what you’re buying

Buying in bulk will save you a lot of money, but don’t get tempted by the discounted price and buy something that you actually don’t use much. It will only keep space in your house and you will spend money on something that you don’t use. 

Consolidate your destinations to save money on transportation or gas

Usually running errands takes turns around certain places, and these are mostly places like bank, library, dry cleaner, grocery store(s), pharmacy, gas station, post office, etc. Plan ahead and beware of your errands so that you can consolidate your trips to those places near your main destination. This way, you won’t have to make another trip to run that errand. Result? Save on gas or transportation.

Don’t drive to a store just because something is on sale

Well, I put that down only because I have seen it happening quite a few times. 😀  Milk is on sale and it is only cheaper, what? Like 25 cents… I don’t get the idea of driving an extra mile to a place for milk that is 25 cents cheaper than the ones in the store where I just got my grocery shopping done. Not to mention driving another mile to come back. Do you have five or more children and is milk consumed like crazy in your household? If the answer is no, please don’t do it. Trust me; it is not worth spending that gas money just to save money on milk.

If you have a car track down where cheaper gas is sold in your neighborhood

If you live in the USA or Canada, gasbuddy.com is probably the most favorite web site to find out

about cheap gas prices. For other countries, I would simply go for a little search on Google and put down a phrase like “cheap gas prices in _______ (the name of your city/neighborhood)” in my own language and see what results come up.

If you work or go to school in a different neighborhood, I suggest looking up gas prices in both neighborhoods. One of the neighborhoods might have cheaper gas prices than the other one.

To be able to get this done properly, you need to keep an eye on your gas usage so that you will notice when it is time to get some gas. If you don’t, then you probably will notice that you are running out of gas when the light is on and will have to run to the nearest gas station regardless of how much the gas is sold there. 

Coupons are your friends, but…

Coupons are great as long as you use them for what you really need. I have seen people using coupons only because the coupons were about to expire, not because they actually needed whatever the coupons offered. Don’t forget that you spend money to use that coupon, your time and probably money on gas or transportation. 

Where is the change going? Get a piggy bank and a jar (yes, both!)

People mostly don’t pay attention to what they do with the change. They put the change in their cars, pockets, purses, wallets, vases, on the dining table, coffee table, kitchen counter, and so forth. Now, look around. Unless you are an organized person and take time to put your change in the zipper section of your wallet, it is likely that you will see change all over the place. You know, it is still money and it adds up. I would get up right away and collect all the change I see around and also the ones in the pockets. Get a piggy bank for the household and a jar for your car. Put a small jar, something that won’t take up too much

of space, somewhere in your car and throw the change in it instead of throwing them around. Keep the piggy bank conveniently accessible in the household and put the change in it, not around the house. Do this for a month and see what happens afterward. The sum amount of money in the piggy and the jar is your lost money. It disappears from your wallet.

Keep an eye on store flyers

Examining every single store flyer is time consuming, I know. There is no need to keep up with every single discount. Time is money too. Rather, pick two or three stores you shop frequently or conveniently close by your house, work or school, and just scan them once a week or so. Don’t try to remember what is on sale. Write down if you find something good. This way, you will get to compare prices from different stores.

Subscribe for store and restaurant newsletters of which you visit regularly

Stores and restaurants go for promotions regularly and they usually announce their promotions with e-mail newsletters. Some restaurants offer free birthday meals or treats. Some of them offer ‘buy one get one free’ promotions, which might be a life and money saver. Subscribe to get their newsletters. If they send too many newsletters or their offers simply don’t interest you, you can unsubscribe anytime you want.

Is eating at home cheaper than dining out? It depends.

Cooking and eating at home is only good if you are able to use everything you buy. If you are a good

planner, have enough time to cook at home and are able to use everything in your fridge/pantry and nothing goes to garbage, eating at home certainly saves you tons of money. On the other hand, if you buy food to cook something but never get to use it, and you end up dining out and your food ends up in the garbage, stop torturing yourself. You pay twice for food, for what you eat and for what you never get to eat.

Smokers may not like this one, but I am going to say it anyways. 😊

Everyone knows smoking is bad for health. Quit smoking only when you are truly ready, but meanwhile, think about the positive changes that will happen in your life. Your health will improve—that is for sure. Your wallet will improve along with your health. Calculate the cost of cigarettes daily, weekly, monthly, and finally, yearly. This is how much money you will get to save by quitting smoking. You can use that money for your savings account, the college fund for yourself or your children, down-payment for your mortgage, and so forth—you name it. Even better, reward yourself. Go for a vacation. After all, you deserved it. 

Online shopping is sometimes much cheaper

Sometimes you need something that is not on sale and who knows when it will be on sale. Online shopping sites usually come to the rescue. Rather than going to the store and paying the regular price for what you need, search online web sites. Usually there are really good and reputable sellers or stores selling their goods via online shopping sites. You may get a reasonable price and free shipping from them. There is nothing to lose. Give it a shot.

Baby lettuce growing in a pot

Grow your own herbs and vegetables if you can

If you have a garden or a sunny apartment, invest just a little money to grow your own herbs and vegetables. There is no need to pay for scallions, parsley, fresh mint, even cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, etc. when you can grow them yourself. Plus, you will have a relaxing and enjoyable hobby.

Here is a boost start for those who live in apartments. 😉

Carpool to school or work? Why not!

There are two ways of doing this. Either people in the carpool will take turns to drive their own cars or one person will drive and the others will pay some money for the gas.

Don’t throw away store and restaurant receipts as soon as they are handed to you

Some receipts have coupons printed at the bottom or on the back side and some receipts have surveys that offer certain percent off of your next visit when you take their surveys. Examine the receipt before you garbage it. 

Learn how to use your air conditioner efficiently to keep the bill low during summer

As a person who ended up paying an arm and a leg quite a few times in summers, this topic is a hot-button-issue for me. Basically, you need to do the maintenance of your AC first and make sure it works fine. After that, there are a few tricks you can try. One of them is the humidity function. This one uses less energy than the cool setting. When set up, the AC dehumidifies the room and lets you feel comfortable. The other trick is setting the temperature as high as possible rather than trying to make inside icy cold. Can you stand 74F (almost 23.5C), for example? Every digit you increase will save money on your power bill. As long as the temperature of the AC is set up cooler than outside and it is not humid in the house, you will be fine.

Here is a few tips from the experts:

 

Recycle to reuse

Don’t throw away paper towels when you only dry your hands. Use them to clean somewhere. Use your grocery bags as garbage bags. Clean the glass jars and peel off any labels. You can decorate them as you like and use them to collect change, as a cotton jar, for make-up stuff or pen & pencil holder. Shoe boxes can be covered up with decorative papers and used as storage organizers. They are great to separate different things from each other when you have to store them in the same place.

These are just simple ideas. Use your imagination and search the Internet if you want to know more about how to recycle household items.

Plan ahead for gifts

You already know when people’s birthdays are, when Christmas is, anniversaries, etc. Keep an eye on sales and plan ahead for gifts. 

Make coffee at home & pack your lunch

For me, the easiest way is packing lunch the night before and making coffee in the morning. Get a thermos mug if you don’t have one. You will be saving so much money if you can make your morning coffee and your lunch at home.

DIY (do it yourself) blogs and videos may actually save you money

It sure will save you a lot of money if you can learn how to fix things around the house.  The Internet has tremendous amount of information on DIY. Anything you want, just search for it.

Second-hand stuff and hammy downs (hand-me-down) may not be a bad idea

Online shopping sites, thrift shops, garage sales, Craigslist, Facebook garage sale or second-hand sale groups… It is possible to find anything in mint condition. 

Unplug any powered device that is not in use

Any device you are not using right now and that is plugged into a power socket is eating up from your wallet. Look around. TV, computer, chargers, hair dryer, shaving machine, coffee machine, kettle, printer, shredder… As long as these devices are plugged into a power socket when not used, they still use a bit of power and slowly drain your wallet. Get a socket with on/off switch and flip the socket switch off whenever you're not using one of those appliances.

Check your doors and windows for air leak

Keep the cool air in during summer and hot air in during winter. If there is a leak around your doors and windows it will cost you money. You need to caulk and weather-seal all the drafts and gaps around your doors and windows.

Generic brands are as good as name brands

I don’t remember being unhappy with any generic brand. They cost less and they are just as good as name brands. Going for generic brands saves you money. Very simple.

Check your bank account regularly and pay your bills on time

Be aware of you balance so that you won’t end up with overdraft fee. Also, pay your bills on time to avoid finance charges and penalty fees.

Going to the movies on the discount days costs cheaper

And, usually it is Tuesdays. 😎 Check your local movie theater online. Call them if you don’t see any specific discount day on their web site.

Borrow books from your local library. Don’t buy them. 

Buying books usually leads to storing them until you decide to give them away or re-read them some

number of years later. You pay for books to read them mostly for once. They keep space and dust in the house. Even if you exchange them, you will be giving them away to get new ones. If you sell them, you will lose money now that they are second-hand. Borrowing books from a library saves you money and is the cleanest way to read a book—you return them when you are done. You can prefer a Kindle maybe, but if you are like me and enjoy the smell of a book and feeling it, then make friends with your local library.

OK, folks, that is all for now. I am constantly reading and searching about, well, everything, so whenever I find something useful to put down here I will update this article. Hope these little tips and tricks will come handy. As you see, you don’t need to get out of your way to start saving. Saving money with basics takes only a little planning, a little attention and a little common sense.

Do you have any tips to save money? Why don't you share with us? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know if you have any tips or if these tips come handy to you.

You may want to check out my article on how to make extra cash when holding a full-time job and being stuck with a fixed income. 

My blog has no boundaries. I share any information I find and topics on daily life. Stay tuned for more. See you next time.

DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert on this topic. I just put some information together that I found out for my own personal purposes.