7 Simple Ways to Save More Money This Year
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It’s hard to believe it’s 2021 already. Many want to save more money this year but don’t know where to start. Thankfully, it’s not as difficult as it might seem. There are many ways you can save money every month to help reach your goals.
Finding ways to save this year can help you reach various goals, such as:
- Pay off debt
- Save more for retirement
- Save for a large expense
- Going on a nice vacation
You may think it’s difficult to save money each month but it’s not. There are many ways to save money and most require little inconvenience, you simply need to start.
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How to Save more money this year
Have you tried saving money in the past only to give up in frustration? It’s important not to give into the myth you can’t save money. You may feel saving an extra $20 or $25 per month will do nothing.
If you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, every savings opportunity you find gets you that much closer to financial freedom. Even if you use just a few of the possibilities below you can save $250+ per month!
Here’s how to save more money this year with little effort.
1. Kill the high interest Debt
If you have high-interest debt, 2021 is the year to get serious about killing it! You may think it’s impossible to pay off debt. I used to feel the same way, but I was able to pay off over $50,000 in debt by working hard at it.
The best way to kill high-interest debt is to lower your interest rate, so more of your payment works for you.
Online lenders like SoFi can help you slash that rate in half or more so you can pay off the debt quicker. SoFi lets you borrow as little as $5,000 to consolidate your debt, or lower rates.
After completing a brief application, SoFi provides your rate which can be as low as 5.99 percent. The lender charges no fees, so you don’t have to spend anything additional out-of-pocket.
Read our Sofi review to learn more about the lender.
If you only have credit card debt, you may benefit from using a balance transfer card to kill the debt.
Here’s a list of cards that may help you do that.
Finally, if you have student loan debt, you may benefit from refinancing or consolidating your loans. Credible is one such option, offering rates as low as 2.25 percent, with auto pay, and you can get your rate in under two minutes.
Check your rate at Credible to see how much you can save.
2. Slash Your Cell Phone Bill
How much do you spend on your cell phone bill? Needing a high-priced contract is no longer necessary thanks to Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that rent tower space from legacy carriers like Verizon.
Most MVNOs pass the savings to customers, allowing you to save significant money. Additionally, MVNOs do not require a monthly contract. You pay as you go and can leave whenever you wish.
Our favorite MVNO is Ting Wireless. Ting operates on two nationwide LTE networks: T-Mobile, and Verizon. This allows the carrier to offer reliable coverage, without a hefty bill.
Ting also gives all Frugal Rules readers a $50 credit, essentially giving you the first several months of service for free. Pricing is $10 per month, for unlimited talk and text, plus $5 per GB.
You can bring your own phone to Ting, or purchase one from the carrier. Ting also allows you to customize your plan so you pay exactly for what you need and use.
Read our Ting Mobile review to learn more about the service.
3. Cancel Unused Subscriptions
How many memberships or subscriptions do you have that you don’t use? The gym membership is an easy one for many. If you have a membership and don’t go, that’s lost money.
The same goes with magazines, bills with hidden fees that result in overcharging and more. You can try to negotiate those yourself, but you may overlook a bill or not actually save money.
Trim automates much of that for you for free, helping you save more money and stop wasting money that can go to other goals.
4. get money back on your shopping
Did you know you can get cash back from shopping at the store by simply scanning your receipt? With Ibotta you can earn cash back from items you buy at the grocery store.
After you’re done shopping you scan your receipt and Ibotta matches it against cheaper offers and pays you the difference.
Ibotta doesn’t just work at grocery stores, they also work with over 350 vendors – both online retailers and brick and mortar stores.
Ibotta connects to your PayPal or Venmo account so you can get paid right away. If you’d rather not scan receipts, you can use the app on your phone to locate sales for the store you’re at.
Ibotta gives you a $20 bonus just for signing up.
5. Automate Your Saving
Life gets busy, and it’s easy to forget to save money. Paying yourself first treats saving money as a bill to yourself. It’s the first thing you should do with your money each month.
In fact, it’s the key to growing wealth and helps build a foundation for the future. Many online banks make automating saving simple so you don’t have to worry about manually saving money on a regular basis.
CIT Bank is a great option to automate your saving. CIT Bank is a good option for several reasons:
- You earn .40 percent in their Savings Builder account- higher than the national average
- There are no monthly maintenance fees
- You can deposit at least $100 per month
Regular, automated saving is one of the best ways to grow your wealth.
6. make money in your spare time
One of the best ways to save money is to make money. There are many ways to make money that require skill, or extra time but the best way to make extra money is to monetize your down time.
Enjoy quick and easy access to your money, which is FDIC insured up to $250K. Start saving today with as little as $100 per month!
The best way to do this is through online surveys. There are many legit survey companies that let you make money while watching TV or sitting at the doctor’s office.
Here are some of the highest paid survey sites to make money in your spare time:
Survey Junkie: This is our favorite survey site. They pay you cash straight to PayPal or let you redeem rewards for Amazon gift cards.
Pinecone Research: This site pays $3 per survey and you can choose between Amazon Gift Cards or virtual Mastercards for your payment. However, if you’ve joined Pinecone in the last 30 days, your first redemption must be by bank transfer to verify your rewards account. They also pay to do product testing.
InboxDollars: Earn money for taking surveys, watching TV or making purchases online. Get $5 just for signing up.
Surveys will not replace your income but they can be a good way to pad your savings account in your spare time.
7. lower your car insurance
When was the last time you compared your auto insurance rate against other providers? Forbes reports that 40 percent of drivers haven’t compared rates in the past three years and nearly 20 percent have never compared rates.
If that describes you then you’re likely leaving hundreds of dollars on the table each year. We all must have auto insurance but there’s no sense in paying more than you have to.
Comparing rates helps you determine if you’re paying for something you don’t need, or simply have too much coverage – both of which will result in you spending too much each month.
Compare rates at Esurance to see how much money you can on your auto insurance needs and still have the vital coverage you need.
8. Bonus: refinance your mortgage
What is the interest rate on your mortgage? Have you tried to refinance your rate over the past five years?
If the answer to that second question is no you may be overlooking a money saving opportunity. While interest rates are slowly on the rise they’re still low from a historical perspective.
Refinancing your mortgage can not only lower your mortgage payment, it might also allow you to pay off your mortgage faster if you maintain the same payment after refinancing.
Check your rate at LendingTree to see how much you can save by refinancing your mortgage. LendingTree lets you compare up to five lenders at once so you can find the best possible rate.
Summary
The best part of the above list is that you can do most, if not all, with little effort. You don’t even have to try all at once. In fact, I’d recommend against it.
Instead, identify 1-2 ways that might help you now and give it a try. You’ll be surprised at how seeing the savings will motivate you to save more money.
Don’t give into excuses. Look for opportunities to save more money this year. With a little work, you might be able to save thousands that can go towards another goal.
What’s one way you’re going to save more money this year? What’s one thing you refuse to do to save money? Do you automate your saving?
John is the founder of Frugal Rules, a dad, husband and veteran of the financial services industry whose writing has been featured in Forbes, CNBC, Yahoo Finance and more.
Passionate about helping people learn from his mistakes, John shares financial tools and tips to help you enjoy the freedom that comes from living frugally. One of his favorite tools is Personal Capital , which he used to plan for retirement and keep track of his finances in less than 15 minutes each month.
Another one of John's passions is helping people save $80 per month by axing their expensive cable subscriptions and replacing them with more affordable ones, like Hulu with Live TV.
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