7 Simple Ways to Save More Money This Year
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It’s hard to believe it’s 2019 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 more money 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.
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. Get Rid of the Contract Already!
If you still have cable, this is one of the easiest ways to save more money with little effort. I used to think we couldn’t live without cable, and over three years into being cable free we’re not looking back and are enjoying saving over $80 per month!
There are many available options to help you cut the cord and save $50+ per month. Our favorite two options are:
- Hulu with Live TV – $44.99 per month for 60+ channels
- Sling TV – $25 per month for 30 channels
Both streaming providers offer many of the same channels you already watch, at a fraction of the cost.
When it comes to racking up the amount you’re saving, cutting the cord is second only to automating your savings.
2. Kill the high interest Debt
If you have high-interest debt, 2019 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 Avant can help you slash that rate in half or more so you can pay off the debt quicker. You can have the funds within one day by refinancing through Avant, and repay on a term that works for you.
You can get rates as low as 5.99 percent with Avant, though that will require a minimum credit score of 580, among other requirements.
Check your rate at Avant to see how much you can save on your debt payments.
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.
3. 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.
Synchrony Bank is a great option to automate your saving. Synchrony is a good option for several reasons:
- There is no minimum deposit required
- You earn 2.25 percent – 24x the national average
- There are no monthly maintenance fees
Even if you save $10 or $20 per month it’s a great first step to growing your wealth.
4. 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.
5. 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 $10 bonus just for signing up.
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.
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 PayPal, Amazon or restaurant gift cards for your payment. They also pay to do product testing.
Inbox Dollars: 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.
You Can Save More Money this Year with Little Effort
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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10 Comments
I don’t really understand why people still have cable. I find it more convenient to read the news than to watch it. Plus most shows are available online or through Netflix.
Nowadays I really just don’t have the time for TV
Agreed Troy. We save so much time now vs. when we had cable. No time wasted spent flipping through useless channels and we watch what we want – which is very little.
I can’t get my football team w/o cable. I would love it if someone would tell me how. I live in the sw but have been a Patriots fan my whole life. I have to pay for the NFL Sunday ticket 6 months of the year to see them💚🏈
Check out this post JoAnn. It should give you all you need to know to watch NFL games without cable.
If you live in a rural area with no real internet you can’t really stream Netflix. Direct TV or Dish is your only option beside Antenna TV…
Yes, we know that can be an issue for some unfortunately. However, for those without that circumstance they have no excuse (in most cases) not to take advantage of the savings.
I live in a very rural area in Western NY near the Pa boarder in the hills and I cut the cord on my TV and phone. I have Amazon Prime so I get prime tv free, plus Hulu for 14 a month and Netflix. I upgraded my internet to handle the speeds and I am still saving almost 1/2 on my dish and a 25.00 cell plan with very little data, replaced my land line at 80 a month.
Nice work Michelle! It just goes to show you how much can be saved with a little creativity. 🙂
Great Post John, I’m a real advocate for paying yourself first. It’s amazing how much you can accumulate is a short amount of time by doing this. Then if you pay yourself first into an investment account with dividend producing equities that are reinvested, its almost like cheating!
Agreed Jim. Paying yourself first is a vital step to building wealth. It’s easy to give into an excuse of why not to do it when it’s so simple.