7 Creative Ways to Save Money (Money Savings Tips)

Want to save money but don’t know how? When saving money even the smallest amount you’ve put aside can add up over time, thus there is no better time to start saving money than today.

By creating a monthly budget with the help of our list of creative ways to save money, you can get your spending on track and finally start saving your money. As time goes by, you’ll have a small nest egg that you can use to invest, build up an emergency fund, save for retirement, or even take a dream vacation.

If you’re ready to start saving, follow along and use these creative ideas or even start a saving challenge to jumpstart a whole new way to keep your hard-earned money.

What Are The Creative Ways to Save Money

Saving money is important, especially when you have a tight budget. Even when you don’t earn much from your job, there are many creative ways to save money without sacrificing your lifestyle.

Here are some creative ways together with pro tips you can start implementing today to save money and keep you on track with your saving goals.

1. Plan Meals

Planning meals can save you money. By knowing what and when to buy, you can avoid eating out frequently and save money on groceries, while creating healthy, budget-friendly meals that will satisfy your cravings and keep your bank account healthy as well.

Often, if you don’t plan your meal well, when hunger strikes, your wallet, and your health are both at risk. You could find yourself at the nearest restaurant or drive-thru, only to take off $20 less rich.

Instead of spending a fortune on food eating out each day, plan your meals, and always prepare for the moment your stomach starts to grumble.

According to a study, the average cost of home cook meal is $4.31, and the average cost of eating out is $20.37.

Average Americans spend approx. 5 times more when they eat out.

Periods	Eating Out	Cooking at Home	Savings
Day	$20.37	$4.31	$16.06
Week	$142.59	$30.17	$112.42
Month	$611.10	$129.30	$481.80
Year	$7,435.05	$1,573.15	$5,861.90

Cost of eating out vs cooking at home

How to save money on meals?

Start by planning a week’s worth of lunches, and going shopping for what you need.

By creating healthy budget-friendly meals at home, a week’s worth of groceries for lunch could be as little as $30 to $50 if you plan right, which is much less than $20 each meal when eating out.

Once you get the hang of it, start planning for your breakfast and dinner too, seeing how much you can save when you start making meals at home.

2. Use Cash

In this cashless society, we hardly use cash to pay for our products and service. Using a card makes buying things too easy. You can swipe and forget, sometimes not even thinking about how much you have in your account.

Prof. Drazen Prelec, professor from MIT, who studies the “Psychology of Money” states cashless payment causes a disconnection between the pleasure of buying from the pain of paying.

This phenomenon of cashless payment leads to overspending and lower saving.

Though paying cashless might sound more inconvenient, paying with cash can help you save more.

Paying with cash saves you money

Start by paying for most of your items with cold hard cash.

Withdraw it, hold it, pay it, and feel the pain of parting with your hard earn money.

Remembering the pain of parting with your money will encourage you to think twice before buying anything unnecessary.

Next, you can scour your home and your car for loose change, or collect the loose changes you get from your purchases. Add all your loose changes into a big jar and label it savings.

Make it a goal to put all your loose changes into the jar, and by no time, your jar will be filled and you might be surprised at how much your loose changes can add up.

3. Write Things Down

A big part of overspending is not being conscious. It can be simple to just buy things without thinking, only to end up with much less in your account at the end of the month.

Writing things down can help you save, helping you see where you can afford to cut back.

Track your spending habits

Get a notebook that’s specifically for finances, using it as a sort of journal. Make it a point to write down what you spent each and every day, making detailed notes about why you bought it and how much you spent. Use this when budgeting, finding out where you may be spending unnecessarily.

As you start to realize your spending habits, you’ll understand how to cut back more to stretch your paycheck and finally start saving.

4. Go On A Hunt for “Free”

If you’re like most people, you love anything that doesn’t cost any money. You can’t help but take advantage of any offers that come your way. But did you know that you can actually save money by going on a hunt for “Free” things?

Well, I am not telling you to be stingy or anything, but there are a lot of opportunities out there that don’t cost you any money and let you enjoy your life fully.

Hunt for “Free” stuff

Keep your eyes open for fun things that don’t cost any money.

Take a walk in the park
Go to a gallery

Discover a new part of town
Get creative with things in your home

There are tons of things that you can do without spending money, especially when you’re around good company.

And if you are looking for free things, here are some places you can get them.

Check out your local classifieds. Many businesses offer free products or services to customers who regularly advertise with them.
Check out online resources like Freecycle and Craigslist.

5. Declutter

Decluttering your home can not only make it more inviting and comfortable, but it can also lead to big savings. By cleaning out your closets, throwing out unnecessary items, and reorganizing your storage, you can significantly reduce the amount of clutter in your home and free up valuable space.

Not only will this help declutter your space and improve your quality of life, but you might even find that you’re able to sell some of your unwanted belongings for a tidy profit.

If you’ve got a lot of stuff, you might be sitting on a gold mine. Well, maybe not that much but still, you can turn items you’re not using into cash, using it to boost your savings account can be a great way to boost your finance.

How to turn your trash into gold?

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and the by-product from one food can be perfect for making another.

Things you don’t want might be a great treasure for another, so let’s give your “trash” a second chance in life and turn it into gold.

Start by cleaning out your closet and storage.

Putting aside all the things you don’t use into 2 main buckets; in-good condition, or in-bad condition.
Keep all items that are in good condition and dump all items that are in bad condition.
Sort the items you’ve put aside and categorize them.

Check online and see how much can it be sold in the second-hand market.
Name your price and put them up for sale online or host a garage sale for your neighborhood or apartment block.

Declutter and sell your “trash” could be a fun way to earn some extra cash, clean your home, and hang out with some of your neighbors.

6. Get Automated

Saving is an essential part of financial planning, but it can be time-consuming and often requires a lot of effort.

Whether it’s for your long-term goals or for a rainy day, having a plan for saving is essential. Automated savings can help you stick to your budget and reach your savings goals.

How automated saving work?

With an automated savings account, your money is automatically deposited into your account at regular intervals, typically once a week. This way, you don’t have to worry about making deposits or keeping track of your balance.

Start by adding a small amount each paycheck to your savings account.
Automate it for a few months and watch as your money grows.
Allocate a percentage of your salary or income to your automated saving plans and not a solid figure.

Boost your automatic transfers into savings as you get a pay raise or bonus.
Review your automated saving plans every year and make adjustments as necessary for you to reach your saving goals.

7. Take Responsibility

There comes a time when we have to admit our weaknesses. If you find yourself unable to save money, you might need to take a good look at your habits and take some responsibility.

Creating a home budget is a great way to start taking responsibility for your finance.

How to start taking responsibility for your personal finance?

Starting to take responsibility for your personal finance is the first step in improving your financial situation.

Set a budget. Knowing how much money you have available each month and what you plan on spending it on is the first step to taking control of your finances.

Be honest with yourself, and dig into your earnings and spending.
Think about your last five purchases, considering if they were necessary or not. From there, start making a list of things you need to buy and things you can live without, setting strict rules for yourself to stick to.
Remember, you can reward yourself here and there, but the trick is not to go overboard, avoiding any unnecessary spending.

Finally, start investing. Investing can help you reach your financial goals over time by allowing you to grow your money while protecting it from market fluctuations.

Start Saving Today

Each day is a day to start over, change your habits, and reset your focus. Even if you have a few slip-ups, dust off and get back up, seeing what you can do to start saving more of your hard-earned money.

Building savings takes time and patience, and starting today can lead you to success in no time.

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7 Creative Ways to Save Money (Money Savings Tips)