How to Save Money Each Month: 23 Tips You Don’t Want to Miss

If you’re looking at your finances, trying to figure out where you can cut costs, it can be overwhelming!  Maybe you have looked at your budget over and over again and with everything you spend, you’re wondering how to save money each month. If you step back and take a look at your finances and spending habits, you will see that there are ways you can slash your spending and pocket more money every month.

This post is part of the series “31 Days to Household Happiness”. If you would like to join in on the rest of the series, you can CLICK HERE.

How can you save money each month?  

Set yourself up for success by planning your finances.  

1 | Create a budget.  

Budget.  Budget. Budget.  The only way to make your money work for you is if you have a budget.  Having a budget makes you aware of where your money goes and what you really should have left over each month.  Saving money means that you have to know where your money is going in the first place.

2 | Use the cash system.  

Using cash to pay for things is a great way to save money.  It really stops impulse buying when you know you only have a certain amount of money in your wallet.  No one wants to stand at the cash register and have to put things back.

The other great thing about using cash is that you can see the money leaving your wallet and hand, and therefore makes it harder to spend, spend, spend.

3 | Pay off debt-save on interest.

Paying off debt is a wonderful way to save money each month.  The interest on any given credit card can cost A LOT of money each month.  Paying off your debt will not only wipe out the interest you’re paying, but will also set you free, financially speaking.

A great book to read on paying off debt, is  The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.  It sparked our journey that ended with us paying off $26000 in debt in less than 5 months.

4 | Track your monthly spending.

Once your month is over with, go back and take a look at where you spent your money.  Did you stick to your budget? Where did you overspend? Was there any category that you under spent in?  

These are questions to ask yourself so you can reassess and redo your budget for the following month.  Tracking your spending will give you a realistic picture of where your money is going, which then allows you to pull back the reins where needed.

Grocery shopping.

5 | Buy in bulk.

Unless you are living in a tiny space that doesn’t allow for it, bulk buying is going to save you a lot of money in the log run.  Think of those items that you will definitely use. Paper products, such as toilet paper and paper towel are things that we continually use and need.  The more you buy, the less they are.

For large families, buying perishable food in bulk would probably work, but all families could benefit from buying non-perishable food items in bulk.  Just make sure you are actually going to use it all.

6 | Use coupons.

I used to be really impressed with the crazy coupon ladies who had binders full of coupons and spent an hour in the checkout line getting every single thing for free.  Now, with two kids, I can’t imagine the time it would take to do such a thing.

However, I do love the coupons that our local grocery store has on their items.  Any time I can, I grab those coupons and save money.

You can also check out coupons at CouponSurfer.com to save big on grocery shopping.

7 | Meal plan.

Meal planning is another one of those things that will save you a ton of money in the long run.  By having a meal plan in place, you know what to purchase and what to cook each night. No more impulse buys at the grocery store, or quick snack stop on the way home because you aren’t sure what will be fore dinner.  

8 | Make a grocery list and stick to it.

Did you mom ever tell you to NOT go to the grocery store hungry?  Mine did! And that couldn’t be more accurate.

Make a grocery list and stick to it, even if you’re starving!  When you have a list with you, you won’t go down the aisles questioning if you have each and every item at home.  That just ends in you buying another jar of pasta sauce that you already have, thus spending more money.  

9 | Quit buying bottled water.

Bottled water is not only a nuisance in our environment, but can also be a nuisance to your wallet.  If you’re buying decent bottled water, the money can add up each month!

Instead of drinking bottled water, consider buying a good on-the-go filtration bottle, like this stainless steel bottle that you can filter any water through in a matter of seconds.

10 | Organize your fridge.

Sometimes our fridge is like a black hole for food.  When I finally find that moldy block of cheese that I searched for over and over again, I get so bummed out.  Bummed that I didn’t get to eat the cheese and even more bummed because cheese is expensive!

If you keep your fridge organized, then you will see all of the food and be able to eat it before it goes bad.  Organization also helps because then you can make your grocery list easier!

This lazy susan organizer is really cool and functional, and saves space and money!  

This set of storage bins is also useful to have in your fridge so that you can corral items and not have them floating all over your fridge, never to be seen again.

 

 

Sure, these items cost you upfront, but think of how much money you will save when your food is actually being used!

Monthly bills.  

11 | Cut monthly memberships that aren’t used.

I’ll be the first to admit that I paid for a gym membership for about a year after I quit going.  It wasn’t expensive, but even a $15 per month membership adds up over time.

I’m also bad about signing up for free trials and then forgetting to cancel them.  Oops. Not good. Again, not a ton of money, but it does add up!

Once you’re looking at your budget and spending, you might come across a membership that you just don’t use.  Or maybe you do, but you would rather spend that money somewhere else. Call and cancel that thing and pocket the money you save!

Related Posts You Might Enjoy:

> How to Budget When You’re Broke and Overwhelmed
> How to Budget to Become a Stay-at-Home Mom
> Money Anxiety and What You Can Do About It
> Money Arguments in Marriage and How to Stop Them

12 | Cut the cable.

I always knew there was a better alternative to cable.  Except, there wasn’t. Before Netflix and Smart TVs, we cut the cable and had about 5 channels, if we were lucky.  

Now, when you decide to cut cable, you can still have most shows with the touch of one button on your Firestick remote.  The Firestick is a nifty little remote that is a streaming media player.  It’s only around $30 and you can play tens of thousands of tv channels and apps.  

Think of the money you can save when you ditch the cable!  

13 | Sell car, buy one with cash.

Car payments are the devil.  There, I said it. If you have a car payment, I want you to take a long, hard look at whether or not you want to continue to pay on something that is depreciating faster than you can read to the end of this post.  

If at all possible, take into consideration that you can sell the car, get rid of your payment and then buy something with cash.  No, it probably won’t be as nice, but you also won’t be paying interests on a car that’s depreciating.

14 | Turn off lights/unused electronics to save on electric bill.

This tip takes me back to being young and my mom and dad telling us to turn off the lights.  Now, I get why the repetition was necessary. Electricity is expensive!

Save some money by making sure lights are off and any other electronics not in use, are unplugged.  

15 | Set up drip hoses to water plants to save on water bill.

Not only is it good for the environment, but saving water also means saving money.  If you have landscaping you need to keep watered, then invest in a drip hose that lets out little drops of water to keep plants watered, but not at an extreme level.   

16 | Take a bath instead of a shower to use less water.

I’m not trying to boss anybody around, but baths do take less water than showers.  If you are someone who can bathe instead of shower (I am not one of those people), this is a great way to save water each and every day.  

Vehicles.

17 | Maintain vehicles so they last longer and are more efficient.

Vehicle maintenance is something that a lot of people try to skip because they want to save money, but that stance doesn’t last long when the car breaks down.  You have to invest in car maintenance, such as oil changes, to make sure your car runs for as long as it can.  

18 | Use GasBuddy to find cheaper gas prices.

When it comes to gas, there can be a few cent difference between prices at different gas stations.  GasBuddy has an app that allows you to see what the price of gas is at each gas station.  

Don’t run out of gas trying to save a few bucks, but be aware that a few cents per gallon can make a big difference each month!  

19 | Shop around for car insurance.

I was pretty shocked when I figured out that shopping around for car insurance could mean the difference of up to $100 per month for my husband and I.  That’s huge!

Shop around and get quotes from different auto insurance agencies and see who offers the best deal with the best coverage.  

DIY food and drinks as much as possible.

20 | Make your own bread.

Certain bread isn’t that expensive, but if you have a big family and/or you like the healthy bread, it can be a little pricey. 

We invested in this bread maker and it has been an amazing appliance to have in our kitchen.  Not only do we walk in to the smell of fresh bread, but it also save us money each time we go to the grocery store.  The ingredients aren’t that expensive and it is much healthier than store bought bread!

21 | Make your own juice.

I quickly got tired of forking over $5 per gallon (or less) of orange juice at the grocery store.  I realized that it would be much easier, healthier and less expensive to juice my own juice as the kids ask for it.  

This Hamilton Beach brand juicer is not only saving us money, but it’s also fun to use AND you can combine all sorts of fruits and vegetables to make a delicious drink!  

22 | Pack your own lunch and snacks.

Food is one of those things that will break your budget every single month, if you let it.  Food for people on the go is expensive. If you eat out even once per day, that is a hefty restaurant bill at the end of the month.  

Commit to bringing your lunch and snacks to work a few times per week.  Give yourself grace (like when you don’t go to the grocery store and have nothing to pack) when you don’t pack your lunch and snacks, but stay on track and you will save a lot of money!  

Grab yourself some ice packs and a fun, insulated lunch tote and bring your lunch wherever you go!  

 

 

23 | Make your own coffee.

I saved the best tip for last.  Making your own coffee will save you a lot of money every month.  Sure, it’s nice to get that hot cup of joe in the drive through, but think of how much money you’re spending on something that is super simple to make at home for a fraction of the price!  

This coffee maker (with filtration system) is priced under $40.  

Final thoughts on how to save money each month.  

Saving money is tough to do for a lot of people.  Sometimes it seems like all of the little things mentioned in this post won’t add up to much, but in fact, they do!  

Choose two to three things from this list and implement them in the next month.  Track your savings to see how much money you have pocketed in your attempt to save!