Are you trying to reach your financial goals? Are you looking for ways to save money to put toward your goals? Kelan and I are currently working on repaying my student loan debt in less than 10 months. In order to reach our goal, we are looking for ways to save money during the week to better achieve our goals.
All it takes is having the right mindset to start making changes toward your financial goals. Think about your spending on a weekly basis. This is something that is achievable and manageable to help you start making small changes that will in turn lead to bigger changes. Are you ready to get saving?
The five ways to save money below are small personal ways I have used my first week to start making changes in my own life. You will have other ways in your own life to save money in a week. Maybe you are looking at ways to save at the grocery store. Maybe you are trying to cut back on car repairs. Or possibly you want to start living frugally and follow these 13 frugal living habits.
1. Stop Buying Coffee
Trust me, this one I had to put number one because it is the hardest one for me. I love stopping for coffee on the way to work. Not only does it taste delicious, but it is so convenient.
I would rather spend the extra time in the car on the way to work and stop rather than spending time making it at home. One week I put my coffee money toward k-cups and used the Keurig at work.
Anyway, you can cut back and save on coffee it will help in the long run. Did you know the average American spends over $1,000 a year on coffee! That stat still blows my mind every time I read it.
Imagine if you invested that money or paid down your student loans instead? Save money and make your own coffee in the morning.
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2. Don’t go Grocery Shopping Hungry
When we go shopping hungry we find everything appetizing. A couple ways to avoid this situation is to keep things in your bag or in your car that you can grab in a hunger crunch. Have a protein bar, drink water, or chew gum. These items will better curb your appetite before you put those bag of chips in your cart that you will regret later.
Another way to curb your appetite while shopping is to go on days when they are handing out free samples. Not only does this help fight the hunger, it also gives you almost a “free meal” and one less you have to buy or plan for.
Not shopping when you’re hungry not only saves you money, but also has a ton of advantages when trying to lose weight. Always try to stock up on foods that are zero calories.
Better yet, instead of saving money grocery shopping… get PAID to grocery shop. Ibotta is my favorite cash back app to use after I go grocery shopping. It is so simple to update my receipt after I leave the store and get paid for the things that I bought.
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3. Wasting Food in Your Refrigerator/ Freezer
This one links to number two. Before you head to the store, you should take some time to clean out old food and take inventory on what you have. I can’t believe how many times I have returned home to put food away and shocked by picking up another bag of carrots that was not even open from the previous week.
Not only did I just waste the bag that I bought last week, but I run into the chance of it happening again if the other bag is not going to be finished. Food waste can be so costly to your monthly budget.
Good thing carrots are so cheap! Sometimes if I am in a rush on the way to the store and I haven’t had time to take inventory, I will take a picture of the pantry, fridge, and freezer. This way if I am in the store and I do not remember how much of something we have left I can use the picture as a quick reference.
Before going to the store, it is so important to plan out your meals so you do not over spend. One way I save time and money is by using $5 Meal Plan to get recipes planned out for my family for the week. It is convenient to have the recipes emailed to me that I can reference at the store on my phone.
4. Small Loads of Laundry
The way I do my laundry to save the most all around is always put in oversized loads. Yes, I am using more water, however, I am using less detergent and less energy because I only do laundry once a week. We are very lucky where we can get through the week with only doing laundry once a week. This will probably change with our newest addition Kallie =).
It helps that we do not have jobs where our clothes always need to be cleaned on a daily basis. We have enough workout clothes and work clothes to get us through the week. It makes for a busy weekend of laundry but definitely, helps out with the cost. Save money and do laundry once a week with large loads.
5. Take the Highway When Possible
When you are planning out your routes, try to drive on the highway as often as possible. You will get better gas mileage cruising at 60 mph than you will at 45 mph stopping at light after light. Putting highway miles on your car is also better for less frequent repairs.
Driving on the highway has also been proven to be the safest method of travel. Since all the cars are going the same direction and similar speeds fewer accidents happen. Much safer than going through 10 intersections every morning just to get to work.
If you have errands to run, try to make them all happen on the same day. One longer day of running errands compared to multiple short trips in your car all week will not only save on gas, but it will also be better on your car.
Grocery shopping when I’m hungry and wasting food in the fridge/freezer are big ones for me. I generally avoid grocery shopping when I’m hungry, but every now and then I do it and I always buy more. I also tend to forget about things in the freezer. Just the other day I was getting something out of the freezer and I saw a few meals that I forgot were in there.
Yea the freezer and fridge are hard to keep organized and actually see what you have. It’s always worked well for us to check what we have before going shopping so we don’t buy duplicates that end up getting thrown out.
Great tips! Especially the one about not buying coffee. With Starbucks so close to where I work it is very tempting to stop and grab a coffee in the morning.
Starbucks will get you everytime haha
Great post I really enjoyed it. I have a wife and three children and we are a one income family so we are always trying to save money where we can. Take a look at my blog for some more ideas.