Here are some of the most low effort ways I've personally used to save money. I'd love to hear some of yours as well!
Call your internet provider and ask if they can lower your monthly rate. I did this recently and they knocked monthly bill down from $70 to $50 per month no questions asked and no attempt to upsell me on anything. Instant $240 saved per year.
Look up a 3 minute youtube video to learn how to change your own cabin air filter and engine air filter on your car. If you take your car to get serviced 3-4 times a year and they're doing this for you as part of your regular maintenance, you're probably paying about $200-300 more than you should be. You can search on amazon by year make and model and find cheap filters for around $10 each. ~$300 saved per year.
Switch to a discount mobile carrier. For years I paid $70-$80 per month for a Verizon cell phone plan and naively assumed anything other than the big 3 carriers weren't any good. I overpaid for years. For the past several years I've tried different discount mobile providers like mint mobile, us mobile, reach mobile, etc. and I've never had any issues other than a heavier wallet. About $500 in savings annually here.
Pack your lunch. There's a cafeteria at my work where you can get a pretty good lunch for about $6 which isn't bad. I slowly fell into the habit of eating there 3-4 times a week, but when I eventually switched back to bringing my own simple lunches every day I was surprised how much I was saving even though my relatively cheap cafeteria meals weren't that expensive to begin with. Even saving $2-3 per meal at 4 meals per week adds up fast – thats $400-$600 a year, and even more if you're eating at more expensive places.
I'd love to hear some of your easy tips for keeping a few extra dollars in your bank account each year!
My tips for keeping a few extra grand in your bank account every year. Lets hear yours!
byu/Dogo58 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Dogo58
11 Comments
Most cell carriers have discounted plans for people age 55+. Although depressing, this saved me $$.
Make a shopping list before going grocery shopping. Shop the list to avoid over-buying excess food that will ultimately be discarded.
Order fast-food in the app to take advantage of offers/discounts.
Only use your credit card for points if you really do pay the entire bill monthly. Accruing interest charges wipes out the financial benefit of accruing miles. Otherwise, use your debit card to avoid overspending.
Keep a list of all subscriptions (apps, shopping clubs, streaming services, websites, device insurance etc) including auto-renewal dates and audit the list regularly to cancel unused subscriptions.
Shop around for new home and auto insurance every year or two.
I have had a 2% cash back Visa for years and years. The cash back rewards get deposited into my Fidelity brokerage where I buy a share or few of this or that. My cost basis on ANET is $14.79/share. Just sayin. It’s insane how it’s all worked out.
Definitely agree with bringing food from home for work. I eat both breakfast and lunch at work. If I have a week where I had a meal prep fail on Sunday, I’ll allow myself to grab some yakisoba or something. I make sure to have a few food storage containers on hand in my office because a $15 order of yakisoba will easily do me three meals if I portion it out and put it in containers in the staff room fridge.
I save $10 bills every time I get them. Funny how rare they are these days
Convert all your light bulbs to LED. Buy them when & where your electric utility gives a discount. Here, rotates among Menards, HD, Ace, Dollar Tree.
Speaking of Dollar Tree, buy lithium batteries there for key fobs etc. See YouTube for changing them.
If you get a check engine light, go to AutoZone or AAP for free initial diagnosis then look up fix on web. Sometimes it’s easy.
Learn to deal with pests yourself. Just heard a neighbor say they called an exterminator for a hornet nest! $2 can of wasp spray and a dark night are a heck of a lot cheaper. Same with foundation spray or granules, and mouse traps.
Save thousands by leaving the scene of an accident.
All the car stuff is low hanging fruit for saving money – oil changes, brakes, tire rotations can all be done at home if you have the space and the time. I love Haynes/Chilton manuals for repairs but YouTube has way more information …
Do not get sick.
Do not need car repairs. Definitely do not have your parked car get totaled in a hit and run.
Do not get laid off.
I had AT&T for 15+ years and switched to Mint Mobile last December and I have absolutely no regrets! I love the low cost bill, great service and its SO easy to get service when I travel internationally (and its like $5 a day too or even cheaper) so I completely agree with ya!
A rewards credit card that you treat like your checking account. I use my Costco Citi credit card for everything I can and whenever I use it, I write the expense out of my checkbook register just like I wrote a check or used my debit card. When the Credit Card statement comes at the end of the month, I reconcile the statement with my checkbook & write out a check to cover the credit card, but I dont subtract it from my checkbook balance as its already been accounted for.
The result is that I get a 1200-1400 cash back check every February.
Churn bank bonuses. You can easily make 3K if you complete one bonus every month. 5-10K per year if you complete a ton of bonuses (spending time researching and signing up for new accounts).