5 Easy Ways to Save Money

With the average household credit card debt in the USA rising to over $15,000, it is more crucial than ever that Americans learn to save their money, not just spend. Saving is perhaps one of the most difficult things to start, but once you do, it can be easier than you think, especially when you have something worth saving for. Are you trying to save for a down payment on a house, your children’s college educations, your retirement, or just trying to get yourself out of debt? All of these are critical reasons to stop spending money and start squirreling it away into a bank account.

Take a look at these simple and easy tips. I can guarantee you that you have not yet tried tips that I am about to toss out at you here, so take a look and see what else you can do to save.

1. Cook your meals at home: It seems like it might be the most obvious thing in the world, but you and I both know how easy it is to fall into the “I’m too tired to cook” or “We don’t have anything in the house” routine. If you typically eat out once a day, but instead pack a lunch, you will be able to save about $15-20 per week per person, totalling to $780-1040 per year! Holy cow!

2. Make a list before going shopping: I can’t even tell you how crucial this is! When lists are not made and abided by, shoppers tend to buy on impulse, thus spending more than they would have on things that they don’t really need. Worse than that perhaps is when you forget to buy an item that you really needed and have to make a subsequent trip back to the store.

3. Make your morning coffee at home: I don’t have to tell you that skipping the morning coffee would put a HUGE + on your bank account. For some of us though, the idea of skipping this morning pick-me-up would simply be impossible, even facing the $20 per week savings or $1040 per year, that you would be able to save. Most of us have a coffee maker, even if it hasn’t seen use in a while. Try making your coffee at home and buying some flavored creamers to help give it that coffeehouse gourmet flavor.

4. Be conscious of your bank account balances: My husband and I fell into this trap early in our marriage. We did not keep close enough track of our bank account balances and often found ourselves overspending and facing WAY more overdraft fees than we had the ability to pay. Each time we overdrew our account, it could cost anywhere between $15-40 depending on the bank’s particular policy. It was bad enough once that we owed the bank over $300 because of a string of transactions that posted before a direct deposit. VERY BAD situation that took forever to resolve. Moral of the story is to watch your bank account and if you don’t have the money, don’t buy it!

5. Ditch your land line. Unless you have younger children or elderly in your home who are unable to use a mobile, you don’t need to keep paying the monthly bill that your landline entails. My husband and I have been mobile-only since 2008 and we are loving it! We’re always able to get in touch with each other and we don’t have to worry about the telephone ringing and waking up the children.

What are your simple tips to start saving money?

Young Mom's Deals receives free products for review purposes and some posts include affiliate marketing links. Please view the full disclosure policy for full details.