1 – Only shop on Wednesdays
Why Wednesday? Because grocery stores typically launch new sales in the middle of the week, usually on Wednesdays.
This strategy can give you first access to new discounts and promotions.
2 – Barter
There are plenty of situations in life where bartering is a perfectly reasonable way of conducting business, especially in a small town or if you have a number of connections.
Bartering involves no money whatsoever—simply exchange one good or service for another.
3 – Put any and all financial gifts or unexpected income into a savings account
Money goes quick, but you’ll be surprised how quickly it can add up, too.
Unexpected income could be anything from product recall refunds to money someone sends you for a special occasion.
4 – The $5 dollar trick
It goes like this—every time you receive a 5 dollar bill, put it in a special container in your home.
At the end of a year, take a look at how much you’ve saved up. The amount might surprise you—a woman named Aimee Spencer Tiemann, a blogger in Detroit, wrote an article about her best friend doing this, and at the end of the year, she had amassed $4000 with just that trick alone.
5 – The envelope system
This is a simple trick where you cash all of your income and put it away in separate envelopes.
These envelopes should be labeled with all of the different expenses you have throughout your month or pay period, including:
- Rent
- Utilities
- Membership fees
- Groceries
- Etc.
This is one of the easier and more straightforward forms of money management, and for many people it’s just the thing they need to get their finances organized.
6 – Thrifting
This saves a lot of money and you’d be surprised at the quality of previously used clothing you can find out there.
“Spend Fasts”
Or maybe “no-spend holiday” would be your preferred term. In any case, simply challenge yourself to not spend any money for two days, maybe even a week. (This of course doesn’t include necessary bills.)
7 – Audit your own expenses
Just be prepared—you might be floored at how much all of that miscellaneous spending actually costs on a month-by-month basis.
Beyond that, make sure you’re not overspending in areas like your insurance policies. Also, reassess your streaming services—you may be paying for 3, 4, or 5 streaming services, but how often are you really using them?
Take this information and use it to construct new spending habits. Over time you’ll end up saving a lot more money.
8 – Hire a CPA
Yes, this involves spending money, but in the long run, hiring a CPA and following his or her advice will save you a lot of money in the long run.
CPAs can help you get your finances organized and construct a sound financial plan for you to follow. This will also take a lot of stress off of you, as the burden of organizing your finances will be taken care of by someone else.