3 Ways to Save More Money

In full transparency, I am nowhere close to being a pro when it comes to finances.

Not. Even. Close.

I’ve never been very good at saving money but now that I am officially debt-free (holla), I’ve got savings on my mind. Shoutout to my money guy Marvin for putting me in check reallll quick.

I’m not embarrassed to say that I’m late to the game – I should 1000000% have more money saved than I do. But, ya gotta start somewhere. Again, I really can’t stress this enough. I’m no accountant but I’m feeling pretty proud about my mini savings account and thought I’d share a few quick tips that you can start right away.

Three Quick Ways to Start Saving More Money

Tip No. 1

Start making cuts. Do you know how many things I was paying for every month that I didn’t even USE!?!?! Subscriptions set to auto-renew, multiple Spotify accounts (like wtf) and so many more little charges that, after a year, definitely add up. I went through my bank statement, the Apple App Store, my emails, etc. and went through every single account I had. I removed duplicates. I cancelled apps I haven’t used in the past 2 months. I weighed the benefits of certain accounts and closed ones that although I used, I didn’t need. Same goes for the miscellaneous spending. I tried to limit eating out, ordering in, Uber rides vs driving, etc. I made a list of everything that I know I spend money one that aren’t necessities and just started crossing them off one by one.

That saved me an easy $200/month. EASY.

Tip No. 2

Cash only. Perhaps the most obvious of the tips I have for you – but it works. Believe it or not, I’ve always been really good at creating a budget. What I’m not so good at is sticking to it. We go out to eat a lot. And the majority of those dinners, brunches, drinks, etc. are not in the budget. So, a few months ago I started taking out cash at the start of each month for the “budget” I set aside for miscellaneous/dining out. Now, if I want to go out to eat or do/order anything that isn’t part of a general monthly expense, I gotta use cash (or deposit that cash into my bank account before I order online). Yeah. Things get real real quick. You don’t realize how much money you spend until you have cash and are left with mere pennies halfway through the month.

Tip No. 3

The punisher. Okay. This sounds a lot more dramatic than it is but it just might be my favorite “tip” yet. As a way to build better lifestyle habits, I started setting up mini “punishments”. For every workout I missed, I put $10 in my savings account. For every meal that I ate out instead of eating my prepped food, that was $5. These little things start to add up and I realized quickly that it was a “fun” way to save. Sure, eventually, I will stop missing so many workouts and eating out one too many times but there are always things you can reward your savings account for! Put off getting your oil changed? That’ll be $5. Didn’t meet your 1/2 gallon water goal yesterday? $2, please.

Photos by Naomi Hopkins