Saving Money With Crazy Skills

10 Forgotten Money Saving Skills

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They are my muse. At the cheapest level, you can grab a cheap coffee maker at Wal-Mart and rock the Folgers with the milk and sugar. Some of the tactics you can use to get through your program include:. Unfortunately, this strategy can prevent you from focusing your efforts on other important things, like work experience, clubs, and social time. By doing this, I was able to avoid taking a lot of intro-level classes in college: Yes, my high school was pretty awesome — but you can probably do this as well.

Here are some options for getting the ball rolling:. Make sure the credit is transferrable! If the Mega Maid had a Mini-Me, textbooks would be it. Here are my strategies for finding the cheapest textbooks:. For for in-depth tips, check out my comprehensive guide to finding cheap textbooks.

I tend to agree; while federal loans come with plenty of repayment, forgiveness, and deferment options, private loans have almost none. None of those options will forgive the debt, unfortunately. There are plenty of other options for financing your education. As you can probably surmise, I gained a lot of experience relevant to my major through my part-time jobs. I can remove a virus, build a website , give a campus tour, speak to an audience of people, comfort a scared student, do any administrative task, shoot and edit a professional video , and build an automation script that finishes a hour job in less than 3 hours.

Aside from all that experience which made finding subsequent jobs quite easy , my part-time gigs always kept money in my pocket. I never really had to worry about whether going to the movies would empty my bank account. There are a ton of options — typical contract plans, prepaid plans, and lesser-known options. To learn about even more ways to save as a student, check out our ultimate list of student discounts.

However, using it for a couple years helped me to build up good credit, and I now have a nice card that gives me cash back on purchases. Credit card companies make no money on deadbeats, which is why they call us that. Additionally, keep these things in mind:. This is as true for your finances as it is for anything else.

The easiest way to do this is to use Mint , which is a free tool that tracks all your bank accounts, investments, and credit cards.

How to Save Money: 74 Money Savings Tips You Can Use Today

It can track your loans, too! But ReadyForZero might be a better option for those. Simply set it up, then make sure to check it once or twice a week. What do you do? Simply pick up the phone and tell them. If you do, you open doors. You can keep this list in Evernote, Wunderlist, a notebook, or wherever. Once in a while, check your list for any items you still want to buy. Odds are that many of the things on it will make you go:.

My friends over at Listen, Money Matters have talked at length about being a shopping sniper , and even made a video about it:. Essentially, it just means staying focused on what you planned to buy in the first place. There are two unhealthy foods that I really, really enjoy:.

Wait, where was I? Since I enjoy these two things, I have them semi-often. I stick to what I like. Snacks at work, soda for a long drive….

Since my girlfriend is a gamer, I decided to devise an elaborate scavenger hunt that would make her have to find clues and solve mysteries to discover the location of her present. I hid the passwords in all sorts of places. One was in the middle of a forest, one was hidden in a library book, and one was hidden inside a scrambled message that she had to use red-tinted glasses to read. A few more were hidden inside logic puzzles.

From start to finish, she and I had a good 8-hour day of fun exploring and solving the mystery together. I went along with her the whole time, dropping the occasional small hint. Now, I auto-invest a fixed amount every month. Either way, pay off your debt and start investing as soon as you can. A firewall is a piece of software on a computer network that keeps intruders out of the system. However, I realize that bars can be a lot of fun for some people — and I do enjoy going out every once in a while. Boredom is the enemy of your wallet.

My friend Tony Stubblebine — the founder of Lift — told me a great story when I interviewed him:. There are tons of expensive gadgets you can buy to make them, or you can just use your own regular blender, put the baby food in ice cube trays and save them for a later day.

When your children are old enough to enjoy Christmas, try out the four gift rule. This rule says you only buy four gifts for your kids: You can also add in a gift or two from Santa. This gift rule covers all the bases to ensure your child has plenty of gifts under the tree without going overboard. I know some young children who are in art class, Spanish class, piano classes, and sports. While exposing your kids to many different interests is great, it also gets expensive.

We chose one activity for each of our kids. My son plays tennis and my daughter goes to ballet. This allows them to focus on one thing, get better at it, and enjoy it more and more over time. I like to shop using apps like Poshmark or Mercari. I also shop at Once Upon a Child, which is a chain of stores full of gently used name brand clothes. So, try to swap babysitting with other families. Maybe you get to know another family who lives on your street and offer to watch their kids one night if they watch your kids on another.

This giving each of you an opportunity to have a date night without paying a premium for a babysitter. This is another area where parents tend to go overboard. There are so many free activities you can do with your kids. One of my favorites is taking my kids to our local public library. There, they can play with toys, pick out books, and see the fish in the fish tank. The library also offers several discounts to local museums you can take advantage of.

Simply ask a library for more information about the perks that come with your library membership. Co-working spaces are great because you can surround yourself with other entrepreneurs but they also come with a membership cost. Also, working in coffee shops is fine too I happen to be writing this in a coffee shop right now but it can lead you to spend money on pricey lattes and food guilty.

So, work at home or at the library mostly if you want to save money and cut costs. So, make it a habit to save your taxes first to avoid this. However, each month take note of your expenses. You can save money by only keeping the expenses you really need that benefit your business. Still, take the time to research your retirement options anyway and try to automate the process as much as possible to encourage yourself to save more. Money Savings Tips for the Grocery Store. This is such a simple tip, but it can save you so much money. Checking your fridge before you go can also help prevent food waste in addition to saving you money.

All you need to do is take note of the food you have and think of dinners you can make with what you already have on hand. Bringing a list to the grocery store is crucial for saving money, and sticking to the list is obviously important too.

How to Budget and Save Money as a College Student

I also recommend going to the grocery store alone if you have children, but they are equally as guilty of throwing things into the cart! There are numerous apps available today that can help you save money on your groceries. Ibotta is one of the most popular ones currently.

You can check out our full Ibotta review here. Yet, I realized that buying wine every time I went to the grocery store really increased my bill. It also made me tired at night, which meant it was harder for me to write after my kids went to bed. I buy milk and juice for my kids and occasionally some small water bottles for being on the go. This is a very simple and easy way to save money and also to be healthier and reduce my caloric intake. Sometimes, I like to let the prices dictate where I travel. That might mean on a given week of the year we have available to travel, plane flights to Florida are much cheaper than plane flights to Chicago, so we pick Florida.

By being open and more adventurous, we can still have a great time traveling but at a price that fits our budget. When you rent an Airbnb when you travel, you can save money on your accommodations. Vacation rentals tend to have kitchens, which means you can make a lot of your meals at home. This can free up money to visit museums, see a game, and more. If you know how to use a credit card responsibly , then you might benefit from credit card rewards.

You can sign up for new travel credit cards, and use the sign up bonus to get free flights, hotels, excursions, and more. Keep in mind that this is a hack for people with excellent credit scores who pay off their credit cards at the end of each month. Camping is a great way to have a fun vacation without spending a lot of money. You can camp in the wilderness or find a campsite that has showers and bathrooms. Bring your own food, sit around the campfire, and enjoy time with your family and kids on a dime. Do your research to find free museum days, restaurants that allow kids to eat free, and more.

Annual physicals are typically included in most healthcare plans. Most people know smoking is bad for your health, but it also has a significant impact on your wallet. Exercising is excellent for your physical and mental health. If you regularly exercise and get your heart rate up every day, you are helping to prevent chronic illness down the road that could be extremely expensive.

One way you can save money is by purchasing generic medications.

Define Your Financial Goals

You can also ask your pharmacy if they know of any coupons available for your medication. However, this convenience costs me every time. The easiest way to save money in general, not just for retirement, is to save automatically. No matter how great you are with saving money, automating your savings is still the best way to ensure it happens. You can set it up with your employer to have a specific amount taken out of your paycheck every pay period and invested for you. This is a great and simple way to save more money for your future. Employer matches are free money. So, if you work a job, and an employer match is one of your benefits, make sure you take the time to set up your retirement accounts so you can benefit from this.

More and more people are becoming aware of the fees that come with managed funds or k accounts.

There are many low cost brokers out there. Some of the most well known are Vanguard, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab. These companies enable you to buy mutual funds and invest your money with lower fees than many of their competitors. There is a service called Trim that will review your accounts and notify you of any recurring subscriptions you might have.

When you pay for your car insurance monthly, you usually pay more for it over the course of a year. So, consider paying for it every six months. High quality clothes that are well made with premium materials can last years longer than cheap clothes. This is especially important when buying items like winter coats or winter boots. There are some companies, like Patagonia, that will repair clothes for you , enabling them to last decades. Sometimes, buying more expensive, higher quality items can save you more money over the course of your lifetime. There are so many online tools available that search for coupons for you.

Honey is one of my favorites. This is one of the most well known money saving tricks in the book. Not everyone is a good candidate for refinancing federal student loans. Insourcing, or completing tasks by yourself at home or in your business, is a great way to save money. Of course, it has its limits.

2. Sweep rewards to savings

Purchase a small modest home that you can easily afford. Since your home is such as a large portion of your budget be realistic when deciding where to live. Remember that buying is not for everyone. Renting might be a better option depending on your individual situation. How to Buy Your First Home: The Ultimate 8 Step Guide.

1. Pick the right checking account

Frugal people have the habit of using everything to the very last drop. This includes cars, clothing, tools, disposables, machines, appliances, and more. The longer you can use something the more money you save. Learning how to repair and reuse your own items can save you thousands of dollars each and every year. A car is a great example for this. Learning how to replace your own brakes and complete your own oil changes can save you hundreds of dollars by its self. Add in some drywall repairs, driveway sealing, roof patching, electrical work, and plumbing and you are now a money-saving savage.

Leaving your house for entertainment is almost a guarantee you are going to spend money. Learn how to stay entertained at your house. Get into the habit of never leaving the house without a plan in place. Going out for entertainment is not a bad thing, but keeping it in moderation is a great habit. Some great at home entertainment ideas include campfire, dinner with friends, game night, DIY projects and movie nights. Even better why not make some extra money with your spare time?

We are a huge proponent of this habit! Anytime someone else is making, serving, and cleaning up your food you are going to pay a premium. Learn how to cook for yourself at home. There are a plethora of great recipe ideas on all over the internet. Start with some basic meals and work your way up. You will soon find that cooking at home is actually fun and the money you will save is insane!

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