5 Quick Ways to Save Money

I'm always looking for little tips to save money.  Whether I want to put the money saved towards a bill or save it for a house project or spend it on some new cloth diapers, it's nice to know when you're able to save a bit.  Here are some easy, quick tips to save money.

1. Drop a small (or large) bill.  Look where your money is going each month.  Can you find a cheaper gym?  Do you read those magazines or can you get a cheaper e-version?  For us, we dropped our Netflix when the bill went up to $16 a month.  We weren't watching that many movies and for that price, we could rent almost 16 Redbox movies to justify it.  And Redbox had all the new releases and Netflix didn't.  Now, we end up getting a Redbox movie maybe once a month, costing us $1 versus $16.

2. Make a shopping list off your grocery store flyers and follow it.  Browse your grocery store's flyer and make your weekly menu off of that.    I have a major weakness in that, when I'm hungry, I'm hungry.  My friends and family know I turn into a monster without food and get sick.  If I neglect the dinner menu, I either run to the store and come home with ice cream, Doritos, sour gummy worms, and frozen taquitos or I send my husband out for fried chicken.  See, no menu=no self-control=YUCK.  So check out the super sales and plan your shopping list.  If you need inspiration, this is a site where you can enter ingredients and in turn, are given recipe ideas!

3. Drop the land line and consider your cell phone service.  For years, people have been getting rid of their land lines and directing all their phone calls to their mobile phones.  Great way to save.  However, cell phones prices and addendums have continued to snowball, leaving some families, who opt for services like unlimited data, text and talking, with monthly bills reaching $1,000.  It may be worthwhile to pay your contract severance fees and find a pay-as-you-go or prepaid phone.  I have several friends who are happy with their $45 a month mobile phone bill and service and don't find it inconvenient to buy minutes and data as needed.

4. Check reviews and prices.  Shop before you buy.  With nearly everything online, there's no reason why you can't Google a review for that new blender you want.  In doing so, you may find that the $40 machine is good, but there is a $30 blender, of a different brand, that has better reviews and a longer warranty.  Besides, thinking about your purchase (when it's not physically in front of you) quite often makes you reconsider before making a hasty decision with that new birthday money.

5. Don't buy it, make it.  You saw a cute canvas photo print in a store but didn't like the price tag?  Replicate it.  Have a craving for Chili's salsa?  Make it.  Have a baby shower coming up and you need a gift?  Check out this list of 12 baby shower gifts you can make.  Laundry soap killing your budget?  Mix up your own.

My mantra!

Saving money can be easy and not as painful as one might think!  Hope this encourages you and maybe gives you some ideas as to how to fatten your wallet!