Good Morning DINKS. One thing about me that has changed over the years is that now I love saving money instead of spending it on anything and everything that I can get my hands on. I still spend money on things that I need for the household and some things that I want for myself, but I am proud to say that I no longer spend money carelessly. This is a major change for me and I am proud to admit that now at 31 years old I am financially responsible.
I work in personal finance but I have not always taken my own advice. It’s like when you go to the hairdresser to get your hair done, the hairdresser does a great job on your hair but their own hair just never looks right.
I knew that my spending habits were bad and dangerous but I didn’t care. Only recently I decided to make a real change in my financial life and it has been a change for the better. I don’t live without the things I need, I just life without all the things I want; and for the first time in many many years this is ok with me, this is what I want.
Learning to live on a budget has definitely not been easy and it has been a huge learning experience. I have discovered many ways to save money and reuse items for different purposes that I would otherwise have thrown out. I have learned to think and live outside the box.
When we spend less money we can save more money. When we save more money we can afford the finer things in life, and saving money also gives us the peace of mind of security in case we have an unexpected expense or life event.
Here are Some Money Saving Tips:
1. Make Everything Smaller
- Choose a Basket or the Small Shopping Cart at the Grocery Store. The smaller the space the more money we will save.
- Bring Your Own Shopping Bags. I will never pay 0.05 for a plastic grocery bag. If we bring our own bags then we can only buy enough food and groceries to fill them up. If we plan to buy our plastic grocery bags at the supermarket then our spending could be unlimited.
- Buy Only What You Can Carry, Even If You Have a Car. I try to buy 2-3 bags of groceries each week. That is enough food for one person for a week, any more than that is excess. After 7 days or so food usually starts to go bad and I wouldn’t want to waste food because that is a waste of money.
2. Reuse Your Items for Something Else
- Use Your Unwanted Soap as Bubble Bath. There is nothing more that I hate than when my bars of soap get small and thin towards the end of their soapy lifespan. The sight of them makes me cringe and I used to just throw them out, but now I hold them under running water and use them to make bubble bath.
Photo by HoriaVartan
I also downsized my storage boxes. If we have less space to store our items then we will buy less items. It’s totally working! I am also eating off smaller plates which is saving me a lot of calories!!!
Coupons are a BIG way we have been saving $ as newlyweds. We hardly buy things without coupons anymore, and my wife spends a few hours a week planning our trips. Those few hours pay off in dividends.
@DC coupons are a great way to save money. I usually never pay full price for anything. My new motto is “If it’s not on sale then I don’t need it”
I think a similar way. When you start using coupons on stuff that is already on sale you can get things dirt cheap.
I have implemented the “make everything smaller” tip. Since I go shopping and have to unload the groceries solo, I don’t like buying so much that it takes several trips. I opt for the smaller carts at the store and only buy items that fit into 3-4 bags. That way I only have to make 1 trip from the car to the house. I suppose it’s cause I’m too lazy to make double trips as well. Lol
Buying only what you can carry is such an outstanding tip. It can work to not only save you money but help you lose weight as well. For the last 5 years we have done our grocery shopping in our neighborhood, carrying our sacks down and buying only what we could carry home. For the last year we have been traveling we continue to use this method. The result is we only buy what we need for a couple days and rarely ever buy extras (aka junk food).
We not only save money but we also get great exercise going back and forth to the store. Now that we have not driven in over a year it makes it easier to adapt and our wallets can thank us each time we head to the store.
Great tips!
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