Cutting spending is almost always the quickest way to start saving cash. Any extra cash from cutting costs can be put toward paying off debt, saving in an emergency fund, or investing.
When saving money aggressively for a goal, I think it’s helpful to consider that it is only for a season. It’s helpful to keep this in mind so you can stay motivated by the next goal that is in front of you!
Cutting Costs Shows You What is Important
Cutting costs can also be a good time to evaluate what you actually enjoy spending money on.
Creating a budget and being intentional with money helps you think about how to prioritize what is important and what is not.
If you are paying off debt, cutting costs is especially important.
Through the process of cutting costs and budgeting, you will learn what you really value and enjoy.
A little intentionality goes a long way!
Cutting costs and budgeting force you to consider your everyday purchases that you may have started doing on autopilot. You may find that there are things that you really enjoy (like eating out) but need to cut back on while you pay off debt.
You might be surprised at how much a little intentionality in cutting costs can save you in a month!
Practical Tips to Cut Costs & Save Money
- Create a budget – Knowing where your money is going can help decrease a lot of unnecessary costs!
- Limit eating out – decide beforehand how much to spend.
- Buy items in bulk when on sale that you know with relative certainty that you’ll use within 3-6 months.
- Buy clothes at thrift stores brick-and-mortar or online. I love Poshmark for brands that I know I like!
- Don’t upgrade your phone every year.
- Use coupon apps
- Ibotta
- Checkout 51
- Fetch rewards
- Use Honey when shopping online.
- Shop around for big purchases like cars, insurance, and mortgages. Don’t hesitate to tell the insurance agent or lender you found a better price elsewhere. They may just try to match or beat the price.
- Combine driving trips. Plan out your errands as best as possible for the week. While you may have some last-minute trips, it never hurts to do a little extra planning.
- Don’t pay interest/decrease interest owed
- Pay off credit cards every month
- Make extra payments on debts with a debt payoff plan
- Buy used vehicles. They may require more maintenance than a new car…but cars aren’t exactly known for being low maintenance. Plus, cars depreciate super quickly (Beginning in the first year of ownership).
- Meal plan – This helps create a grocery list and eliminate last-minute food purchase decisions.
- Go to the grocery with a list – anytime I go to the grocery without a list, I seem to end up with about twice as many things as I planned for.
- Don’t pay late fees
- Whether it’s on your credit card or a bill.
- Whether it’s on your credit card or a bill.
- Pay insurance on an annual or semi-annual basis. There’s usually an installment fee for monthly payments.
- Buy a car with lower maintenance costs.
- Shop at discount stores like Aldi for groceries.
- Buy household goods at stores like TJ Maxx and Big Lots.
- When it’s time to get a new phone, buy one that is a generation or two old.
- Check out Facebook marketplace or thrift stores for household items.
- If you live in a location where it’s feasible, walk instead of drive.
- Combine insurances for a bundle rate. Often, insurance companies will offer a discount if you bundle car insurance with renters or homeowners insurance.
- Watch out for local coupons. I’m not much of a couponer, but sometimes there can be some good deals in general mailings.
- Decide how much to save each month and schedule when to move the money from checking to savings.
- Use your library card – I’ve been all about Hoopla and Libby for e-books lately!.
- Invest in a planner that works for you. Just a little bit of planning goes a long way! This helps from everything like planning the food for the week to planning ahead for gifts that you know you will need to buy – and look out for deals in the meantime!
- Evaluate subscriptions – this is a big one with seemingly everything on a subscription plan!
- Shop around if you need a significant piece of clothing – I bought an almost brand-new pair of Sorrel snow boots on eBay for about half the price as new!
Everything can be summed up as being intentional. While we will always have last-minute things to do and buy (hey, that’s life!), a little bit of planning and intentionality can alleviate last minute or excessive purchases.
I’m pretty sure I’ve made the mistake of not doing almost all of these, so I’ve learned from first-hand experience how a small amount of planning and discipline can help save cash.
Cutting costs can feel like depriving yourself. But think of it as a challenge to get creative. Maybe you have never considered buying certain things used or shopping around for things like insurance.
The goal of cutting costs is to stop spending on things that aren’t as important in order to free up money to put toward those things that are important.
What is your favorite way to cut costs?
