With 2019 seemingly speeding by for some and going slow as molasses for others there is still one goal that most people have in mind: saving money. I was no different and this year I was determined to make some financial changes. In order to become more financially aware, I decided to start to take mindful control. I sat down with my husband and we compiled a list of all our bills; big and small. We also printed out our bank statement and marked every time we ate out at a restaurant or fast food place, when and how often we purchased gas for our cars, etc. This gave us an idea of where our money was going and made it much easier to begin the process of being financially aware.

Below is a list of some of the things I’ve done that have allowed me to save an average of $500 per month. This isn’t a scam and I am not selling you anything. I am simply giving you some helpful tips that’s worked for me.

I take out our allowances before paying the bills

In order to effectively do this, you will need to add up how much your bills are each month. If you have some bills that fluctuate, use the highest amount you’ve ever paid for this bill. Using one paycheck, I pay me and my husband an allowance. The allowance is agreed upon by taking our net monthly income and subtracting our monthly bills. Whatever we feel comfortable giving to ourselves as an allowance is what we get every month.

For example:

Monthly Income= $3,000/month

Monthly Bills=$2500/month

Allowance=$100/month/spouse (for a total of $200/month)

Savings/Emergency Fund=$300/month

This may seem counterintuitive but I’ve found that taking out our allowances before paying our bills ensures that we do not overspend on unnecessary items. Our rule is: “if you can’t pay for it with your allowance, you can’t afford it”. This also reinforces accountability and responsibility. Our allowances are what we use for items we want as an individual. For instance: if my husband wants a new video game he will pay for it with his own allowance!

Get rid of unnecessary subscriptions

The next tip is to get rid of unnecessary subscriptions! I sat down and went through every subscription I had and got rid of it if I didn’t feel I absolutely needed it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Netflix but during this process, I researched if there was any way for me to get the same types of services I wanted but for FREE (for the time being at least). The services I had were Hulu, Netflix, Boomerang (I’m a 90s kid), Spotify, and Amazon Prime. We got rid of Netflix completely and simply use the Families (my spouses’ parents) Netflix account. I found that I get a FREE Hulu subscription through my cell phone carrier, Sprint. Plus, with Amazon Prime, I also got some streaming options. I got rid of Boomerang since I felt that if I really wanted to watch these cartoons there was always Youtube! I knew that I was NOT getting rid of Amazon Prime since I use it so much so I got rid of Spotify after realizing I could just use Amazon Music (free with Amazon Prime)!

Although tiny, these bills can save a lot of hassle! I can’t tell you how many times we would forget about these small bills, overdraw our checking account, and have to dig into our savings to recover. Being a parent it was important that I eliminated subscription junk. It has relieved so much stress not having to worry about a $14.99 charge coming out at some point.

Now, the rule we have for subscriptions is “if you can’t pay for the entire year upfront (or leaving the entire years worth of monthly payments in a separate savings account) then you don’t need it”!

For example: if Netflix cost $10 per month (it doesn’t) then we have to be able to put away $120 to cover the cost of the subscription for a year. This too helps to alleviate unnecessary stress over small bills coming out.

So, this isn’t to say that you can’t have subscriptions, but make sure you can afford your subscriptions for at least a year before you get them! My subscription to Boomerang was 5.99 so I put away $75 (from MY allowance) to cover the cost of the subscription for a year.

Using coupons and taking advantage of sales

This seems like an obvious one but most people don’t take advantage of coupons and sales! They either feel that cutting out coupons is too tedious or that the sales aren’t worth the trip. Well, good news, you don’t HAVE to cut coupons! With today’s technology, there are many great alternatives. Personally, I use Coupons.com. I just download their app and I have access to loads of coupons and sales!

Another good way to start is by simply looking for coupons and sales at stores you most frequent. I chose Target and Publix because they are relatively close to me and I shop there often. Some sales are simple percentages off while others, like some at Target, give you gift cards! For instance, I purchased some laundry soap and dryer sheets, things I needed anyway, I used manufacture coupons as well and after spending a certain amount (like $25) I got a $5 gift card! So in total that day I paid about $17 for $50 worth of merchandise AND received $10 in gift cards!

Research if your favorite stores have apps that allow quick access to their coupons and sales.

Prepaid my car insurance

Prepaying for insurance has had two benefits for me. First, it saves us about $20 a month. This may not seem like a lot but that’s about $120 every six months. For a parent, that’s a nice date haha. Anyways, on top of the financial savings, it has also provided additional relief and peace of mind. It has been wonderful not having to worry about car insurance (or any other insurance you can prepay for; like renters insurance) coming out every month. We decided to use part of our tax return to do this and now we don’t have to see a $170 car insurance payment being deducted every month!

I felt that a lot of the time I would find myself “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, as my grandmother would say. Basically, I would find that I had a bill I didn’t foresee, like one of the subscriptions, come out and now I’m $20 short for this bill or that bill. Now, what do I have to do? Borrow money OR take on a late fee. Either way, I was paying more money than necessary. Paying for my insurance upfront made sure I had one less bill to worry about

Use FoodSaver bags

This is my favorite. I love cooking and food but I HATED that my husband would cook way more than necessary; there is only three of us. It was such a waste of food AND money sometimes. My mother-in-law gifted us with a FoodSaver and I have loved it ever since! On Sundays, after we go grocery shopping, I take out my meats, portion them into food saver bags, and then store them in the freezer! I do the same thing with veggies, too! This not only saves money but it saves time as well! This has also helped my marriage (haha) since my husband no longer wastes food!

I also do this with sauces (since I buy in bulk). If we open a jar of spaghetti sauce I simply empty the remaining sauce into freezer bags and store!

⇓⇓ FoodSaver Bags ⇓⇓

By using these easy techniques I have allowed my family to save upward of $500 per month! Cutting out unnecessary subscriptions, saving food, being more financially conscious among other things has really changed our financial situation!

What are some things you do to help save money?