How to Save Hundreds of Dollars Every Year

With costs of just about everything rising, we need to find more creative ways to save or make extra money. I have created a list of a few different ways that I have used to save.

Matt’s note: the best way I have found to save money every month is to formulate a budget and stick to it. I use YNAB software to budget and save, the one time investment pays for itself month in and month out.

1. Using coupons

This first thing is something that I have really enjoyed doing over the past six months. Using coupons is a great way to save a bunch of money each month or year. When I first got into using coupons I did a lot of research online. I was able to find deals on quite a bunch of stuff. A tip I learned with using coupons is that if the sale is good enough then make sure you get enough of the product to last you for a while. Currently I have a stockpile of household items that will last me for years and I literally spent pennies on the dollar on each item. An example of would be some body wash that had a coupon for $3 off, and by watching store sales I was able to find it marked down to $3 which made it free, I just paid sales tax. I have done that with multiple items including toothpaste, laundry soap, dryer sheets, ect.

It doesn’t take countless hours each week sorting through coupons and reading online ads to be able to save with coupons. I probably only spend one hour each week finding deals. To date I have easily saved over $1000 on items by using coupons. I suggest just give it a try and you might be surprised.

2. Cutting cable

Another great way to save some money each month is by cutting additional services from your cable package. When our cable bill went up a couple years ago, I called and asked them if there was anything I could do to lower my bill. I ended up getting a price break which is saving me close to $30 a month. That is a $360 savings each year. That amount would really make a dent in your debt if you are trying to pay it off. Of course if you really want to save a lot you could drop your cable completely. Or go for the cheaper option of Netflix for around $9 a month. I believe either option is fine and would benefit you greatly.

3. Pilot light

This is something that may only make a small change in the amount of money that you save but every little bit helps. During the summer I will shut off the pilot light on my furnace so it does not run all summer long for no reason. That typically saves me $10 per month. Like I said its a small saving but everything adds up in the end.

4. Garage sale

This is not really a way to save money but it is definitely a great way to make some extra money if you are trying to fill up an emergency fund or pay off debts. When my wife and I first started getting ourselves on a plan we decided to have a garage sale and we pretty much sold about everything that we owned. I sold musical instruments, a collection and we had tons of baby clothes. We made just about $700 at our garage sale. Now maybe you have some extra stuff that you want to sell but don’t quite have enough for a garage sale. Ebay is a great place to sell off some of your extra stuff. Anything you get rid off and make a few bucks will help.

This is just a small list of things you can do to save money and I am sure there are hundreds more that anyone could do. You just need to be creative and find the things that work in your life to save money. It can be done.

Ryan Brewer writes about sound money management because he knows how back being in debt sucks! Him and his wife Dawn fought through debt to emerge victorious and wrote a book about their journey called If Stupid Was Illegal.