Simple MONEY SAVING Tips

If this year caught totally unprepared, no worries, you are not alone! Many people have lost their jobs or might be in a financial difficulty, but no worries, there are few simple ways to budged your money better and still enjoy the good things in life:

1 SELL everything that you don’t use or need anymore. I always did this, and now more than ever, especially when it comes to clothes and shoes, I use websites as Ebay & Poshmark (sign up using LAURABRUJ and $10 in your account) to clear my closets. Just make sure to clean and describe your items correctly, since you want to be a “reliable retailer”.

2 BORROW items you only need occasionally, such as fishing, camping, accessories, and anything else that you don’t normally buy. Also learn to be a borrower, since many of us are reluctant in that area.

3 LIBRARY is your best friend if you use it properly, and you can find tons of book, magazines and information there, plus they offer free kids programs and activities.

4 SKIP THE COFFEE SHOP and make your own coffee. You might want to upgrade your coffee beans and even buy a coffee grinder for a better experience, but overall you will still save money.

5 PACK YOUR OWN LUNCH and skip the expensive lunch option, plus you have control over what you eat, and it might also keep your weight in check.

6 SKIP EATTING OUT and cook at home, learn new recipes and also involve your family. I always felt that cooking and eating together is a way of bonding, plus we eat so much healthier when we cook home and we totally have fruit instead of desert.

7 TRY A NO BUY MONTH (or more), except food and see if you miss on anything. On my first No Buy, I realized how addicted we are to shopping and going to “visit” stores. This experiment might see shopping with new eyes.

8 LOWER YOUR CELLPHONE BILL and try a family plan with your friends/family or simply buy only what you use and need.

9 CANCEL SUBSCRIPTIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS you don’t use, especially the gym. People are busier than ever, and somethings going to a gym might be more of a trend than a health step for some people, so opt for some exercise moves at home, or simply just enjoy some outdoor activities (walking, bike, tennis, etc)

10 SAVE ON GROCERIES by looking what’s on sale and also by buying generic brands. I noticed more stores who have their own products, also have their own organic options, and I often buy those on sale. Also I use an app called Ibotta that occasionally saves me $$$.

11 SAVE MONEY by using a savings account and also use Pigly.com for budget and savings calculators to estimate your future savings and investments. Also ,you can set up your bank account to automatically transfer funds from your checking account into a savings account every month. If that sounds scary to you, you can also set up your direct deposit to automatically transfer 10% of each paycheck into your savings account.

12 CUT THE CABLE and choose Netflix or Hulu to watch movies. This was a huge saving for my busy family and we save each year about $1000 without feeling that we don’t have anything to watch.

13 Avoid MOVIE THEATHERS and Movies Premieres and buy the movies to watch at home, plus enjoy a bucket of a freshly homemade popcorn, without the excess price. Extra butter anyone?

14 UNSUBSCRIBE from e-mails that sends you notifications about the next sale, since you don’t need any temptations, and buy only what you need, when you need. Also, try to find better quality products, since you can enjoy for longer periods of time and also save money.

15 DIY as much as possible and these days you can find some much inspirations and videos on Youtube that you can master about anything.

16 TRY A STAYCATION and discover new museums in your city or nearby, without spending to travel and sleep. You will also see your city with new eyes and learn more about it.

17 TRY AT HOME HAIRCUT & COLOR I do agree we are not all experts in this area, but I always gave my son a haircut, and the more you do it, the better you get. Plus there are so many cool hair dyes kits to choose from this days, so you might be very successful in that area too.