What Are Your Favorite Money-Saving Habits?
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Note from Kat – I first asked my fellow writers here at Corporette if we could team up on our favorite money saving habits and tips and tricks — and everyone's advice was so good I thought I'd make a series out of it! (‘Tis the season, right?) Today, Elizabeth is sharing her money-saving habits with us. Huge thanks to Elizabeth!
Elizabeth's Money-Saving Habits
I like to think of myself as being flexibly frugal. I don't drive a fancy car and I will absolutely not be paying full price for shampoo, but I will pay extra for upgrades that make my life easier or more comfortable when the situation calls for it.
Big Stuff
Cars
I bought my mid-size SUV in 2017 with a 0% APR loan and I plan on driving it until the wheels fall off. If I were a person who got a lot of pleasure out of driving a luxury car, I might prioritize this differently, but as long as it's getting me from Point A to Point B safely, I'm just fine. I'm hoping to get a few more years out of this one before switching to a hybrid or electric car.
Housing
Housing is the biggest line item in my budget, so when I bought my home as a single person several years ago, I was really cautious about not getting out over my skis with a house that was more than I could comfortably afford.
Rather than let my mortgage broker tell me how big of a mortgage they thought I could qualify for, I did the math ahead of time and told them the maximum amount that I wanted to be approved for. This saved me from being tempted (or pressured) into falling for a house that would cost more than I was comfortable with.
Small Stuff
Meal Planning
Without a loose plan, I turn into an absolute gremlin in the grocery store. I'm not as militant as some folks are, but I try to come up with 3-4 dinners that I know I'll make at some point over the course of the week.
I pick up groceries on Friday night or Saturday morning and spend an hour or two on Saturday or Sunday getting stuff ready for the week. This usually means making some kind of protein/grain/veggie that can be combined in different ways for my lunches, and chopping vegetables and prepping proteins for dinners. I find that if I have some stuff ready in advance, I'm not as tempted to order takeout just because it's late and I'm tired.
I can always tell the difference in food spending between the weeks when I had a good plan in place and the weeks when I was just flying by the seat of my pants.
Toiletries
I have a teenage daughter, which means my budget for skincare/haircare/bath items is close to the GDP for a small country. I try to save money where I can by stocking up on our most-used items at a discount. This usually means checking the CVS and Target ads on Sunday mornings to look for sales and signing up for loyalty programs that send digital coupons to my email every week.
For example, at the time of this writing, I'm looking at the digital coupons available on my CVS account and I have $5 off Neutrogena facial products and $5 off Differin adapalene products. I also have an $8 off $40 coupon and a 30% off one regular-priced item coupon that were emailed to me earlier this week.
Combining all of those, I can buy the moisturizer and acne treatment that get used most frequently in our house for less than $20, rather than the $35 or so that they would normally cost elsewhere. I know this sounds time-consuming, but I swear it takes me no more than a few minutes and it allows me to keep a small stockpile of items purchased on the cheap. It probably saves me a few hundred dollars over the course of the year. And most importantly, it saves me from having to run to the store at the last minute because we're out of tampons or toothpaste.
Huge thanks to Elizabeth for sharing her habits with us! Readers, what are your top money-saving habits?
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / johnkwan.
I avoid most of the crazy fees on theater and concert tickets by purchasing them in person at the box office when I’m at the theater for another show. There are only two major venues in our city and their box offices are linked, so if I’m at the concert hall I can still buy tickets for the venue that hosts plays and vice versa. This obviously doesn’t work for popular shows that sell out instantly, but I am usually able to save at least $45 per show for our family of three on most concerts, comedy shows, and touring Broadway productions this way. We go to a lot of shows so it does add up.
There are things I do that save money when making purchases, but I save way more by a combination of being satisfied with what I have, not wanting the bother of getting something better, and thinking about how I can get what I want (like a comfortable-temperature house or a fun vacation) while also having a smaller impact on the planet.
I’m sure this will be viewed with scorn from the fancier types here, but my biggest tip is doing the bulk of my grocery shopping at Aldi. I can’t tell the difference between organic/free range vs regular items, and my diet and eating habits don’t necessitate them (though Aldi does have some organic items too). It also saves me a lot of time because I’m only deciding between chunky or smooth peanut butter, not choosing between a whole wall of brands.
+100 for Aldi! Their cheese options, free range proteins, and sustainable seafood are especially economical compared to the other grocery stores in our area.
I have a high fun money budget and spend it on music and theatre, travel, and food, but I save in quite a few areas as well.
Public transportation. Buying used cars and maintaining them well. Timing house purchases for when interest rates are lower.
Library app and patience instead of always purchasing the book I want.
Memberships to cheaper public gyms and pools instead of high cost posh memberships.
Owning and using repair kits for gear, bags, and clothes.
Planning ahead to post a card or gift so I don’t have to do last minute flowers or Amazon.
Bringing packed coffee, lunches, or breakfasts on trips.
I don’t clip coupons and usually don’t shop sales.
I am a clothes horse, but 2/3 of my wardrobe is thrifted. My favorite find is a wool Max Mara (not Weekend, the main line) sweater I got for $30.
I’ve switched to Libby when possible for books/audiobooks.
We regularly audit subscriptions to make sure we are using what we pay for and cut what we don’t.
Cars are a means from A to B. I will drive my Corolla until it dies.
Swapping childcare with other moms instead of paying for a babysitter. Less reliable? Slightly. (Babysitters can get sick too, but not quite at the same rate as a family with small children.) But it’s free and builds more lasting friendships. Neighbors bring soup when you’re sick, babysitters don’t. (And it would honestly be a little weird if they did.)
I think this is a great article and comments.
Some great ideas. I save money by combining car trips so I save on gas and,of course, time.
We don’t eat out very much. So we save a great deal on food costs, and able to manage our weight better, too.
I pay my bills on time to avoid late fees and interest charges. and put any extra money in as high an interest-bearing account as possible.You may think this is super radical. but I have been without health insurance for 5 years. I’m very healthy. and at this rate I’ll make it to Medicare age.
I save an incredible amount of money being a “self-pay” patient. Doctor slash the costs of visits and procedures when I pay at the time of the visit. And I save on premiums. I shop for prescription drugs I might need and get the best rate i can find through GoodRx. And I work out every day at home. I gave up the gym membership.
I was healthy, until I wasn’t. Vegetarian, maintained a great weight, very active, exercised daily, had two unmedicated uncomplicated births witht midwives, never saw a doctor. A slight shortness of breath at age 40 kept catching up to me. I needed to start stopping at miles 5 and 10 on my daily runs to catch my breath, decided to investigate, was dx’d with a disease that at the time had a life expectancy of 3 to 5 years. Out of the blue, no family history, no genetic pre-disposition, my only symptom was the shortness of breath. Fortunately the power of science has led to great advances and there are now several treatments, but I thank god I had medical insurance that year.
1. Unless you are hellbent on having kids, don’t do it. If you’re on the fence or think it’s “just what happens” stop and think about whether it’s something that is actually right for you.
2. Buy a used car. Although this may not be the best tip since the pandemic upended the used car market, take a look at 2-3 year old cars just off leases and see if there is savings there. It’s been great for me in Delaware because many drivers don’t drive excessively, so you can get an off-lease car with very low mileage.
3. Try to stay in one property if you can. If you are moving voluntarily, make sure the salary or bonus bump covers most if not all of the transfer taxes for buying/selling.