7 Simple Money-Saving and Investing Hacks That Actually Work

The following is a sponsored blog post:

Saving can be quite difficult if you have grown used to buying bags, shoes, and even sets of furniture on impulse. Sure, we are not growing any younger by the day, right? It is important that we set aside some portion of our paycheck and not spend more than what we can actually earn so we can live a comfortable, stress- and debt-free life.

If you recently checked your money at an ATM (to see if there is any) and zero stared right back at you, perhaps it is time that you consider starting to save for your future. We are not asking for you to keep half of what you earn monthly as savings, because that is going to be really difficult. Today we will share some simple money-saving tips and investing hacks that you can actually follow easily. Just add your commitment, impulse control, and discipline to the recipe, you will surely find yourself with a significant amount of money by the end of the year. This money can serve as your emergency fund or maybe use some of it to treat yourself to an international trip you have always been wanting to take.

SAVING

Start saving energy at home

It is not going to save you a lot outright, but you will notice how much you have saved in the long run. Start by saving energy at home to cut down on power consumption. Are you a fan of long, warm baths? If this is something you can do away with, then take a cold shower instead. This will save you the expense of using the heater and save you the expense of using more water. Why? Who wants to take a long, cold shower, anyway? If your fridge does not contain anything else than your beer and soda, perhaps it is time to consider not using it. It is not every day that you need to eat a tub of ice cream, right? You can always turn it on during special occasions, especially when you have friends and family coming over for the holiday.

Take the bus (or train, if available in your area)

We cannot stress it enough that owning a car means convenience. You can go from one place to another at your own time without having to wait for other passengers to take their sweet time getting in and off. But owning a car also entails money for repair and maintenance, and expensive gas. Start to take the bus or train to work, or school if you are still a student. On special occasions, you can download Uber, a taxi ride-sharing app that allows you to book a car to take you anywhere. The cost is minimal and you would not even notice it.

Call your credit card company and ask for a lower interest rate

While there is no law that officially explains how credit card companies can lower your interest rate, it does not hurt to ask. Call your credit card company and request that they lower your interest rate. This works best if you have been with them for years and your payments were never late. One good piece of advice, too, is to always pay your credit card bills on time so you would not incur a late payment fee and your credit score would remain stellar and in good standing.

Minimize Eating Out

Just imagine how much money you can save if you prepared a home-cooked meal instead of eating out at restaurants and fast food chains. If you live in an apartment with your friends, talk among yourselves and come up with a weekly food budget. You can shop for ingredients in the local market or grocery stores and prepare the dishes yourselves. This way you can avoid spending too much for food that would have tasted just as good if you prepared it at home. Also, this is a good way to hone your cooking skills. Watch Youtube tutorial videos on how to make your favorite dishes. The thing about cooking is it is never boring; it is fun and therapeutic.

Start collecting discount coupons

Your Sunday newspaper would most likely have a page that gives you a whole lot of discounts for almost anything you can think of. Use these coupons to buy necessary items in bulk to save money. Only buy something in bulk if it is something you use daily—toilet papers, sugar, etc. If you do this often, the amount of money you will save from coupon will be rewarding.

On weekends, stay at home

You will save a lot of money just by plainly staying at home for the weekends. You will not be exposed to unnecessary expenses like food, movie tickets, drinks, etc. Spend your time at home honing your skills or doing what you love. Do you like to write children’s stories? Do you enjoy reading a book while listening to a soft orchestra music? Appreciate your time alone—it’s free! Perhaps you wish to earn money at home, some ways are listed here.

INVESTING

Get involved in the stock market

Should you find yourself with some extra cash apart from your savings and wish you to earn more using that money, you might want to consider getting involved in the stock market. People nowadays find it very rewarding and convenient as they can invest and earn money without having to get out of their homes. Binary options trading is the easiest way you can earn money and the simplest to understand for beginners. One can profit from the movements in value of assets, commodities, stocks, and shares. You can also use binary robots to elevate your success in this field as robots is a web-based software (or an application you can download to your computer) that automatically trades for you and controls the risk you are taking.

There you have it! Although there are other tips that you can find online and hear from your friends, the tips above have been proven to work. Again, discipline is the key! Feel free to leave a comment below if you wish to add more.

12 thoughts on “7 Simple Money-Saving and Investing Hacks That Actually Work”

  1. DivHut,

    The energy is a great thing. I always feel bad telling others my electric Bill has been at the highest $45 and is typically between $9 and $13 per month. Further, I like to bundle up or use covers in the winter, so my gas isn’t always blowing heat, it’s fun to get warm and be cozy with a cup of coffee and tea!

    Staying home = you can do all of these things and then you save on wear/tear on a car, saving on gas/energy to transport and you get to just “rest” more than usual. Miss those days… Nice post

    -Lanny
    Dividend Diplomats recently posted…Bert’s Q2 2016 Goals ReviewMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi DD,

      We take the energy thing at home seriously too. We never fear seeing the electric bill come in the mail. We unplug everything if we go away for an overnight or longer. There are many times we have only the refrigerator plugged in and if we are away even adjust the thermostat to a “warmer” setting. People don’t realize how many items, while off, suck a constant stream of energy. It may be your television, computer, some sort of set top box or whatever. Off doesn’t mean zero electricity is flowing. Thanks for sharing your tips for money saving.

      Reply
    • Hi DR,

      Happy to provide some inspiration for a blog post. As you said, there are never too many techniques to utilize when trying to fine tune your personal finance game. Any little bit that can be saved is just a little bit more to have for the future. Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  2. Great ideas, especially buying in bulk. We’ve got a pile of rice that could literally last us a year or 2 sitting in the pantry, because it was really on sale so we pulled the car up and bought a tonne of it. Same with laundry detergent and a few other non-perishable things that we’ll never not need.
    MrSLM recently posted…Update in pictures Spring 2016My Profile

    Reply
    • Hi MSLM,

      Sometimes you have to be careful buying in bulk. I know it can be tempting to load up on certain items because of a low per unit cost but usage and management of what you bought becomes important so you don’t waste. I have read that bleach, for example, loses its effectiveness after six months so bulk buying may not always make sense. Thanks for sharing your personal bulk buys with us. Always appreciate the comment.

      Reply
  3. Thank you for the post. Blogs like yours and the Robinhood App have given me the inspiration and means to begin investing. I’m definitely on a budget. Every dollar helps. I really enjoy your blog. I’m just starting out and learning how to invest, so I really appreciate the content you are willing to share.

    Reply
    • Hi DS,

      I’m happy to hear that you have started on your own investing journey. More important than the amount you have to invest is the simple fact that you started to invest. As you stated, every dollar helps and today there is zero excuse to not start investing. With Robinhood and Loyal3 for example anyone on any budget can afford to start a dividend growth portfolio. I appreciate your kind words about my blog and hope you continue to find investing inspiration.

      Reply
  4. Thanks for sharing the hacks for money investment. The thing which I found interesting is “Minimize Eating Out” which actually saves our money to protect us from getting infected by eating junk food.

    Reply
    • Hi SW,

      Whatever works. Eating out should be a treat that’s enjoyed on occasion. The expense that can be saved eating in can really make a meaningful financial impact.

      Reply

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