Genius Money Hacks for Massive Savings

Do you know how much money you spend each month on your living expenses? Most people don’t. It can be shocking when you see a written tally of your monthly expenses for the first time. Knowing how much you spend on groceries, eating out, entertainment, gasoline, utilities, and other things is a powerful way to motivate yourself to cut back.

As an exercise, just keep a simple notebook. At the start of a new month, write down everything you spend money on – every time you eat out, every bill you pay, even that new pack of socks you need. At the end of the month, tally everything up to see where you are. See if you can identify anything you can either cut back on or eliminate to save money.

If you smoke or drink alcohol regularly, you can very easily save a lot of money by ditching bad habits. According to the CDC, if you smoke just one pack of cigarettes a day, you spend a lot a year on tobacco products. That’s a lot of money!

Not only will you save a lot by ditching alcohol and tobacco products, but your health will improve, too. Your body will thank you!

You can buy the same groceries at discount grocery stores instead of the big, flashy chain stores and realize significant savings. All of those fancy product displays, special lighting, and other features cost money.

Guess who pays for all of that stuff? That’s right, you do. The cost is passed on to you in the form of higher product prices.

Discount grocery stores are usually straightforward and plain. They don’t have fancy product displays. Most of the products are stocked right on the shelves in the original boxes they were shipped in. This is how these stores are able to offer lower prices – they keep things simple.

If you are shopping for groceries, you may be able to save a lot by buying generic or store brands instead of name brands. Grocery stores don’t make their own products. They make arrangements with companies that produce or manufacture grocery items to have their own brand and label applied to the product. In some cases, generic or store brands are actually name-brand products with different labels.

Consider testing a generic or store brand product with your family to see if anyone notices a difference in quality or taste. For example, you could substitute a can of generic green beans in a meal to see how it works out. Don’t tell your family anything is different until they’ve finished eating. Then ask them if they noticed anything different. If not, then you’ve got a winner in your hand.

You can potentially save a lot of money on many of the things you purchase by buying them used instead of new. It’s now straightforward to find used items thanks to Craigslist, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and other places online that list used items for sale. Don’t forget to check thrift stores, auctions, and yard sales, too!

Many people sell things that have been gently used, and they are often listed at a substantial discount over the original price. You can easily take advantage of this by checking the used listings first for whatever you need before paying full price at a store.

Are you thinking about hiring someone to paint a room in your home? Maybe you are looking for someone to do some landscaping in your front yard. Or maybe it’s time to call a plumber to fix that leaky faucet that’s been bugging you for weeks.

Whenever you hire someone to do a service of some kind for you, you can expect to spend a lot of money to get the job done. Good help doesn’t come cheap. You can easily save a lot of money by taking care of small repair jobs and other tasks around your home yourself.

These days, it’s very easy to figure out how to do many repair jobs thanks to the internet. If you want to know how to build a pergola, for example, detailed instructions are just a few mouse clicks away. In addition to website tutorials, YouTube is a treasure trove of information. One woman, for example, built a home for her family by watching YouTube videos.

Do you remember the last time you got some insurance quotes and did some comparison shopping? It could be insurance for your home, vehicle, or anything else.

Things change. A great rate you got from a company a decade ago may not be so competitive these days. By checking with other companies, you can compare costs and go with the company that gives you the best rate with the best coverage.

Most people don’t have any idea how much they spend on sugary beverages (soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit juices, etc.). The tab can really add up if you aren’t careful.

Instead of drinking sugary beverages, try drinking water instead. Most restaurants offer free water with meals. By dropping the sugary drinks and switching to water, not only will you save money, but you might just lose some weight, too. Your body will thank you.

If you have to eat out a lot, you probably already know how expensive it can be. Even if you just eat out twice a week, that’s eight times in a month. You can very easily save a lot of money by packing your lunches instead of heading out to a restaurant when it’s lunchtime.

When you pack your lunch, you can eat foods that are both healthier and more affordable. You’ll be able to know all of the ingredients that went into your meal, and you’ll have full control over how it was prepared.

Another advantage of packing your lunch is that it helps you avoid temptation when you are at a restaurant and everything on the menu looks delicious. This is an important consideration for those who are on special diets, like those trying to lose weight or those with dietary health concerns.

Everyone likes to dine out on occasion, but prepared meals can be very expensive. It almost always costs much less to prepare meals at home than it does to eat out.

To see how much you spend in a month on dining out, keep a written record of each meal you purchase for a month. Be sure to include tips. At the end of the month, tally everything up to see how much you spent. If you are shocked by the amount, it might be time to cut back.

If you like to dine out once or twice a week, try cutting back to just once a week or once every other week for a while to save some money. The savings can really add up fast!