Birthdays, holidays, home improvements and surprise expenses are all daunting money suckers that are looming over me at the moment.To be quite honest, I’ve never been good at saving money. It’s never been fun until now. Something has changed within me (did anyone else sing that sentence?). I have found ways to save money in all aspects of my life and I’ve been able to enjoy saving. Feel free to click on the category below to go directly to those saving tips or keep on reading to get money-saving tips in all areas. Please, please, please comment with ways you’ve found to save money. I love getting new tips!
- QAPITAL: I’ve mentioned it before, but my all time favorite way to save money on a daily basis is through the Qapital app. To date, we have saved over $400 by simply rounding up our purchases to the nearest $2. It adds up SO quickly! It is completely free and you can set up rules for any budget. Out of all the tips I am going to share with you, this is my favorite by far. Use this referral link and you’ll get $5 just for signing up and saving. Some banks offer this service too but when I did that with my old bank I usually ended up transferring the money back over. While you can easily transfer your money out of your Qapital account into your bank account, it’s not staring you in the face and it is less tempting to transfer and spend that money.
- PIGGY BANKS / CASH: If you’re new to budgeting and consider yourself to be a more visual person, you could try using labeled envelopes with your weekly budget in cash.If you’ve budgeted $40 a week for date nights, put $40 in cash in an envelope and label it “Date Nights.” At the end of the week take all of your change and leftover budget money and stash it in a piggy bank or mason jar.
- MINT: I used to HATE this app because it showed me in a pretty pie chart how much I suck at saving money. Every purchase you make is categorized and used to help you see where your money is going. Hellur fast food! (Why I’m fat & broke). Mint also gives you tips on reducing your big bills when it sees that you’re overspending on things like credit card interest and insurance. I think if you want to save money, you have to know where you’re spending it. Even if you just use Mint for that purpose alone, it’s quite helpful.
- AMAZON PRIME: Oh my heavens! Between the streaming kids shows, 2 day shipping, the Kiindle library and they’re great deals, I am in LOVE with Amazon Prime. I love that they’ve allowed you to pay monthly too. You can start a free 30 day trial via this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
- WALMART SAVINGS CATCHER: Since we live in the boonies, competition for good grocery companies is quite bleak so I’m grateful that since I’m essentially forced to shop at Walmart, that there is an opportunity to save. This app is very simple to use and you simply scan your receipt using your phone and if you could’ve saved on the items you bought by shopping elsewhere, Walmart actually pays you the difference. Also, there’s nothing saying you can’t stalk the parking lot for littered receipts. One man’s trash is another mama’s savings!
- iBOTTA: Hold onto your receipt and scan it into the iBotta app. From groceries, to clothing and even convenience stores, you can get rebates on items you’d buy anyway. You can download it here and when you redeem your first rebate, you get $10. (You can also use my referral code for this promotion: gftxyw)
- CHECKOUT51: I love the simplicity of this app. Again, hold onto your receipt because you’ll need to scan it in with your phone. It’s simply a virtual coupon cutting app with typical savings of around $0.50. While I have an appreciation for the coupon clipping geniuses out there, this is much easier and you don’t have to waste paper.
- FLIPP: My mom just told me about this app and while I’m new to it, I do love that I can see all of the sales papers for stores in my area, clip and print coupons from my phone and compare prices. I’d say the best part about this app is that they match up coupons to sales. For example, there’s a coupon for $2.00 off of a pack of Luvs diapers and my local Food City has the diapers on sale for $6.99 meaning I will get the diapers for $4.99. I can even apply the coupon digitally! Friggin technology, man! They did the work for me. Whoo hoo! Lazy saver, right here!
- OTHER STORE APPS: It seems like more and more stores are debuting their own apps to help you save (and retrieve marketing data for themselves, but eh). Retailers like CVS, Publix and Target all have apps that have opportunities to help you save money.
- Many of the aforementioned apps can help you save when looking for drugstore makeup so take a look at those if that’s where you’re shopping for your makeup.
- EBATES: Where the eff have I been when it is 2017 and I’m just NOW using Ebates? Pretty much anywhere that sells merch online can be found on this site and the savings are pretty awesome. Sometimes I save just enough to cover my shipping, but ummm if I can buy makeup in my jammies without having to take the kids out, that’s a HUGE savings. Shop around and sometimes you can get up to 30% cash back on top of exclusive savings. Seriously, you need it in your life right now!
- ALLCOSMETICSWHOLESALE: This is another one of my favorite websites that I’ve been talking about for a while now. You will always find a great deal on here and the quality is fantastic. On top of that, their customer service is top notch. Before you shop anywhere else, you may want to check here and see what they have on sale.
- HAUTELOOK: I think my sister-in-law and I could open a boutique with all that we’ve bought off of Hautelook. The deals they have on Morphe and Laura Gellar, just to name a few, are insane!
- ZULILY: Yes, Zulily has makeup sales. As I’m typing this they’re running a sale on Nars and Lancome. Click the link to sign up and make sure you get notified of their upcoming sales because the savings are rediculous!
- FACEBOOK GROUP: As I see sales, I’ll post links to my Facebook group. I’ll also share other money saving tips like this blog post so be sure to check that out!
- Check the links directly above this section for both Zulily and Hautelook. Ebates is another awesome way to earn cash back on things that your kids will outgrow in 5 months.
- THRIFT: Speaking of outgrowing clothing in 5 months, don’t be too quick to dismiss buying second hand clothing. Consignment, thrift stores and hand-me-downs are a great way to save money. As fast as kids outgrow clothes, they lose interest in toys even faster. Instead of paying top dollar, take a trip to the thrift store for some second hand toys. It’s also a great way to help the environment.
- SHOP AHEAD: Hit up the clearance racks with next year in mind. I try to wait until items are at least 50% off and buy for next year. I keep all the bigger sized clothing in a storage tub. I couldn’t believe how prepared I was for winter this year because I had bought clearanced-out winter clothes at the end of the season.
- FLIPP: Flipp is another great app that I mentioned earlier that can help you save money on anything to do with kids.
Overall, I think accountability is key. Once you learn where your money is going, you can see where you need to reduce spending. Knowing your vices is also important. If you have a weak spot for makeup and are spending too much on it ::raises hand:: then literally set aside a cash budget to stick to. Make saving money fool proof and easy and even turn it into a game. Just don’t get too crazy with it that you have a reality tv crew following you around. (Extreme cheapskates, anyone?)
What’s your favorite way to save money? Did you find any of these tips helpful?
MommyLaughs 