Shop at thrift stores
I am a huge fan of shopping at thrift stores. There is nothing wrong with shopping there. Thrift stores have a lot of useful items for great prices. Some thrift stores offer better prices than some of the others. You will see that the more you visit different locations. You should purchase items that are versatile and can be worn in professional settings and everyday situations. Besides clothes, you can also buy dress shoes, glasses and coffee mugs for a low price as well.
Buy things in bulk
If you’re not already doing it, you should buy items in bulk. There are deals for certain items at Costco or Walmart when you buy them in bulk. Costco is preferable as their return policy is great. Toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies, shampoo, and soap are just a few of the items that you should consider buying in bulk. When you buy items in bulk, you’re saving money because you’re purchasing those things only a few times a year instead of every couple of weeks.
Public transportation
If there is public transportation available in the city that you live in, you should consider using it. It should give you a break from auto upkeep and gas prices. Your job may even give you a discount for using the public transportation. Another way that you will save money if you use public transportation is that you won’t have to pay for auto insurance anymore. Auto insurance premiums can be very expensive especially if you have an accident or a couple of violations. Sometimes premiums go up for no reason. That happened to me last year. While the increase wasn’t too much, it was still more than I used to pay.
Cook at home more
This is such an easy thing to do, but a lot of people are just lazy. Your wallet will thank you if you start doing this. If you don’t know how to cook, you need to learn. It is not difficult at all. You can make meals for a fraction of what you will pay when going out. Many stores offer coupons. That will help you save even more money.
Unplug some of your electronics
The last tip that I have for you today is to unplug some of your electronics when you’re not using them. I’m not talking about unplugging your computer or your refrigerator. I’m talking about unplugging things like your coffee maker, DVD player, phone chargers, and TVs. All of those things suck power even when you are not using them. I don’t even know how much money I’ve saved since I started unplugging stuff. What I do know is that for 2016 my light bill averaged out at $51 per month. I’m not complaining at all.
What are some ways that you make your money stretch?
Jason Butler
Jason Butler is an Atlanta native, as well as businessman, blogger and teacher. Not only is Jason a prolific flipper, marketer, writer and side hustler his number of years in higher education and student support have given him expert knowledge in understanding the economics of the student loan industry.
We’ve cut coffee and restaurant spending and it’s saved my boyfriend and I hundreds each month. Small coffee purchases really do add up!
I would add buying quality items in the first place. Like with bulk buying, sometimes you need to front a larger amount of money to save more over time. This is the case with clothing, shoes, vehicles, house goods, and electronics for us. We recently spent $200 on a beer-making kit. It was a lot of money upfront, but over time it’ll save us hundreds of dollars!
Great tips! My teen daughter and I are going to a thrift store where there’s a free personal shopper service. We’re looking forward to having someone pick out clothes and accessories for us based on what we like.
We do a lot of canning and freezing of produce that’s available in the summer. Saves a lot of money during the winter months.
I like to consider myself fairly frugal, but I never unplug our phone chargers. I’m going to have to remember to do that when we aren’t using them. The trouble is with 5 kids and their tablets, it seems like we’re always charging something! Great tips. :)
I think the only thing that we don’t do is public transportation. Gas; prices go up any higher and we may have to reconsider! We do love the availability to do something when we want though. Great tips and great cost savings!
Buying in bulk can save money, but always check the prices for different quantities. Occasionally the smaller package is cheaper per unit price. Cooking at home is a great way to save money. I think the trick is to have some easy-to-prepare meals on hand for evenings when you’re feeling lazy and tempted to go out or order in.
I also like to buy in bulk, but there are some things if we bought in bulk we would use more than we normally would, which doesn’t translate to savings. I don’t use public transportation often, but that’s mostly because most of the places I go to in my town are within walking distance any way.
Cooking at home makes such a difference. I’m usually terrible about it, but when I Whole 30 it up and have to cook at home for most of the 30 days, even with a little uptick in my grocery budget, I still save money overall because I can just stop and grab food.