Learn how to save money in everyday life.
Have you thought about how much money you spent each year on things that are not really necessary, or where the money is really just waisted? This post will show you 21 tips on how to save money. Stay on you will be surprised how easy it is.
Well, when I decluttered our home, I actually realized how much money I spend on things I never use or just there to collect dust. ( I hate dusting )
I am not talking about only physical things also virtual and digital stuff you collect just to have it, but you never read it or use it.
Money comes in and money goes out.
Money is so easy to spend, and it is hard to save. You can do it you just need a plan and be aware of where your money is going. Know your numbers.
I will share with you 22 money-saving tips. I discovered them when I started to declutter my home and my life and since that time I kept the promise to myself.
Ok, some tips are a bit more difficult to follow through but they are worth every Euro.
Know your numbers and keep track of things you buy and sign up for.
Each Year I will take three days and evaluate all the things I signed up for or I bought. Believe it or not but I still have things I buy out of impulse or mood, sign up for things I do not need and use only once. I guess we are all humans.
I thought I will share this with you, and if you can relate to it, then start and see how it goes for you. Any saving is great.
How I saved in one single year 17.542,96 Euros.
All these tips are based on my own experience. You can change them and check on items you are able to use and cut down. They might be different from mine. Use what suits you. See how much you can save. You will be surprised.
These savings are calculated in Euros.
Those are the things I have cut down, and I adjusted to digital life. In some cases, I ran out of space.
Just sit down and look through your bank and credit card statements and evaluate your spending in what you need and use.
The things on what I did cut down are just things where I can honestly say I do not need them anymore, and they collect dust either in a physical way or digital way.
Hopefully, you can take something away from this.
Tip.1 Magazines Subscriptions
I got rid of my magazine subscriptions as they were pilling up and most of those magazines, I did not read all of them and that was always a reason not to throw them as I will read them one day. ( Believe me, this day never comes)
When I need more space for them I normally moved them from room to room. Eventually, you run out of space. I decided with a heavy heart that I cancel all my subscriptions.
Does that sound familiar.
Well, it took me some time to get over this habit. I cancelled all my 4 subscriptions and that is around €132 year.
Now if I do want to read a magazine, I will buy it, but that happens now seldom as I search now a lot on the internet.
Tip 2. Save Money with Landline and Mobile Phones.
Don’t get scared I kept my mobile phone but gave up our landline. 10 years ago we all used the fixed-line but now we all use mobile phones.
That is a saving of € 240 a year said €20 a month.
So we cancelled the landline. It was a funny feeling as we had the landline for 30 Years and you wonder if it is ok. It was part of our life. But when I think back we never used it for the last 5 years. We all have a mobile and we call each other on the mobile.
Tip3. Books Hard Cover and Soft Cover
Books. Since I had to give away so many books for the reason of space (I do not have the space to keep them all). I love books.
I took the ones I wanted to keep and brought them to the Library and if I need a book or want to read one I borrow them now from the library. I also have a kindle, but I do not download each month 4 or 5 books as I used to do, I use now the borrow function and give it back after I am finished.
Sometimes I look if I can find them in a pdf and if not and I really need the book I might buy or download it. Don’t get me wrong I still buy books but only if I really need them.
That is a saving of €29.99 a month. What totals to € 359.88
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Tip 4. Digital TV, Netflix and Cable TV
Cable TV. I got rid of our Cable TV. I used to have Cable, Sky TV and Netflix. We seldom watch cable and Sky anymore. Plus the service or programs they offer are not really up to date and lots of repeats.
I kept Netflix as this is what we watch now mainly. Cable TV is around €37.50 a month and Sky TV we paid €78.94 a month with all the English channels and of course sports channels. ( 4 Boys in the family)
That is a big saving over the year. €1.397.28
Tip5. Bottled Water and Soft Drinks
I stopped buying bottled water for us and bottled beverages. I used to buy on a weekly base bottled water and other soft drinks. I have a water filter but never really used it, On top of it I also bought bottled water on the go.
When I go to work and grab a quick lunch I bought with the sandwich a bottle of water.
It was more of a habit than a necessity. Sometimes I bought a soft drink with a sandwich or snack. It was a weekly regular occurrence.
I have don’t do this anymore as there is too much plastic already around. I use now a water bottle from home ( Glass bottle) which is also more environment-friendly.
I put it in my bag and have it with me all the time. My family is now used to the water filter and believe me it was not easy to change. I had big complaints from my husband and kids.
The water saves me around €90 a month what is a yearly saving of €1080. Soft drinks the saving is small as I only bought them for myself and that was around €15 a month. This is a saving of €180 a year.
Tip Nr. 6 Save Money with Eating Out and Order in.
This is a big one for us. As when kids where younger we went 2 or 3 times out for dinner or lunch on weekends. Now our kids are Teens and do not want to join us.
When you live close to downtown it is so easy to take the easy way and eat out instead of cooking yourself. We still go out occasionally but not as often as we used too.
We also don’t order food so often anymore. As both I and my husband has changed our diet we prefer to prepare the food we eat our self.
One of our children started to become vegan so we adjusted our diet too. I have to say it was not easy but after a while doing it and sticking to the plan and the side effect is weight loss, it feels good. We did not stop eating we just eat now more healthy.
We also do not have dessert with each meal now. I still bake cakes but with less sugar and butter.
Don’t worry we do not starve; we just eat with more consciousness. We cut down half of our eating out with friends and kids and that makes a huge saving for us.
We do save on a weekly base now €45 Euro. It is a yearly saving of €2340.
Tip Nr. 7 Meat and Plant-based Diet.
We eat now a more plant-based diet. My family especially my sons love meat since they are teens now, they changed to a less meat diet.
I do not buy so much seafood, lamb and beef anymore. We are not vegan we just cut down on meat. Instead of 4 times a week we only eat it now twice a week.
If you are wondering why we do this, well I wanted to support my kids in their decision so they can stick to it easier. I am happy that they think of what they eat and what effect it has on their body.
I would estimate my savings to be roughly twenty-five euros a week because I’m not buying red meat like lamb, and I’m not buying seafood as much so that twenty-five euros a week amounts to €1300 in the year.
Tip Nr. 8 E-Mails and Subscriptions
When I declutter I also declutter my digital items. Like my mailbox, all the ebooks I downloaded I thought I need, and I delete all the Spam emails plus the offers I get sent on a regular base from the companies I bought something.
I unsubscribe from things and emails that no longer interest me or tempt me to many times with buying. You know when you sign up for those free gift emails from stores, in the end, they sent you all those promotional emails where they ask you to buy things.
I am sure you do get them too, 40% off, 50% off, buy two for the price of one. That is super tempting. If you are like me then you will buy when they catch you at that moment.
I bought so many times things I did not need or did not serve a purpose. I was just buying for the sake of buying. Honestly, some are really good at selling you these things. It was just buying for the sake of buying. I would put my estimate at €60 a month.
What brings it to around € 720 in the year.
Tip Nr. 9 Wine, Beer and Alcohol
We do not drink as often as we used to. When we get drinks at a restaurant in a bit more expensive city like Munich you pay easily for a cocktail €8 and up, believe me, you are shocked how fast it adds up.
When you are getting older you enjoy a drink at home but not as often as before. We are trying to set an example for our kids that they can see and experience happiness without drinks. We have occasions where we do celebrate but those are than our family occasions.
When you change your diet and become more conscious about what you put into your body you reduce the alcohol too. I also need to say we do not enjoy it so much anymore. Restaurants have a huge markup too.
I would say our saving for the whole year goes into an estimate of €50 a month. Which is €600 a year?
Tip Nr. 10 How to save money with Clothing, Handbags and Shoes.
I have built a more intentional wardrobe. I do not spend a lot of money on clothing, handbags, shoes that I do not truly love and wear.
I also was a sale shopper and I thought because it is on sale I must have it. That is now in the past. I will not buy those great shoes just because they are on sale, and the shoes are not so comfortable but would look good with a certain outfit.
In the end, I never wear the shoe or if I do it will be only around 2 or 3 times and then I will keep them in the cupboard and they get forgotten.
I will then give away shoes what are hardly worn. When I buy cloth now I really think about them and when I can see myself wearing them I will buy them. I even have this habit now that I will ask “Will this improve my success in business ( I am in a Management position in a leading advertising company). Don’t laugh and no it did not go to my head.
There are clothes like a beautiful blouse that brings out your skin colour and it will lift up your energy and you spread this uplifting energy around you. I have special clothing for important contracts as when I wear them I feel so good and uplifted.
My mood improves a lot and it brings out that glow. People around me feel it too and that means customers will also feel it and the signing of a contract is easier done.
I would estimate my savings from not buying those impulse purchases… not buying extra handbags and shoes…that would be roughly €120 a month which is €1440 in one year.
Tip Nr. 11 Travelling and Holiday a big saving or a big loss.
I loved to travel and have vacations in other countries. This is a big item for me but it might not be for you. Through my career, I am travelling now a lot and before I had this job I had at least 2 times a year vacation with my family.
Our kids are now teens and they rather hang out with their friends and go on camping trips with friends than with parents. We have still one rule and that is one vacation a year we will spend together.
So, reducing our vacations to one a year, and not joining my husband on different business trips saves us a lot of money each year.
I enjoy Stay vacations now. We used to spend thousands of dollars a year on 2 or 3 vacations and now we only take one vacation with family. I value now the one vacation more and I enjoy the stay vacation.
I can say we save roughly in one year around €2800. This might not be for you if you enjoy travelling and see different countries go for it. Look out for last-minute deals those are the best ones and the prices are also good.
Tip Nr. 12 Save Money with Extensive cleaning products.
See the advertising for this great mop that you can press out without getting your hands wet.
Well, I bought the mop with 2 new mopping pads. I bought disposable products like wet wipes, paper towels, Swiffer pads wet and dry sheets, furniture wipes, kitchen wet wipes etc.
I bought all of them and got a shock how much they add up. I want to do my part for the environment and now I do buy reusable items and there are different and efficient ways to use your cleaning products and items.
For one thing, I got a steam mop set that I can also use in the shower. I do not need any more expensive cleaning items and the steam mop is a great addition as it also eliminates germs especially when you have pets. I would estimate my saving of around €300 in the year.
Tip 13. How to save money with electricity.
Another thing I have done and implemented is I do not use the dryer so often anymore. I use the dryer now only for underwear and towels. We also changed our light bulbs to energy-saving LED bulbs.
We switch our electronic item now off instead of standby. Our Heating system and Waterheater is time programmed and when we are all at work our Heating and Water heater is in saving mode.
You can program this on your heating system and on water heater system.
Ok, it does not sound a lot but you will see it at the end of the year on your electricity bill. For us 4-person household it is a saving of roughly €250 a year.
Now that’s not a lot compared to all the other things I’ve talked about, but the fact that I’m using the dryer less means that my clothes last me longer so that’s actually a big saving which I haven’t counted in the full savings of seventeen thousand euros. I’ve talked about earlier.
It also helps the environment. It feels good to be part of being able to do something every day for our planet.
Tip. 14 Save money with a Home Cinema
As I mention before I love to watch now more movies at home. Since we have Netflix the kids and we create our own movie theatre at home. We use a projector and throw the Netflix movie on the wall. We have popcorns and drinks.
You can do the same with your TV. Popcorns are easily made and it is so much better as a Movie Theatre.
Before we as a family went almost every second weekend for a movie theatre.
We don’t go so often now anymore to the movies and my husband and I enjoy watching a movie at home. When you get the popcorn the drinks and the movie ticket it all ads up. I can say we save now around €400 a year.
Tip 15. How I saved money with Meal Planning.
I am not talking about preparing a meal. I am talking about meal planning.
What is meal planning?
It is simple you are making a plan for the whole week and then you go grocery shopping based on your list.
I never did this in the past, and I went to the grocery store and bought what I thought we need. Of course, by the end of the week, some items went bad and I did throw them out which was a waste of money.
We all know that when you are hungry you buy more things. The Supermarkets also normally move things around so you are going through the aisles and buying more things.
I also have to admit I was buying to much stuff. I bought junk what no one eats, they wanted to eat but they did not until I had to throw the things out then only they wanted to eat them. Now with a list, I stick to it, and I do not buy all those things.
One plus is that I do not waste food. I can say the saving is around €65 a month what adds up to € 780 a year.
Tip 16. Obligatory Gift giving
Don’t get me wrong when you read this, I do not say you should not gifts to family and friends.
I underline the word obligatory because I’m not saying I don’t give gifts. All I am saying is that I will not give gifts that I am obligated to give that I feel that I need to but I don’t really want to.
That’s what I mean by obligatory gifts. I find that the obligatory gift-giving is an endless cycle. I give someone a gift and they’re obliged to give me a gift and then I then I’m obliged to give them a gift and then that cycle keeps on going on, and I honestly do not want to be part of that cycle.
I strongly believe that if you give a gift from your heart and you truly want to give them a gift not because you are supposed too.
Just look around your home how many items you got as an obligatory gift and you just decorate your home because you got this gift and you do not want to upset the person who gave it to you.
That is only my view, this is up to you. You do not need to agree with me and depend on the size of friends and family the saving amount might be big or small.
I save roughly €450 a year.
Tip 17. How much money can you save with Coffee and Snacks?
When I worked at the downtown office we had a star bucks just beside our office building. I bought each day a coffee, or sometimes a caramel latte depends on my mood.
Of course also a muffin or a small sweet pastry that goes with it. I do not do this anymore and it has a couple of reasons.
1. I cut down on my coffee consumption.
2nd. The sweet snacks go on my hips.
Especially when you are with colleagues you have the coffee a sweet pastry and don’t get me wrong I do enjoy it, and I do it once in a while but not every day anymore. I enjoyed it but no doubt I enjoy more being in good shape.
I would estimate the savings to be roughly €50 a month which is €600 a year.
Tip 18. Saving Tips for your Car Insurance.
If you driving a car to evaluate from time to time your Insurance.
We have car insurance and after being with the Insurance company for 15 years we decided to change.
We made the car insurance with our friend and for 15 years we never had any claim. My sister has also car insurance with a different company and she gets every 5 years to claim to free a return of €200.
When I compared my insurance with hers, we figured out that we overpaid our insurance. We pay €596 we have a very low percentage and my sister pays half.
We decided to change the Insurance and have now a saving of roughly €285 a year. I know does not sound much but calculate over the 15 years we overpaid the money we could have saved.
Tip 19. Packed lunches and snacks.
When you work for a company and they have a canteen you will go there and get your food there.
After a while, you can not see that food anymore and you get used to the menu. I used to memorize the whole menu for the month. I stopped that one too now and I make my own lunches and snacks.
For the reasons that we do live and eat healthier now and from some of the food in the canteen, I get heartburn.
Packing my own lunches and the lunch and snack for my husband I would say gives us a roughly saving of €70 a month for both of us our kids go random one-day lunch pack one-day school canteen.
This makes a saving of €840 a year.
I want to stretch one thing do you realize that all the big items on saving are actually food.
Food can be when you eat out, or ordering in cost a lot and sums up quickly to a bigger amount without realizing it. It has helped my budget a lot but it also helped to improve my health and weight.
I feel so much better now, and I have so much more energy to do things. What I love about is that I am in control of what I eat.
Tipp 20. The saving on Souvenirs.
When I used to go on holidays twice a year I always brought back Souvenirs and little Nik Nak I thought is cute or useful from that particular country. It is only small money but another physical item that collects dust.
Well over the years a lot has accumulated and all those things need dusting and need to have space. I stopped buying and bringing home these things.
Souvenirs for me is only a small amount it is around €150 a year.
Tipp Nr. 21 Stationery, Wrapping Paper, Scotch and Duct Tape
Do you know when you need a pen or an envelope you can not find them or you have all the variety but the ones you need is not there? You are then forced to buy the thing you need. Well even it looks small money but as you know small things add up.
For example Printer cartridges I always had one spare at home and as I do not print very often anymore, when I have to change the printer cartridge most of the time it is dried out.
I normally print most of the time black and white so my colour cartridges are not used very often and eventually they dry out.
Another example of duct tape and scotch tape, I use it a few times a year when I pack my presents to send overseas to friends. I will always stock up on them as they are also good lint brush removers or pet hairs on your cloth.
I stopped stocking up to many as after a while the glue is getting less and less so I only stock up with the max of 2.
I have one stationary draw now and in there is all nicely sorted on what I need. I save for that arrangement alone around €30 a month. That ad up to €360 a year.
Tipp Nr. 22 Do you really need a Gym Membership?
For Years I had a Gym Membership and I did not go there regularly. Especially in Summertime I hardly ever went. But the monthly fee I needed to pay.
In Summertime I did a lot of jogging outside and went swimming in the morning to the nearby public pool. That did cost me extra the entrance for the pool.
Now I take 10x Cards and can go when I want without having to pay the monthly fee. Yes, the cards are more expensive but it saves me a month around €44.90 plus the shakes and drinks I was than buying in the gym. That makes saving on €538,80.
When you look at all those things they really add up in a year. I saved over the year
€ 17542.96 this is a great saving.
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Think about or Imagine what can you do with all these savings. If you are looking to buy a house this is a part where you can start saving.
Saving in this way it is not difficult and when you have the reward over the year the feeling is great.
If you want to go further and declutter your home once a year makes a garage sale or sell them online you can even get more money saved.
I changed my lifestyle and my priorities and I feel great and since I do look after what I eat and buy I feel and look more healthy.
When you think now, my life is boring no it is not. We actually enjoy it more and we have a healthier lifestyle. We all love it. All we did is we shifted our priorities.
One thing that I really love is that I am more outside and do more exercise. It is a different feeling and you can appreciate nature a bit more each day.
I hope you enjoyed this blog on tips on how to save money and you learned something new from it and maybe you can relate to some of my experiences. If you liked it please share it with friends and family.
All yours Natasha