101 Ways of Creatively Cutting Expenses to Save a Ton of Money

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There are literally a thousand plus ways to save money.

But these days, with high inflation, expensive gas, and bills getting harder to pay, it seems like saving money is getting harder to do. But it’s still possible. YOU just have to make it possible. It’s up to YOU to find ways to save money.

Good thing that there are countless numbers of resources on the internet to help you. And that includes this post.

So you’re looking for creative ways to save money, eh? Cool, because we’ve got you covered in this post. Everything from simple personal finance tricks to saving on gas, groceries, utilities, and everything in between. So let’s get started on saving! Here are 101 ways to creatively cut your expenses.

101 ways to creatively cut expenses

1. Make a budget

A budget is the key to your personal finance success. I mean, I can’t put it any more plainly than that. If you don’t have a budget, you won’t achieve your financial goals and you won’t save any money. So YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BUDGET.

The great thing is, the budget will help you keep track of everything so you know where you’re spending too much and you know where you can cut back. Trimming those expenses means instant savings.

Check out my post, “37 Ways to Give Yourself a Raise in Your Budget (#27 is Crazy!),” for more.

2. zero-based budgeting

Further with this budgeting thing, I believe that there’s really only one type of budget that you can make serious financial headway with in a very short period of time. The zero-based budget is a budget in which you “zero out” your budget by giving every dollar an assignment. That way, you’re not wasting any money. Every single dollar has a mission, including saving, investing, and paying off debt. You can also put a little bit in there to spend so that you don’t go completely crazy.

If you’d like to learn more about the zero-based budget, check that out in this post: “7 Ways a Zero-Based Budget is the Best Budget for Your Money.”

3. Extreme budgeting

If you’re really intense with personal finance and you REALLY want to save money, try extreme budgeting. Budgeting is great. And zero-dollar budgeting is even better. But extreme budgeting means that you’re using a zero-dollar budget and updating it every single day. But it’s more than that.

Extreme budgeting is essentially making budgeting into a hobby of sorts. At this point, I love budgeting as much as I love personal finance. But this kind of budgeting allows you to take a deep dive into your finances so that you are completely in control. Give it a shot.

4. Pay off your debt

One easy way to start amping up your savings is to get all of your debt paid off. I absolutely HATE debt because it robs you of all of your hard-earned money and steals from your financial future. So crush any debt that you have ASAP so that you can start saving more, investing more, and having a little bit of fun with your money.

For more, check out this post: “47 Creative Ways to Pay Off Debt This Year!”

5. Live below your means

This is one of the most important concepts in all of personal finance. Living below your means is simply making sure that you’re spending less than you make. Too many people in today’s crazy world make a certain amount of money and supplement with credit cards, loans, financing, and other debt just to be able to buy more. They make a certain amount of money and they find ways to spend more than that.

Don’t do that. If you make a certain amount of money, your expenses need to be less than that. Simple.

6. Stop trying to keep up with the joneses

If you don’t know who the Joneses are, let me give you a little bio: the Jones family is the typical family that you’ve got living next door to you that drive expensive vehicles, have a really big house, a lot of stuff, and spend money like congress. They seem to have it all. But what most don’t know is that this family is completely BROKE.

They might have all of that awesome stuff, but they have no money. They’ve financed it all and are one job loss or extreme situation away from losing everything. They’re probably also facing bankruptcy and have a lot of financial stress.

So don’t be like the Joneses. They’re broke. Instead, stay out of debt, save, invest, and you can very soon have a lot of nice stuff as well (but paid for in cash).

7. Stop borrowing money

In order to get out of debt and save more money, you need to stop borrowing money. Also, borrowing money could cost you more in interest, fees, and other miscellaneous charges. So stop borrowing money and pay cash for everything you buy.

8. Positive mindset about saving

A lot of people associate negativity with saving money like it’s a bad thing. I think there’s a common misconception in that saving money is tough. It shouldn’t be a negative thing. All you need to do is change up your mindset and make saving into a positive thing. Because being able to keep more of your money and having money in the bank is a GREAT thing!

9. Find your reason WHY

Make sure you have a BIG reason WHY whenever you set money goals or want to do anything with money (like saving). Saving money just to save money is a terrible reason. You want a ridiculously important reason like: I want to have a fully-funded emergency fund, I don’t want to be broke with no savings ever again, or I want to save up to pay all cash for a better car. Find your WHY and get after it.

10. Set some money goals

Setting financial goals is insanely important. If you don’t have have any goals with your money, what are you working toward? You need to set short term and long term financial goals like this:

Short term: I want to pay off my debt in 18 months (that was my short-term goal in 2020 and we paid everything off in 11 months).
Long term: I want to become a millionaire by 50 years old (my personal goal is millionaire by 40 years old).

Set some financial goals asap and start working on crushing them!

11. Stop being lazy

If you’ve found yourself to be a lazy person, it’s time to change it up. Lazy people don’t worry about paying off debt or saving money. If you want to find ways to save money, you need to address your laziness. This will help you do things like: work more, spend less, and save more. Laziness is a financial killer.

12. Work more

Here’s a very simple concept: the more you work, the less you spend. It’s funny how that works but it’s true. If you’re busy working, you won’t be spending money. So if you’re really interested in finding ways to save money, just work more. At the end of the month, you’ll inevitably find more money left in your bank accounts. Oh yeah, and you’ll end up earning more, too, so you can save that as well!

13. Automate saving and investing

This is a really easy way to save money and it can take a lot of pressure off you to actually get money saved. Just have a set amount or percentage of your money automatically deducted from your paycheck or bank account that goes directly into a savings account. Whether you’re saving or investing, this is an easy way to stay consistent and doesn’t allow for you not to save the money. Because it’s automatically deducted.

This also falls perfectly in line with the simple wealth concept of “pay yourself first.” That piece of advice is absolutely crucial in building wealth over time. Warren Buffet put it perfectly when he said, “Don’t save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.” Save and invest first; spend last.

14. Stop Impulse buying

Impulse buying is when you buy something without planning to do so in advance. Basically, “I want it so I’m getting it.” This is a horribly immature mindset that you need to get out of. Because normal impulse buying happens with stuff that costs too much money or that you most likely can’t afford. If you see something you like and want to buy, you need to do these 4 things:

Make sure you can afford it.
Make a plan to pay for it with cash.
Use the 24 hour rule (see #77 on this list) or…
Put it on a 30-day “I want it” list (see #78 on this list).

15. Tell yourself “No!”

Sometimes, if you don’t need it, just don’t buy it. It’s that simple. “NO!” is one of the most powerful words in the world but it doesn’t get said enough these days. If you’re looking at something that isn’t a complete necessity in your life, just tell yourself, “NO!” I do that all the time and it saves me a lot of money!

16. Credit cards suck!

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I hate credit cards. I also can’t believe that I was stupid enough to use them when I was younger. But I did a lot of dumb things with money. However, I was able to wisen up and now I no longer use them. They can charge you A LOT of interest and enslave you for decades if you’re not careful. Quit using them and just pay for stuff.

For more on why credit cards suck, check out my post, “37 Reasons Why Credit Cards are Bad (and Ruining Your Life!).”

17. Being healthy = lifetime savings

Another huge thing that can save you thousands of dollars over the years is simply getting in or staying in shape. Being healthy can offer you a lifetime of savings and lower expenses because: you’ll go to the doctor less, you’ll spend less on medication, you’ll spend less for healthy food, you’ll feel better, and you’ll have less stress. That’s all good for your wallet and your health.

18. Drink more water

Drinking more water is just one simple way to take care of your health. It’s also great because it can be free and save you a lot of money. Instead of grabbing a soda or other sugary drink, try drinking water instead. You wallet will thank you.

19. Reusable water bottle

One easy way to drink more water and save more money is to buy a BPA-free reusable water bottle. They’re like 15 bucks and last for years. Buy 1 or 2 of these and you’ll be golden for awhile. If you don’t drink enough water, this is a good way to get your ounces in!

20. Soda and energy drinks

So if you’re drinking more water, hopefully you’ve been able to cut out soda and energy drinks. But if not, consider it. One of my only vices is energy drinks (and maybe eating out a little bit, too). Cutting them out completely can generally save me about $50-60 bucks per month. Soda and energy drinks are getting more and more expensive so it might be time to cut them back out. If you drink them a lot, this could save you $100 dollars per month or more.

21. Coffee and Fraps at home

Coffee and specialty drinks at coffee shops can cost A LOT of money these days. I mean, my wife’s order at Starbucks is like $7 dollars. So if you’re doing that every day, with the average specialty coffee order being somewhere around $5 bucks, you’ll be spending about $150 dollars per month. That’s $1,800 dollars per year! If you can cut that out or cut back, that’s a lot of savings every year. $1,800 dollars invested for 30 years with a 10% return is over $325,000 dollars!

22. Don’t buy cigarettes and don’t vape

If you’re still smoking cigarettes, and you’re looking to save a ton of money, it might be time to stop. Besides the fact that cigarettes are $7-10 dollars or more per pack, it is insanely detrimental to your health.

Vaping isn’t very good either. Besides being expensive, vaping could pose dangers to your lungs and body from all of the chemicals you’ve been ingesting.

Smoking and vaping need to go. Let’s make it happen and save some money while we’re at it.

23. Stop eating out

Eating out maybe a little bit too much is my only other vice. But I still try to keep it to a minimum and I still put a set amount in the budget. I usually allow myself $50-60 per month to eat out. That allows me a little bit of fast food per month but doesn’t kill the budget. And I need to eat healthy anyway so that forces me to cook and eat healthy most of the time. If you really want to save money, cut out fast food completely. Watch how much money you can save from that!

24. Brown bag it at work

Instead of eating out every day on your lunch break, try making your food at home and packing your lunch. Brown bagging it is one of the best ways to save money while you’re working on your financial goals. This was single-handedly one of my favorite ways to save money while I was paying off debt. And just packing my lunch changed the whole game for me.

I easily saved over $150-200 per month to put toward my debt and that was a tremendous help. So pack your lunch and keep more of your money!

25. Learn how to cook!

Learning how to cook is amazing for your budget. It’s also pretty healthy for you if you learn how to cook mostly healthy meals. My wife and I keep our meals fairly healthy most of the time. And the savings from home cooking is pretty awesome.

26. Meal prep your food

Meal prepping is awesome. It does take a little bit of time to make your meals. But can help you avoid fast food and other unhealthy meals for the next few days or so. Meal prepping is simply preparing a large batch of food, then putting it into containers as full meals that can be eaten off of for the next few days to a week (or more if you freeze them). Just take them out of the fridge or freezer, heat them up, and you’re good to go. You’ve got extra meals and extra money left over. What’s better than that?

Grocery

27. Plan out your dinners

Before you go to the grocery store, it’s important that you do 3 things: plan your dinners, make a list, and pick an affordable grocery store. The first of those things is to plan out your dinners or meal prep lunches/dinners. This can really be something that starts to help your budget because you’ll know exactly what you’re cooking and you can grocery shop for those items only (and nothing extra). If it’s savings you’re looking for at the grocery store, this is how you start.

28. Make a list for the grocery store

The second thing you need to do before you go to the grocery store is to make your complete list of food to buy. This includes all of your dinner ingredients, other snacks, and 1 or 2 things that you want (sweet treat, etc.). You see, I’m not completely heartless. You should have something that you like in there for a snack or dessert. If you don’t, you probably won’t stay disciplined.

29. Pick an affordable grocery store

The third thing you need to do before you go to the grocery store is to pick an affordable grocery store to shop at. Way too many people waste their money at big, expensive grocery store chains like Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, and Whole Foods. Those places sell the SAME STUFF for way more than other cheaper stores like Food Lion, Walmart, Aldi, Lidl, or Trader Joe’s. Don’t waste your money. Go to a cheaper store and you could potentially save hundreds of dollars per year.

30. Couponing

Couponing isn’t quite the same as it used to be but every cent counts, right? So check your local papers for them and sign up for online coupon sites that let you print them out. It doesn’t take a whole lot of them to help save you $10 dollars or more at the grocery store.

31. Off-brand food purchases ALWAYS

If you’re a name brand person, it’s time to change things up a little bit and turn up the savings. Off-brand or store brand foods are almost always way cheaper than name brand, yet offer you a similar product that usually tastes the same as well.

Sometimes it’s the same name brand company that actually makes the off-brand product! Other times it’s just a similar product that offers a steep discount. Next time you go to the grocery store, switch a few items and see how much money you save!

32. small cart or no cart

If you’re running in for a quick trip, try grabbing a small cart for your small trip. If you only have a couple of things, don’t grab a cart at all. Both of these will inconvenience you and not allow you to grab extra things on impulse. Impulse items always cost extra money and you don’t want to spend more than you have to.

33. Rice and beans (and other cheap stuff)

Rice and beans is a shout-out to Dave Ramsey. I’m a huge follower of his and his rice and beans mentality when it comes to getting out of debt. Dave uses “rice and beans” as an example of how extreme you need to be with food when trying to get out of debt.

So if you’re in debt and trying to save as much as possible, look for food that is inexpensive to eat. Rice and beans is just one example. Hot dogs, meatballs, pork, bologna, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are other potential meals that will save you a ton of money when you really need to.

33. Have a grocery budget

I know that groceries are getting more expensive by the day, but you need to have a set amount of money every month as your grocery budget. I’m not saying to set that amount and starve your family to not go over that amount. I’m saying that you need a limit for your groceries and then you need to keep tweaking the budget every month to try and save money and stay under that set amount.

We always set a budget of about $650 dollars and usually stray a few dollars over. But the point is we have a set number and we do everything we can to try and keep it under (or as close as possible to) that budget number we’ve set. You need to do the same. If you don’t have a budget amount, you’re free to spend as much as you want and this usually results in a lot of wasted money.

34. Loyalty cards

Loyalty cards are amazing. They always get you discounts at your local grocery store and build up rewards as time goes on. At my local store, Food Lion, you can get cash off discounts on some purchases after you’ve earned “shop and earn” reward money. So every once in awhile, while checking out, shop and earn will kick in and take a few dollars off of the total purchase. I love that.

Use your loyalty cards and save that money!

For more grocery tips, check out my post, “47 Tips and Tricks for Saving Money at the Grocery Store.”

35. cash back apps

Cash backs are pretty cool. Two apps that my wife and I use for groceries are Ibotta and Fetch Rewards. Those tend to be about the same as far as how much you get back.

For gas, I use Upside (formerly GetUpside). I love this app. You don’t earn a lot back, but I’ve been able to make almost $400 dollars in the couple of years that I’ve used it. And you can cash out every $15 dollars. Pretty cool.

Gas

36. Gas Buddy app

The Gas Buddy app is pretty cool. Not only does it tell you the closest gas and the cheapest gas in the area, but also the cheapest compared to the closest gas station. I like that feature. This app is great for saving money off your initial purchase at the pump.

37. best prices in the area

If you’d like to keep saving money on gas, learn which area of your town or city has the best gas prices. Most areas in my city are fairly similar but there are a couple of spots that have extremely expensive gas and some that have gas at a few cents cheaper. So try to find this out for your town or city.

38. Buy gas early in the week

Another great way to save money on gas is to time your gas purchase. The absolute worst times to get gas is late in the day on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The best days are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The absolute best time is early in the morning. So the best time and day is Wednesday morning at 8am.

39. inflate your tires

Tires that are not inflated properly usually see worse gas mileage depending on how under-inflated they are. For every 1 PSI a tire is off, you’ll lose just a little bit of gas efficiency. Over time, this can really add up. So don’t waste gas! Get your tires inflated up to the manufacturer’s recommendation.

40. Public transportation

If you really want to save money on gas, don’t use it at all! If your city is big enough, you’ll have a public transportation system that can take you all over the city. It might take a little longer to get places, but at least you’ll only have to pay a small bus fee!

41. Carpool

If you’re able to carpool to work, this can be a really great way to save on gas. I used to carpool all the time to save money. Try it!

42. Get a cheaper, more fuel-efficient car

These days, gas prices just keep climbing. As of the writing of this post, California is sitting at almost $7 DOLLARS A GALLON. That is outrageous. If gas prices are eating your budget up, try switching to a more fuel-efficient car like a Toyota Camry or a Honda Civic. Those cars get great gas mileage. If you’re driving a gas-guzzler, that might be the way you have to go.

43. premium only if REQUIRED

Premium gas is way more expensive than regular gas. So if your car runs on regular or if premium is only recommended, just use regular gas. I do think you need to test your car, though, first. Some cars need premium and regular gas just won’t cut it. But if you’ve run regular gas through it and you haven’t had any issues, you should be good to go.

44. Keep up with the maintenance!

Not keeping up with your car maintenance can cost you more than just fuel-efficiency. It can lead to engine problems and other very costly repairs. Take care of your car so you don’t have to repair it as often.

45. Bad driving habits

Bad driving habits like mashing the gas and the brakes, excessive revving, burnouts, and speeding all can cost you extra money on gas, tires, and other repairs. If you want to save money, just drive like a normal person.

46. Hypermiling

Hypermiling is an interesting concept in which a person optimizes their vehicle with techniques that maximize fuel efficiency [to the extreme]. Hypermilers try to do everything they can to get better gas mileage and spend as little as possible on gas.

Check out Hypermiling and more gas tips in my post: “27 Awesome Ways to Save Money at the Gas Pump This Year!”

Utilities

47. Energy audit

One of the best ways to save money on utilities is to have a professional come out to do an energy audit. An energy or power pro can come out and inspect your home for ways to optimize your energy and things to do to save more money on your power bill. Check with your power company because it might be completely free!

48. LED, CFL or low cost bulbs

Low-cost, low wattage bulbs are a really easy and inexpensive way to use less energy. This is something you can do today and see results within a month or two.

49. Energy Star and efficiency

Make sure you either have Energy Star or other highly efficient appliances in your home. Appliances cost a lot to run every year so you don’t want to waste money with old, inefficient appliances.

50. High-tech smart thermostat

Smart thermostats are an excellent way to save money with a really cool, sleek, and relatively inexpensive piece of technology. These thermostats allow you to build a schedule for your heat and A/C. This lets you use less energy and save up to 10% on your power bill.

51. “Vampire” energy

“Vampire electronics” are plugged in electronics that waste energy energy even when they’re turned off (which is most everything these days). There are a lot of electronics that can be unplugged to save energy but most people don’t do this. So they’re wasting a ton of electricity and money through the power bill. Unplug what you can unplug. Or use power strips to turn things off when you’re done using them.

52. Turn off the lights

One of the easiest things to do to conserve power is to just make sure you turn the lights out as often as you can. Leaving a room? Turn the lights out. Sunny and bright outside? Turn the lights off and use all that natural light inside your house. If you don’t need to use it, turn it off!

53. Use appliances wisely

Wise appliance usage can help cut down on your power bill. When using your dishwasher, dryer, or washer, only run them when they’re full. Because it’s expensive to run these appliances so make sure you optimize your usage. If you run small loads, it’s costing you more money just to run them. So only run them when full.

54. Use the dishwasher to wash dishes

Washing dishes in the sink can use a lot of water. I’m talking 10 plus gallons or more. But dishwashers these days are built to run efficiently on only 3-4 gallons of water. So run the dishwasher when washing dishes and save on your water bill.

55. Low-flow shower heads and faucets

Low-flow shower heads and faucets can also help reduce the amount of water that you’re using daily. These are great because they’re cheap to buy and can help you save a lot of water over the years.

56. The shower count

The shower count is one super easy and free way that I reduce the amount of water that I’m using every month. This is super simple: just give yourself an allowed amount of time for your showers and then count while you’re taking your shower. I usually do about 3 minutes. Then I give myself 2 minutes to towel off. That’s a 5 minute shower that saves time and water.

If you can’t count and shower at the same time, just buy a waterproof timer that will give you a running count and timer alarm.

57. Adjust your hot water heater

Another free thing you can do to save on your water bill is to lower the temperature of your hot water heater. This could potentially save you about $100 dollars per year or more!

For a quick guide on how to adjust your hot water heater, check out this guide here on familyhandyman.com.

58. Repair any maintenance issues asap

An easy way to save on major repairs is to make sure you’re taking care of any maintenance issues you’re currently dealing with. If you aren’t having problems, be ready to handle them immediately when they pop up.

59. Maintain your A/C and heat unit

Your A/C unit is the most expense appliance/piece of machinery in your home and it’s insanely important to maintain. If you don’t maintain, get ready for expensive repairs and/or a complete replacement of that unit at $8,000 dollars plus. The heating unit isn’t as expensive but I’ll say the exact same thing for that unit, too.

60. Change your air filters

Another important maintenance tip is to always change your air filters. These filters help you avoid increased energy costs and are super cheap. Just replace them every 3 months and you’re golden.

61. Repair rather than replace

Choosing to repair things instead of replace them is a great way to save A LOT of money over your lifetime. I’ve repaired a lot of things over the last decade that has really saved us some dough. Repairs may not always be a lasting fix, and eventually you’ll have to fix stuff, but it’s an easier, cheaper option sometimes. Just make sure your repairs aren’t going to cost you big time if you don’t repair as soon as possible (like issues with an A/C unit).

62. Quality replacements

If you do choose to replace instead of repair, always make sure you’re choosing quality replacements. Don’t cheap out when replacing things. It’s okay to pick the affordable option. But quality things usually last a helluva lot longer and will usually save you money in the long run.

Miscellaneous other ways to save

63. Cut the cable

You might have already done this, but if you haven’t, it’s time to cut the cable. We did this a few years back and have saved over $100 dollars per month ever since. With all of today’s streaming services, it’s easy to cut this out and not look back.

64. Cut subscriptions and streaming services

Be careful, though, with the streaming services because too many of them can cost you big time. If you have 10+ plus subscription and streaming services, think about cutting a few out to save you some money. It’s really easy to do and can end up being a lot of savings over the years.

65. Cancel your gym membership (only if…)

So before I continue with this section, I just wanna’ tell you that I’m a HUGE advocate of going to the gym, working out, and being healthy. So if you use your gym membership, please keep it and keep going! But if you’re keeping it just to make yourself feel good, that’s a complete waste of money. If you don’t use it, cancel it.

66. Cheaper gym membership

Another thing you can do is get a cheaper gym membership. I don’t need a pool, sauna, basketball court, daycare, and 20 different free classes. I just want some weights and machines to workout. So I work out at a 24/7 gym for $15 bucks a month.

67. Workout at home

If you want to save some money, and you aren’t able to get to the gym as much, skip the membership and work out at home for free. There are thousands of workouts online and on YouTube that you can do to keep yourself in shape. So give that a shot and save some dough.

68. Cut out expensive hobbies

If you have expensive hobbies, I’m not saying that you have to cut these out forever. But if your hobby is costing you a lot of money per month (golfing, shooting, video games, or anything else that can be very expensive to do), you need to either cut back on it or cut it out. Because if you’re getting out of debt or trying to save some money, these hobbies can easily drain your paycheck every month. Once you hit some financial goals, just add those hobbies back in. But make sure they fit in your budget!!

69. Learn a money-making hobby

If you’re able to start doing a free hobby or something that can make you money, this can both change your finances and allow you to have some fun. I’m a nerd so I’ve made budgeting and personal finance one of my hobbies. The goal is to turn that into a money-making hobby through this blog.

Another hobby I have is disc golf. I love it so much that I started a website about it: DiscgolfNOW.com allows me to learn about disc golf, teach about disc golf, and play a little bit, all while making money off of my site. Find yourself a money-making habit and don’t just save money, but make more on top of it.

Check out DiscgolfNOW.com here.

69. Find free or cheap things to do

Another great way of saving money is finding cheap or free things to do. Disc golfing, hiking, walking, running, going to local parks, and the library are just a small number of cheap or free things that you can do. For more, Google “cheap things to do in (your city),” or “free things to do in (your city).”

70. Find a cheaper place to live

If your rent or your mortgage is really crushing your income, it might be time to start looking for a cheaper place to live. I know it’s tough these days, but if you lower your standard of living just a little bit, you could save $100 dollars per month or more.

71. Find a cheaper cell phone plan

Cell phones and cellphone plans are EXTREMELY expensive these days. From ever-increasing plan costs to insane phone payments and fees, it’s easy to see how a person’s cell phone plan can cost well over $100 bucks a month or more for just them. If you want to save some money, try out other providers like Mint Mobile. They offer great variety, excellent service, reliability, and an insanely inexpensive plan cost.

72. Negotiate your expenses

One way to potentially save hundreds of dollars per month is to negotiate all of your expenses down as much as possible. Most people don’t realize that things like your internet, cable, and insurance plans can be negotiated down. Just let those companies know that you are a valuable PAYING customer and that you would love a rate discount or someone else will have your business. If they won’t give you a break on the price, find another company that will give you a better deal.

Also, in the insurance world, using an insurance broker can help you find the best deal. This is because a broker is simply a person who buys or sells products for other people or companies. They deal with all of the insurance companies and can usually compare rates between a few just to find you the best deal.

73. Quit your bad habits

Bad habits will usually cost you money. Whatever bad habit you have, nix it from you life and save yourself the money and the trouble.

74. Delete store cards from websites

If one of your bad habits is online shopping, an easy way to fix that is to delete your credit and debit cards from whatever websites you shop on. If you make it harder on yourself to spend money by having to physically get your card out and input all the information, you might just skip that next purchase.

75. No-spend days

No-spend days are a great way to save money. It’s similar to the no-spend challenge, just for only 1 day. Don’t spend any money for anything that isn’t a necessity (like bills/groceries/rent). This can save you a little bit of dough through a couple of things that you didn’t spend money on.

76. The no-spend challenge

If you take the last section and just stretch it, that’s the no-spend challenge. No spending for a day isn’t that hard. Just don’t buy anything for the day. I think that’s most of us 1-2 days before payday.

But try not spending over the course of a week, a month, a few months, or a year. The longer you go, the tougher it is. My wife and I usually do this over the course of a month if we know the money is going to be a little bit tighter in one month or another.

For more on the no-spend challenge, check out this post here on the savvy sparrow.com.

77. The 24-hour rule

If you don’t want to try no-spend days or the no-spend challenge, you could try out the 24-hour rule. The 24-hour rule is simple: for anything that you want to buy, that’s not a necessity, you wait at least 24 hours before going back to buy that item. This allows you the time to think about that item and make a thoughtful decision on whether you really want that item.

78. 30-day “I want it” lists

If the 24-hour rule doesn’t work, try a more disciplined approach: the 30-day “I want it” list. This concept is just as simple as the last one. All you do is put that item you want on a 30-day list and you wait at least that 30 days before you buy it. That will allow you to make a more informed decision on whether or not you really want that item.

79. Get a library card

Now this next tip is easy and always free: go get a library card. If you want to save money on books for your entire life, go to your local library and sign up for a library card. Most towns and cities have at least 1 library and if you live in a bigger city like I do, there will be a couple. Greensboro, North Carolina has at least 7 libraries that I know of. If that’s the case, don’t buy books. Just go rent and make sure you turn them back in on time (or it won’t be free anymore).

80. Buy everything in bulk

Buying everything in bulk might cost a little bit more up front, but can save you a lot of money over the course of your life. Just be careful not to overspend when you do this.

81. Use everything to the last drop

This is something I always try to do. Shampoo, toothpaste, creams, deodorant, and other items are good ‘til the last drop. So stop throwing stuff away when it’s ALMOST gone. Use it up and save some money.

82. Don’t buy lottery tickets

Man, do I hate lottery tickets. I used to buy them when I was younger but I never won. That always ticked me off so I stopped buying them. My hatred for them came when I heard Dave Ramsey call them a “tax on poor people.” Then, the more I observed people buying them, the more I noticed it was usually people who looked like they didn’t have a lot money who were buying them.

Now I’m not trying to judge these people, just pointing out a fact. The people usually buying lottery tickets usually don’t have a lot of money and are using their hard earned dollars to “win big.” But most never will. They’ll just keep getting scammed out of their money. That’s why I hate lottery tickets.

They’re part of my 21 things that frugal people never buy list that you can check out here.

83. Yard sales

Yard sales are a phenomenal way to save money on stuff that would ordinarily cost a good deal of money. So scavenge your local community for yard sale deals! You can also try out yard sale flipping to make some extra cash on the side!

84. Thrift shops

My wife and I love thrift shops. Besides finding some cool stuff on the cheap. There are a ton of awesome places that sell nice, very gently used clothing for insane prices. If you’re looking for clothes, check out Goodwill and other local thrift shops to save a ton of money on your clothing.

85. Walmart

People hate on Walmart, but they actually make a lot of great stuff (clothing included). I don’t buy everything from here, but I get a lot of my workout clothing and work clothing from here. It’s cheap and decent quality. So why not?

86. Kids clothes on the cheap

If you’re looking for cheap kids clothing, you can try looking at the following places:

Local yard sales
Goodwill and other local thrift shops and…
Kids consignment stores in the area

Also, ask coworkers and friends with kids if they have any kids clothes they’re willing to part with or sell for cheap. I can’t tell you how much money we’ve saved over the couple of years from being smart with how we’ve paid for kids clothes. They grow out of them really fast so find decent, quality kids clothes for good prices and go from there.

87. Kids toys on Facebook Marketplace

Now that we’ve gotten out of debt and done fairly well with our finances, we buy new toys for our son more often. But we still use Facebook Marketplace A LOT! This place is awesome for finding cheap used kids toys. I would say about 90% of the stuff on here that we’ve bought has been in really good shape. And we’ve saved thousands of dollars by buying used toys this way. My son is just happy to get new toys and doesn’t know the difference.

88. DIY cleaning products

My wife and I love to create homemade cleaning products that actually help us clean AND help us avoid using too many chemicals. We’re not some crazy hipster family but we are trying to do better about using products that are more natural.

This video here on the Clean My Space YouTube channel is great and features 19 DIY cleaning product ideas.

89. DIY gifts

DIY gifts are a great way to save money and make awesome stuff in a very personalized way. Most people spend way too much on gifts that they don’t really think about. Does the person really want that? Think about what people like and try to DIY a gift for them. Paint something, make something, or bake something. It might take some thought and effort, but hey, that’s the point, right?

90. DIY date nights

DIY date nights are another great way to save money by doing stuff yourself. My wife and I have added more of these in lately because you can do stuff from the comfort of your home. If this sounds interesting to you, just Google “DIY date ideas.”

91. Sinking funds

Sinking funds are simply funds to save up for large purchases. Want to upgrade your car? Start a sinking fund to save up. Looking to buy a new couch? You need a sinking fund to save up. Sinking funds are great because they can motivate you to save up for those big purchases AND allow you to have the cash ready when needed.

92. Use cash

Whenever you spend physical cash, it hurts. Because that’s your hard-earned cash! While I’m not opposed to using a debit card, studies have shown that when people use cards, there isn’t pain attached to that spending so you’re likely to spend more money than if you just used cash. Using cash can help you spend less so that you have more money to save.

93. Pay for your spending

One way that I’ve saved money in the past is by paying myself for what I would’ve spent. Instead of buying unneeded things, I tell myself, “No!” to those purchases and then keep a running amount of how much I saved from each of those times I didn’t spend that money.

For example: you don’t buy that energy drink and that candy bar on day 1. That’s $5 dollars saved. Amount to pay yourself: $5 dollars. Over the course of the next 30 days, you don’t buy a lot of stuff and the amount you saved was around $100 total dollars. So you take $100 dollars in your bank account and you put it into savings. It’s an interesting concept and it was a fun month when I did it. I’m pretty disciplined so I ended up with $60 dollars in extra savings. Now you give it a try!

94. Save your windfalls

Saving any extra money that you bring in per year is a great way to really make progress with your financial goals. I’m talking about ANY extra money, increases in income, bonuses, extra money from tax returns and anything else you earn from the things you do in the next couple of sections.

95. Change your tax withholding

If you get a large tax refund every year, you’re probably paying too much in to your tax bill every month. So change your tax withholding to where you’re paying a little bit less on every paycheck so that you have extra money to save every month. You won’t get as big of a tax refund, but you’ll have more money to save each month. Sounds good to me.

96. Find a Side hustle

Finding a side hustle can be a great way to add extra money to your income. And that extra income can be saved!

97. Sell your stuff

Selling all of that stuff that takes up space and clutters your home can be another great way to earn more so that you can save more. If you’re in debt mode, sell everything you can so you can pay off debt and save even more money after your debt is paid!

98. Always try to save money

One thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that you can save money on almost everything you do and pay for. Whenever you’re looking to buy something, try to find a sale or get a discount. If you can’t, make sure that you really need that item. Otherwise, you could pass on it and save even more! Whatever you do, whatever it is that you want to buy, try to save money on it in some way.

99. Cut all your expenses

A good way to save more money is to find a way to cut ALL of your expenses. Just like we said in the last section, always try to save. Write down every last individual expense that you have and find a way to lower that expense.

100. make personal finance and saving a hobby!

I already told you that I’m a personal finance nerd. And part of that entails my love of personal finance, budgeting, and saving. I really do feel like personal finance is a hobby of mine. Primarily because I like it and because my wife and I have serious financial goals that we’re trying to achieve over the next 10+ plus years.

So if you’re really serious about saving and doing well with money, you need to make personal finance into a hobby. I mean, hey, it’s FREE to have as a hobby and it will only help you out financially in the long run.

101. Search for more “creative ways to save money” online!

Even though I’ve put together a pretty great list here of creative ways to save money, there are always more ways to save. Continue to search the internet for more ways to save money and try to come up with your own ways that work for your specific situation. Because saving more money is never a bad thing.

Finally

So yes, there are a lot of ways to save money. But it’s ultimately up to you on what ways you decide to use to do it. Hopefully this list has helped you find a couple of creative ways to save a few dollars. Or maybe it gave you some inspiration to think about your own life. Whatever it is, find your own ways to save your money. It’s YOUR hard-earned money. Why not keep more of it?