7 Easy Ways to Save More Money

Saving money is often viewed by many as a nigh impossible task. Some consider it painful while others just try not to think about it.

There are hundreds of ways to save money, some obviously easier than others. It doesn’t have to be difficult to save though.  Here I’ve listed 7 of the easiest ways I’ve found for you to keep more cash in the bank.

1) Watch Less TV

Watching tv is one of the biggest time-wasters out there. If you don’t have cable, then you probably watch Hulu or Netflix, both of which are much cheaper in cost than cable.

Watching less tv means spending less on electricity, but more importantly, it opens up more of your time. If you cut out an hour a day of tv, that would give you 30 extra hours a month. What could you do with 30 extra hours? Pursue a hobby you’ve been putting off?  Make a few extra hundred dollars doing odd jobs?

2) Cut Your Own Hair

This particular point is what inspired me to write this post in the first place. Today I went to the barbershop to get a haircut but they told me it would be an hour wait. I didn’t want to waste an hour of my day waiting around for a haircut so I decided I would just do it myself.

I went to Wal-Mart and bought a pair of clippers for $35. Then I headed home and my wife cut my hair for me :) It looks pretty good if I say so myself.

I figured it would pay itself off after 3 haircuts and then it would be free haircuts after that. Plus, I can maybe even try cutting it myself and would eventually make it look good too.

3) Cook Your Meals at Home

Cooking meals at home will allow you to save more money than you might think. According to the Bureau of Labor, the average American spends over $3,300 every year on eating out!

The average restaurant marks food up at least 3 times what you can buy it for at the store. For example, a meal that costs you $10 at a restaurant would only cost you a little over $3 at home.

There are many reasons to eat out at restaurants. There are special occasions or celebrations of course. But, if you’re eating out just because it’s easy and convenient, try cooking at home. You could literally save thousands a year!

4) Sell Stuff on eBay

Selling things on eBay is one of my favorite ways to make some extra cash. Think of things you have sitting around the house you don’t use anymore, things sitting in the back of closets getting dusty.

It’s super easy to sell on eBay if you haven’t before. Just search for the item you want to sell. Click on the “Sell One Like This” button on the listing. That will auto-fill almost all of the information so you don’t have to.

If it doesn’t sell in the time period you want, then systematically lower the price periodically until it does sell.

Be sure to be careful what type of shipping you use. I almost always include “Free Shipping” in my listings because they sell faster. Just mark the price up accordingly so you don’t lose it all to shipping costs.

5) Drink More Water

When I hear the words “drink more water”, I almost always first think of the health benefits. But in reality, there are major financial benefits of drinking more water.

Buying soda or energy drinks every day definitely add up over time. It doesn’t seem like much at first, just saving a couple of bucks here and there. But, if you choose water every time you eat out or want to buy a drink, that’s at least a few dollars a day which can add up to $100 or more over the course of a month.

In addition, you will have more energy and less headaches. We lose a lot of water from our bodies just from breathing. A lot of help problems can be solved or prevented by just drinking more water. You won’t regret drinking more water.

6) Buy Used First When Possible

When you go to buy something, ask yourself if it would be worth to buy it used. Oftentimes, you can get killer deals for buying appliances, yard equipment, or just furniture around the house.

Craigslist and thrift stores can be your biggest friend. I’ve bought a couple of gems used. One was a chest freezer I got for $40. I also bought a used Honda lawn mower for $75. It’s been a really good mower for me. I’ve rarely been disappointed buying things used.

It’s also especially smart to buy used cars instead of new. Buying used cars with cash instead of financing new cars will make someone wealthy so much faster. It’s something so simple that has a huge impact.

7) Buy Generic Brands at the Store

I remember taking a finance class with my wife before we got married. One of the things I remember the teacher telling us was to always buy generic at the store. He said this would save a considerable amount of money over the course of our marriage.

We’ve adopted this principle since getting married and I’ve seen good effects from it. Not only is the generic brand almost always 20% cheaper or more, but it also tastes practically the same.

I’m not super picky when it comes to food in the first place, but I’ve been surprised to have some generic foods that taste even better than the big brand names. Implementing this practice from a young age will save you tens of thousands over the course of your lifetime.

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Saving extra money doesn’t have to be a hard thing to do. You don’t have to do all of these at once either. Just choose one or two to try and actually see how much you can save.

What’s one thing you’ve been doing recently to save more? Share below!