All of the things we did to save money last month aren't amazing epiphanies. (Well, most aren't.) They're the same things that make everyone's top 10 list. These money saving ideas just happen to be what worked for us last month. Some things are simple to execute, others are definitely more challenging. What we found is, if you put in even the slightest bit of extra effort, you'll start to see some savings.
1. We made a meal plan, ate at home, & ate our leftovers
I took inventory of our pantry, refrigerator, & freezer and figured out some simple, inexpensive meals that kept us fed. I also cooked a few batch meals and froze them for the nights when we were both too tired to cook.
While last month wasn't a no-spend month, we managed to keep our grocery bill to just under $300. We mostly ate at home, eating out only twice (which cost us about $45). This is much lower than our average month of eating out (which has been known to top out at $220).
We used these 5 ingredients to help stretch our meals & budget:
- Brown rice
- Dried beans
- Lentils
- Oatmeal
- Pasta
There are free meal planning & pantry inventory sheets in my Budget Bullet Journal download.
[Savings: $120]
2. We bought dried & bulk items
We bought a big ol' sack of Brown rice from Costco & it saved us $32 over buying a year's worth of the small boxes of rice at the grocery store. (Of course, you have to have some place to store it.)
Dried beans cost pennies compared to the generic canned version & if you have a pressure cooker, they cook in 15 minutes. (If you don't have a pressure cooker, then cooking them overnight in the crockpot works too. You just have to plan a little further in advance.) We saved $10.50 on the equivalent of 10 cans of beans.
Buying the one-ply toilet paper on sale at CostCo saves us over $230 a year over the generic version of Scott Soft. That equates to about $19 a month in savings.
[Savings: $62]
3. We made and took our lunches to work
When we don't brown bag it, we're more likely to go out and spend $8-$10 on lunches. We usually go for the salad or sandwich at the healthier lunch spots (which usually means more money). By bringing lunch to work and avoiding the take-out, we save $32-$50 a week. The lunches we make cost between $1-$2.
[Savings: $150]
4. We baked our own bread
It's simpler than it sounds and way tastier than the store-bought loaves. It costs us about 80¢ to bake a loaf of bread vs. $3-$4 per loaf at the grocery store. We go through about 1 loaf a week at a cost of $3.20/month vs. $12-$16/month.
[Savings: $9]
5. I used store loyalty cards
I know it sounds pedestrian, but using store loyalty cards did end up saving us quite a bit last month. We are signed up for a rewards program at the pet-store where we buy our cat food. Every 13th bag of food is free. This really only comes around once a year because we buy the big bags, but last month was our free month. It saved us $32.
Our grocery stores give us rewards too. One gives us points for every shopping trip & reusable bag we bring in. We cashed out $2 worth last month. The other store has special member sales—and last month we saved $13 on items we normally buy without using coupons.
[Savings: $47]
6. We made our own soup stock
One of the things I love about CostCo is their $4.99 rotisserie chickens. I usually buy one and carve the meat off then cook the carcass in water with a few onions, a carrot, and a couple cloves of garlic. I can usually get between 16 and 20 cups of chicken stock (or 4-5 32 ounce containers) out of that bird. The cost is nominal (about 20¢ per 32 oz.). I save about $3.70 per container.
[Savings: $15]
7. Used coupon & rebate apps
I used the dickens out of the following apps and the combination of coupons and rebates saved me about $20. Granted, I could've saved more but I didn't spend a lot last month.
- SavingStar
- Ebates
- Honey
- ibotta
- MobiSave
- Checkout51
- Cartwheel (Target)
[Savings: $20]
8. DIY repairs
One of our GFCI electrical outlets needed to be replaced. Instead of calling an electrician who would have charged me $150, I took a trip to the hardware store and bought the parts and supplies for about $15 ($30 if you don't already have a voltmeter).
[Savings: $135]
9. Ordered free LED light bulbs from our utility company
Not every utility company offers this, but if you pay attention to the inserts in your utility bills (or the emails they send out), you might find that they offer rebates or discounts on energy efficient items. This year, our utility company offered 15 free LED lightbulbs for the price of shipping ($5.39). The LED bulbs they offered were equivalent to the $3-$5 bulbs at the hardware store and will last us 30 years (knock on wood).
[Savings: $40]
10. Used store credit & debit cards for discounted items
I used the Target debit card for my purchases and received 5% off. Last month that equated to about $12.
I also used my Lowe's credit card to buy diy supplies. Usually, Lowe's offers 5% off if you use their credit card. Last month they offered 10% off. As long as you pay off the balance within 30 days, you won't get charged interest. Generally, I pay it off the same day (because I'm prone to forget). I managed to save $9 on my purchases.
[Savings: $21]
These 10 things saved us just over $600 last month.
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