Frugality Magazine - Frugal Living Tips for Financial Freedom

How to Save Money Without Trying

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It’s no secret that hardcore savers invest a lot of time and energy into saving money. But are there ways that anyone can save money without even trying?

As it turns out there are. Just a few minutes invested in the next few days can quickly set you up for a whole bunch of potential money-saving strategies that can be used day-in, day-out without even trying.

Don’t believe me? Read on to learn how to save money without trying…

Use Cashback

Dozens of companies offer cashback on your routine everyday shopping – which they’ll then send you in the form of free gift cards, a check or a Paypal transfer. All you need to do is register once (a process that takes less than 60 seconds) and then from then on you’re set up to save money without even trying.

Possibly the best of these sites is Ebates, which offers a vast number of cashback opportunities. Simply register here and get into the habit of quickly checking their site before you make any purchase. Easy!

Pay Yourself First

If you’re like most people, then any “spare” money you have each month can quickly get eaten up in everyday life. Trying to remember to carefully transfer money into your savings account is bad enough, but the process itself of course takes time and effort too.

An easier solution is simply to arrange through your bank for a specific sum of money to be automatically moved across into savings whenever you get paid. That way, having spent just a few minutes setting it up once, you never need to think about filling up your savings account again.  

Use Price Comparison Tools

We all know that prices can vary massively online, and therefore that price comparison websites have the potential to save you a lot of money. At the same time, if you’ve ever tried to find a better deal on your car insurance then you’ll know what a long and drawn-out process it can really be – hardly effort-free.

However there are other options that are almost hassle-free. A number of companies now offer tools that connect to your web browser. Whenever you’re shopping for products they’re running in the background, finding you the cheapest website for the product you’re considering, or offering up voucher codes to help you save.

It takes a matter of moments to install these free tools on your computer, then you’re all set to save money without trying. To learn more about the best automatic browser tools for saving money click here now.

Turn It Into a Game

Saving money doesn’t have to be a negative experience, which involves effort and self-discipline. If you’re able to change your perspective of saving money then the process can actually be quite fun.

Personally I found that making the art of saving money into a game made it far more enjoyable. Each month I would try to save just a little more money than the month before, and this constant competition with the previous month helped me to enjoy saving money without it feeling like a drag.

Change Food Brands

You go to the supermarket to buy food anyway, so what could be easier than simply swapping a few of your standard groceries to lower-cost alternatives? Each week when you do your groceries, try swapping out your premium brands for budget-conscious alternatives and see which ones your family enjoys.

While there are some brands we still buy ourselves, we’ve found that in other cases the cheaper brands are almost indistinguishable and so save us loads of money with no effort.

Get Outside

Going outside might seem like an odd tip for saving money – but think about all the expensive pursuits you’ll be able to leave behind. You can turn off the heating or air conditioning. You can switch off the lights and the TV and your computer. All this saves you money.

There are tons of things to do outside that cost little or nothing, and many will improve your health to boot. Whether it’s taking the kids to your local park, or going for a bike ride in the forest, try to find enjoyable outdoor activities and see just how much you can save without trying.  

Work More

While some readers may turn their nose up at this suggestion, I have found that working more is a great way to save money without trying. The reason is quite simple: when you work more, you have less time to spend the money that you’re earning.

Some years back I had a job where I worked seven days a week for a period of around three months. Not only did I of course earn more by working all those hours, but I simply didn’t have the time to spend it all as I was so busy working. By the end of it I had inflated my savings account considerably, without even consciously trying to save money.

Make Yourself Wait

We live in an age of instant gratification. If we want something, we buy it. Clearly, such a concept isn’t really going to help any of us to save money. What can work, however, is making yourself wait before purchasing anything expensive.

Start off by deciding on a threshold. Perhaps it’s $20 or maybe $50 – you need to decide this. Then, whenever you’re considering purchasing something over this threshold, you simply make yourself wait for a period of time. A month works well, if you can manage it.

All too often in that “waiting” period you find that you actually didn’t really need or want that product anyway. In other cases you’ll find that while you do still want it, there is an offer on and you can buy it for less.

Whatever the end result, simply waiting before making bigger purchases can be a very easy way to save money without trying.

Save Your Pay Rises

If you’re managing your finances OK right now, then you don’t really need any more money. After all, your basic needs are already being met on your current salary.

When you land a pay raise at work, therefore, don’t squander it but instead immediately transfer it into savings. As this is “new” money that you didn’t have before you won’t feel a pinch – a great way to save money without even trying.

Save Your Change

One tip that has worked very well for me indeed (indeed, it recently paid for a weekend away!) is simply to save your loose change.

Decide on a threshold and then put any coins below this into a tin or a tub. You don’t even notice these smaller coins gently filtering away – in fact it’s a benefit because you’re not having to walk around with your bodyweight in metal coins all day long!

Over time, however, even these small coins start to pile up, and before long you’ll find that you have a healthy pot of savings – without having done any hard work whatsoever.

Saving money doesn't need to be complicated or painful. There are all sorts of ways to save money that take little or no effort. In this article, we look at some of the best ways to save money without trying. Click here to learn more now!

Richard

Sun-worshipper and obsessive frugality blogger. For loads more money-saving advice come and join us on Facebook.

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