10 Ways to Save More This Year

If you’re looking for ways to save money, we’ve got you covered. It's never to late to make financial clean up a priority.

Here’s 10 ways you can save money this year:

1) Review your cash flow.

It’s so easy to ignore spending. But as inflation increases and you slowly overspend over time, your budget gets tighter.

Review your cash flow so you are aware of your spending and can easily identify areas in your life that you can cut back on.

2) Use budgeting software to track and plan for your monthly AND non-monthly expenses.

Many people know about what they spend each month, but they don’t know or save for the random one-time expenses throughout the year like car repairs, home repairs, homeowners insurance, car insurance, etc.

Using budgeting software helps you plan for your non-monthly expenses so your budget doesn’t get thrown off track. 

Our favorites are Monarch Money and YNAB (especially for business owners).

3) Automate your savings.

Forced savings helps you only spend what’s left over.

We like to see 20% of gross income saved.

Automate savings each month to go into your 401(k), Roth or Brokerage account(s).

4) Avoid high interest rate debt.

If you have high interest rate debt, paying it off should be your first priority. As the price of just about everything increases, it can be tempting to rely on credit cards to afford your expenses, but taking on debt can really stretch your budget.

Especially as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to combat inflation, credit card debt is even more expensive and difficult to pay down.

5) Cut PMI.

If you are paying PMI on your home because you have less than 20% down, consider having your home appraised to see if the value has appreciated enough to where your equity is above 20%. Removing your PMI payment will free up a good amount of savings.

6) Plan cheaper date nights.

Emily Lawson gives amazing at home date nights and family night activities that will keep you having fun and connecting on a budget!

7) Meal plan.

Groceries are one of the largest expenses in most budgets. Planning your meals out each week will help you save money! Try to focus on buying ingredients that can be used in multiple meals.

8) Pursue cheaper activities and vacations.

Consider exploring new parks, bike rides and getting creative with picnics for your family. You could also consider traveling with other families to split lodging costs.

9) Review your subscriptions.

Cancel any subscriptions you no longer use or value.

10) Negotiate your bills.

You can negotiate your tv, internet, phone, car insurance, etc. One way to do this is to switch to paying premiums monthly to every 6 or 12 months to cut down the cost.

Let’s say your car insurance is $100 a month, but you could switch and pay yearly for a cost of $900.

You’ll want to save $900/12= $75 each month into an account to cover this non-monthly expense.

One small step can lead to a few hundred dollars back in cash flow.

We hope you find these tips help you save some more money this year!