25+ Ways To Save Money - The Saving Challenge (2024)

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25+ Ways To Save Money - The Saving Challenge (1)September is back! And with it, all the new season stuff, new school books for the kids, new seasonal clothes and coming back to work after holidays. How scary is that!

After the summer, I always struggle. I look back at my accounts and I think… oh my gosh! what did I do?

Yeah, plenty of money spent on holidays, fancy dinners and parties. I never regret what I did, but I always try to look forward to finding new ways of saving money. And you know what? It’s challenging and it’s fun.

Below are over 25 different ways to save money each month. If you do all of the below, you may be able to save hundreds or thousands of dollars each year. Remember, little savings can add up to be a lot!

These tips might help you to pay your debt or to save money for that 20% deposit you need for your future house.

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Sign up for Swagbucks and Ebates.

Swagbucks help me earning gift cards which I can use at Amazon, and it’s very easy. Swagbucks give you points by using its search engine (just like Google), then you can redeem these points for gift cards. I already redeem 3 Amazon gift cards for $50 and it feels great. Very easy! Plus, you’ll receive a free $1 bonus just for signing up today!

Ebates works similarly. Instead of points, you will earn money when you shop at more than 4,400 retailers. You just need to sign up and see all the available offers and discounts. Also, you will receive a $10 cash back if you spend 25$ online.

Average savings: $120+ a month

Start a blog.

Having your own blog will not help you cutting your expenses, but it will help you to earn more money. Read: How To Start Your Own Blog With WordPress Step-by-Step.

I know plenty of people who have started a blog and now earn thousand of dollars a month. Other even make a living out of it. On top of that, it’s very fun!

I now earn around$800-$1,000 a month from my blog and the extra money is helping a lot to boost our savings.

If you are thinking about starting your own blog, I createda tutorial-guide that will helpyou start your own blog for cheap, You need very little investment, starting at only $3.95 per month (this dealis only through my link) for blog hosting. Additionally, you will geta free blog domain (valued at $12-15) through myBluehost link, onlyif your purchase is for at least 12 months of blog hosting. My recommendation is for you to beself-hosted. This is importantif you want to monetize your blog because your website will look more professional.

Average earnings: $6,000-6,500 a year (in my personal case)

Join Vindale Research

With Vindale you can earn a good extra money every month just by doing a couple of these surveys a week.You can join Vindale Research here.

They are one of the best survey companies considering the payout and time spent. The best thing is that before taking any survey you’ll be able to see how much will they pay and the time to complete.

I only do the ones which pay between $2 to $20 and last month I made nearly $200.

Average earnings: $190+ a month

Change Car Insurance.

Every year I change my car insurance. Staying with the same insurance company for more than one year is generally a mistake. The discounts they offer for recurrent clients are ridiculously low and since the insurance market is constantly changing, new companies enter the game.

A good way of comparing car insurances is using Confused. It works in the UK, but I’m not sure about other countries. You can compare car insurances in Confused and then contact the company in order to change insurance.

Also, by contacting your insurance you can receive some money back by reducing the number of miles you drive every year.

Average savings: $600+ ayear

Join As Many Free Online Survey Companies As You Can

My recommendation for you is to sign up for all the free online survey sites below if this is a side hustle you like.

The reason why signing up for all of them is that each survey company will send you a few surveys to your inbox every month, so the more you sign up for, the more potential money you will make. You can always skip few surveys if you feel like you don’t have time for all of them. So, why don’t sign up for all seven? It’s easy and quick.

These free online survey sites are trustworthy and legitimate and can make a difference in your earnings. These are Survey Downline, American Consumer Opinion,EarningstationandMr. Rebates.

Just by joining all of them you will receive an extra $30 for free as a sign-up bonus.

Average savings: $300+ a month

Have some free fun.

Recently, someone was telling me abouthow expensive was for him and his couple to have fun. They spend nearly $300 a month in doing fun things. I couldn’t believe it. Perhaps I’m not a very spending money person, but $300 seems to be a lot for me.

There are plenty of things I do for free and I have loads of fun. Internet, movies, riding a bike and doing camping are some activities that come now to my mind. I spend some weekends entirely without expending any extra money (or very little) and honestly, they are not boring at all.

Average savings: $150+ a month

Review your cell phone contract.

Most people pay more than what they need for their cell phone plan.

Contracts with expensive providers with 10GB data when in fact you don’t use more than 2GB/month. Giffgaff offers very affordable plans, and the best is that you don’t sign a contract, is sort of a top up which cost as low as £5 ($7) per month. However, better plans start at around £10 ($13) which includes 1GB of data plus 500 minutes in calls. The good thing is that uses the O2 network (only applied to the UK).

Another good option is Q Link Wireless. They provide all eligible low-income households with a free cell phone that includes free monthly calling and texting. Submit your application and you might be qualified to get a free cell phone and 500 minutes every month plus unlimited texts.

However, if you are not qualified, there might be other good plans out there, it’s just a matter of spending few minutes on the internet to figure out what will work for you.

Average earnings: $65 a month

Reduce and Clearance at supermarkets.

I found this trick when I moved to the UK three years ago. Most of thebig supermarkets have a “reduce” price or clearance stand. Food which is expiring on the same day will there with and extra discount. The closer to the closing time you arrive, the lower will be the prices, but there is more risk that somebody willbuy it before you.

I found great products on a daily basis with discounts of more than 80%. I still remember my best day, I bought 10 rump steaks for £0.09 each.

Average savings: $60+ a month

Get rid of the cable / Don’t pay TV license.

I don’t pay TV license and I don’t need it. Even if I had it, I would hardly ever use it. If I want to watch something on TV I can always watch it on the internet. Plus, I am a fan of movies and series, that is why I have Netflix, which if you have the multiple accounts and you share expenses with a friend, is much more affordable than paying cable or TV license.

Another option is trying Curiosity Stream, which is similar to Netflix but cheaper (only $2.99/month or $29.99/year). They also offer amonth free trial. Movies and documentaries, it worth giving it a try at least for the free month.

If you are willing to spend a tiny bit more I would go for JeeStream. It’s only one payment and you will get more TV shows, sports, shows and music channels than Amazon Prime, Netflix and Apple TV combined together. It also offers a 30 days money back guaranteed.

Average savings: $65+ a month

Join More Survey Sites (Only For US)

If you are from the US, you are lucky because you can join these 3 sites to save/make extra money every month. My recommendation for you is to join all these 3 sites because they complement each other very well.

EarningStation is a loyalty rewards site that allows you to earn cash incentives and gift cards by online shopping, participating in surveys, playing games and watching short videos. I started using EarningStation last month and I’ve already made $50. Signup to EarningStation here.

ShopTracker is an App that you can sync with your Amazon account (and automatically you’ll receive a $3 Visa Gift card as a welcome bonus). You can install the App on your phone or Windows computer (not compatible yet with Mac computers). ShopTracker gives you Amazon gift cards, retail e-vouchers and VISA prepaid cards just for having this app installed. Signup to ShopTracker here.

Harris Poll Online offers you the opportunity to earn gift cardsin exchange for your participation in surveys. Signup to Harris Poll Online here.

Average savings: $125+ a month

Cancel your Gym membership.

Nowadays,I find gyms very expensive. It’s true that most of them are very well equipped, but it is also true that you don’t need all the equipment just to do some daily exercise.

Activities like runningand trekking don’t require a gym. Also, when you think about it, paying $40 membership a month is a total of $480 a year. With that money, you can buy your own equipment and still save money.

When I quit from my gym I bought a set of weightsand since then I am saving $40 a month. But you can also buy an exercise bike or a running machine.

Average savings: $60+ a month

Sign Up for Qmee.

Qmee is not exactly a saving money app, but it let you earn some extra cash.Qmee is a simple internet browser app extension that allows you to earn some easy money on the side. Basically, you do your google/yahoo/eBay/amazon searches as normal and sometimes ads ad links come up on the side.

Clicking those ad links range from 5-20 cents that go into your Qmee PiggyBank. Paypal cashout has no limit and is instant.

You can read here my Qmee tutorial post to learn how to make the best out of it.

Average savings: $40+ a month

25+ Ways To Save Money - The Saving Challenge (2)Reduce the number of times you have dinner out.

Cut it to once a week, it doesn’t cost much effort, but by the end of the month you can end up saving a lot. I have my own Excel spreadsheet with all the expenses of the month and restaurants was one of my biggest expenses. After cutting the number of dinners out to once or twice a week, I ended saving more than $100 a month.

Average savings: $100+ a month

Bring your own lunch to work.Your work

You work 22 days per month and if you can save a little every day, it will make a difference. After I switched from eating in my company canteen, to bring my own food, I saved around 3$ per day. That is $66 a month. And not only that, when we cook it’s not only for mebut for my wife as well, so it’s a total of $132.

We eat more healthy and the food we like. The only downside is that it takes times.

Average savings: $60+ a month (per person)

More ways to save money.

This list will give an insight of other ways to save money:

  • Stop smoking (not only money but health improvement). This is a great money saver.
  • Plan your meals on abudget. For example, $5 a meal.
  • Do grocery shopping after lunch or dinner. You will buy with your head and not with your stomach.
  • Always pay your credit card bill in full each month.
  • Use supermarket loyalty cards to get cash back and rewards.
  • Use your ID student card for discounts.
  • Rent a spare room of your house, or your garage if you don’t use it.
  • Do some research to find the most affordable utilities (water, internet, electricity).
  • Buy generic medicines, the effect is the same, you just pay for the brand.
  • Control your monthly expenses, create an Excel spreadsheet for it.

I’m sure there aremore ways to save some money this September, if you have good ideas, please leave a comment and I will include it in the list.

*THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS.

25+ Ways To Save Money - The Saving Challenge (2024)

FAQs

How to do the 50 30 20 rule? ›

Those will become part of your budget. The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.

Does the 52 week money challenge work? ›

But know that this savings plan is effective, and it can help you sock away more than a thousand dollars in a year — $1,378 to be exact. You could build up even more if you put the funds in a high-yield savings account. Doing the challenge takes commitment, but it's easy to start.

What is the 50 20 30 savings rule of thumb group of answer choices? ›

The idea is to divide your income into three categories, spending 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings. Learn more about the 50/30/20 budget rule and if it's right for you.

How to save $1,000 in 30 days challenge? ›

11 Easy Ways to Save $1,000 in 30 Days
  1. Create a Budget. ...
  2. Automate Your Savings. ...
  3. Create a Savings Bingo Sheet. ...
  4. Negotiate Your Bills. ...
  5. Separate Wants From Needs. ...
  6. Plan Your Meals. ...
  7. Buy Generic Brands. ...
  8. Cancel Unnecessary Subscriptions.
Sep 26, 2023

Does the 50 30 20 rule still work? ›

Customize according to your situation

For many people, the 50/30/20 rule works extremely well—it provides significant room in your budget for discretionary spending while setting aside income to pay down debt and save. But the exact breakdown between “needs,” “wants” and savings may not be ideal for everyone.

What is the 50 30 20 rule Khan Academy? ›

The 50/30/20 rule suggests that you spend 50% of your income on your needs, 30% on your wants, and 20% on your savings. This way, you can balance your money and plan for your future.

How can I save $5000 with the 52-week money challenge? ›

Here are a few more ways to save $5,000 by the end of 2023:
  1. Save $96.16 every week.
  2. Save $192.31 every two weeks.
  3. Save $416.67 every month.
  4. Save $1,250 every quarter.
  5. Save $2,500 every six months.
Jan 5, 2023

How can I save $500 in 30 days? ›

For something as short-term as this, it may be easier to set smaller, daily goals in order to make saving a part of your daily routine. In order to save $500 in 30 days, you would roughly need to save $17 per day, and this can be a combination of cutting back on spending and making extra money.

How do you save $1 a week then $2? ›

You can complete the 52-week money challenge in three simple steps: Start by depositing $1 in week one, $2 in week two, $3 in week three and so on. Stash your cash in a high-yield savings account. Keep up the momentum by automating future savings.

What is the 25x savings rule? ›

The 25x rule entails saving 25 times an investor's planned annual expenses for retirement. Originating from the 4% rule, the 25x rule simplifies retirement planning by focusing on portfolio size.

What is the 30 savings rule? ›

Our 50/30/20 calculator divides your take-home income into suggested spending in three categories: 50% of net pay for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and debt repayment. Find out how this budgeting approach applies to your money.

What is the 40 40 20 budget rule? ›

The 40/40/20 rule comes in during the saving phase of his wealth creation formula. Cardone says that from your gross income, 40% should be set aside for taxes, 40% should be saved, and you should live off of the remaining 20%.

What is the 21 day challenge for saving money? ›

That is what this challenge is all about: taking 21 days to make some drastic, but realistic, changes in order to save at least $500 each month. If you are anything like I was, you probably have more bills and payments due each month than you have money coming in.

How to save up $10,000 fast? ›

6 steps to save $10,000 in a year
  1. Evaluate income and expenses. To make room for saving, you'll need a meticulous budget that outlines all your sources of income and all your expenditures. ...
  2. Make an actionable savings plan. ...
  3. Cut unnecessary expenses. ...
  4. Increase your income. ...
  5. Avoid new debt. ...
  6. Invest wisely.
Apr 2, 2024

How can I save $20 a day? ›

20 Tips to Save $20 a Day
  1. #1: Cut your cable costs. ...
  2. #2: Make your home more energy efficient. ...
  3. #3: Make your car more energy efficient. ...
  4. #4: Slash your dry cleaning bill. ...
  5. #5: Eat out less—or hack dining out. ...
  6. #6: Start a garden. ...
  7. #7: Book your next vacation or business trip on AirBnB.com. ...
  8. #8: Automate your savings.

What is a 50 30 20 budget example? ›

Key Takeaways

The 50/30/20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should be split between savings and debt repayment (20%) and everything else that you might want (30%).

What is the disadvantage of the 50 30 20 rule? ›

It may not work for everyone. Depending on your income and expenses, the 50/30/20 rule may not be realistic for your individual financial situation. You may need to allocate a higher percentage to necessities or a lower percentage to wants in order to make ends meet. It doesn't account for irregular expenses.

What are the flaws of the 50 30 20 rule? ›

Drawbacks of the 50/30/20 rule: Lacks detail. May not help individuals isolate specific areas of overspending. Doesn't fit everyone's needs, particularly those with aggressive savings or debt-repayment goals.

What is the 50 30 20 rule of budgeting examples? ›

For example, if you earn ₹ 1 lakh, you can allocate ₹ 50,000 to your needs, ₹ 30,000 to your wants and ₹ 20,000 to your savings, every month.

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