New Ways To Save Money (2024)

The New Year is a time of new habits. It’s a perfect time to reorganize your thoughts, ideas and financial goals. If you are looking for new ways to save money in the New Year, here are some lesser used ideas when it comes to staying on budget.

New Ways to Save Money in the New Year

1. Minimize your wardrobe.

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Try participating in the Project 333if you need outside motivation (It’s a fashion challenge that helps you dress with 33 items or less for 3 months). If you minimize your wardrobe, you can save money by only adding a few low cost accessories when they are in style.

2. Try Gleaning

Gleaning can mean asking your neighbors if you can pick the fruit from their fruit trees or bushes (that they don’t want) to contacting farmers and asking if you can pick up any fruit or vegetables missed when they did their harvesting (especially if they use mechanical harvesting equipment).

Look on Craigslist or Freecycle for people offering free fruit if you come and pick it or post that you are willing to pick fruit (there may already be established gleaning groups in your areas that you could join as well). Most people would rather not have their fruit go to waste! Also, check out FallingFruit.org for a map of fruit trees on public land.

3. Shop with discount gift cards.

This is not necessarily a new concept, but it can be new to you if you never thought about shopping this way. Just buy discounted gift cards and use them when you need to shop in a store or online. Just Google “buy discount gift cards” and you’ll find many sites who have them 5-10% less than the amount on the card. So you would buy a $25 card for say $20 (the discounts can be greater). If you get gift cards you know you won’t use, turn them into cash this way as well.

4. Workout for free.

One of the biggest reasons people get gym memberships is they think it will motivate them or the weather may not be ideal where they live for working out outside. This time of year is especially high for gym memberships as people start making their new year’s resolutions.

You can practically work out for free by watching YouTube videos and just buying some very basic workout equipment such as hand weights and resistance bands as well as a yoga mat. If you have a streaming device, YouTube is usually available and all you need to do is find the kind of working out you want to so. There are even full length videos on there!

5. Only shop after the season for stuff.

Shop after Christmas for next Christmas, shop after summer for next summer, shop after winter for next winter. Stores put things on clearance way before the the real season even begins! You will save so much money that you won’t even know why you ever shopped full price. For example, make a pact with yourself that you won’t buy any holiday decor before the holiday for one year. Plus, many holiday things can be used for other holidays as well. For instance, red and white things can be used for Valentine’s Day and Green stuff from Christmas can be used on St Patrick’s day.

6. Get your home re-assessed.

If you haven’t had the county/city come in and check out the value of your home in a while, you may just be paying too much in property taxes. This is especially true if the last time they lookedwas when the housing industry was doing well. Don’t over-pay for your property taxes if you don’t have to!

7. Shop year round for your car insurance.

Most people get stuck in one insurance plan and think that is the lowest it can get. You may think you are getting the best deal, but you should have your insurance company re-evaluate your policy on a yearly basis. The truth is, since so many insurance companies are competing these days, if you have a good driving record, you can often get a lower rate just by regularly shopping around. Also, you should contact your car insurance company if you have changes like driving less mileage or teen drivers on your policy getting older. Those two things will lower your insurance rate.Try it and you may be shocked how much more you can save.

I hope you’ve found some fresh ideas for saving money and I’d love to add your ideas to this list! What are your more unusual ways to save money?

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You may also be interested in:

Preparing Your Budget For the New Year

How To Make A Budget Binder

New Ways To Save Money (2024)

FAQs

How to save $1,000 in 6 months? ›

How much do you need to save each week to reach $1,000 in six months? About $42 per week or $84 per paycheck if you get paid twice a month.

What is the 50-30-20 rule? ›

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.

What is the 30 day rule? ›

The premise of the 30-day savings rule is straightforward: When faced with the temptation of an impulse purchase, wait 30 days before committing to the buy. During this time, take the opportunity to evaluate the necessity and impact of the purchase on your overall financial goals.

How much to save $10,000 in 3 months? ›

Setting realistic savings goals is essential to ensure that you don't set yourself up for failure. One way to do this is by breaking down your target amount into smaller milestones. For example, if you aim to save $10,000 in three months, you can divide it into monthly targets of $3,333.

What if I save $100 a week for a year? ›

The first thing we need to know is how much $100 per week works out to on an annualized basis. There are 52 weeks in a year. That means that, after a full year of saving, $100 per week adds up to $5,200.

How much money should a 24 year old have saved up? ›

Rule of thumb? Aim to have three to six months' worth of expenses set aside. To figure out how much you should have saved for emergencies, simply multiply the amount of money you spend each month on expenses by either three or six months to get your target goal amount.

How can I save $5,000 in 100 days? ›

The 100-envelope challenge is pretty straightforward: You take 100 envelopes, number each of them and then save the corresponding dollar amount in each envelope. For instance, you put $1 in “Envelope 1,” $2 in “Envelope 2,” and so on. By the end of 100 days, you'll have saved $5,050.

What's the 100 envelope challenge? ›

It works like this: Gather 100 envelopes and number them from 1 to 100. Each day, fill up one envelope with the amount of cash corresponding to the number on the envelope. You can fill up the envelopes in order or pick them at random. After you've filled up all the envelopes, you'll have a total savings of $5,050.

What is the envelope savings method? ›

The concept is simple: Take a few envelopes, write a specific expense category on each one — like groceries, rent or student loans — and then put the money you plan to spend on those things into the envelopes. Traditionally, people have used the envelope system on a monthly basis, using actual cash and envelopes.

What is the envelope challenge? ›

The 100-envelope challenge is a way to gamify saving money. Each day for 100 days, you'll set aside a predetermined dollar amount in different envelopes.

What are the examples of modern money? ›

Examples of modern currency are Paper bills/notes coins and credit cards etc . Examples of older currency are coins made of precious metals like gold or silver and also terracotta coins etc.

What is money in modern age? ›

In today's world, money plays a vital role in every aspect of life, from buying groceries to investing in stocks. However, the concept of money has evolved over time, and so have the challenges associated with it. Gone are the days when money meant physical currency in the form of coins and notes.

What is money in a modern economy? ›

Money is defined as anything people accept for goods and services. In modern economies, money is national currency.

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