Searching for ways to save money live better? Well, look no further. 🙂
The Walmart slogan ‘save money, live better’ has inspired me to develop nine different ways to help you save money.
According to Statista, nearly 70% of Americans have less than $1000 in savings. $1000 is the minimum amount needed in case of an emergency.
Saving money can be pretty challenging, so I recommend implementing some of these tips to help give your savings a boost.
I’ve used many of these strategies to save thousands over the years, and I believe they’ll be able to help you too!
Let’s get started!
Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate and referral links, where I may receive a small commission on purchases or signups at no cost to you. You can read my full disclosure here.
Save Money Live Better – 9 Strategies
1. Start a money-savings challenge
The first strategy to save money and live better is to start a 52-week money savings challenge.
They’re super simple and easy to use, and you can start them at any time throughout the year. All a savings challenge requires is to pick a random circle, save the amount, and color it in.
You could put the specified amount into a savings tin or a bank account. It doesn’t really matter.
It’s a great visual way to see your savings start piling up and could help save for a holiday, an emergency fund, Christmas gifts, or more!
I’ve created three free savings challenge printables that you can get below. 🙂
I also sell more colors and savings variations at my Etsy shop.
2. Use cashback apps
Are you an avid online shopper? Well, using a cashback app might be the perfect solution for you.
Cashback apps are completely free and give you a percentage back on purchases made through their links. The rates can range anywhere from 1% to 90%, and there are often upsized cashback deals.
It makes sense to use a cashback app if you frequently shop online, and they cover stores from Amazon, Apple, Target, eBay, and thousands more.
I’ve saved over $450 from apps like Rakuten and Shopback. If you want to save money on shopping online, this can be a great way to do so.
Worldwide cash back apps:
– Rakuten (spend $25 through Rakuten and get $25 back)
– Swagbucks
Asia Pacific cashback app:
– Shopback (spend $20 through Shopback and get $10 back)
Recommended read: Shopback Review: How to Shop Online & Earn Cashback
3. Don’t buy cheap things
One of the best possible ways to save money is to avoid buying cheap items.
What do I mean?
I mean not to purchase products that aren’t deemed high-quality. When you buy cheap products (like electronics, appliances, clothing, etc.), they’re a lot more prone to breaking quickly.
If you buy high-quality products built to last, you won’t have to spend money repairing or replacing them as frequently.
I’m not saying to go out and spend top dollar on everything, just do your research and avoid buying budget items built to only last the 12-month warranty.
You’ll save money over time without knowing, and you’ll be left with high-quality products that will last for years to come.
4. Reevaluate your subscriptions
A strategy to save money and live better is to reevaluate your subscriptions.
Whether streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ or a gym subscription, it can become quite costly after subscribing to multiple.
Calculate all the subscription costs each month, and evaluate whether or not it’s worth it. For example, average gym memberships cost $58 a month in the US; that’s $696 a year.
Streaming services can also run you a bit of money, coming to an average of $37 a month for multiple platforms.
A good way that I’ve saved on streaming services is by using NordVPN with Netflix. I can stream tens of thousands of movies and TV shows from 60+ countries with the click of a button.
Using NordVPN has allowed me to get rid of all my other streaming services and save extra money each month.
Join NordVPN today (get 68% off a 2-year-plan and receive a gift)
5. Write down your savings goal
To save more money, you should write down the goal you want to work towards.
Whether it be saving for an emergency fund, getting a new car, going on a holiday, or saving for a down payment, you’ll more likely reach the goal if you have it written down.
I reached my goal of buying a new computer within a few months simply because I had the plan in my mind.
So, no matter the size of your goal, write it down. You’ll be more prone to skip the takeout and impulse purchases and save for what you truly want.
6. Brew your own coffee
Buying from coffee shops can become very expensive over a while. A simple way to save money is to make your own coffee at home.
The great thing about making it yourself is choosing exactly how you like it, explicitly picking the coffee beans, milk, and creamer.
Buying a coffee every day before work: $3 x 240 days = $720.
Brewing a coffee every day before work: 20¢ x 240 days = $48
Brewing your own coffee saves $672 per year; these prices are based on averages by Market Watch.
So, save hundreds by simply skipping the coffee shop and brewing coffee yourself.
7. Automate & round up your savings
A super-easy way to save money and live better is to automate and round up your savings.
With zero effort required, you can join a bank that automatically saves money whenever you use the card.
How does it work?
Every time you pay for something with a debit card, the bank will round up the purchase to the nearest dollar. For example, spending $22.30 will automatically round up to $23 and save the 70¢ for you.
You can also choose to automatically save a certain amount every week/fortnight/month, and it will deposit the amount into your savings for you.
It’s a foolproof way to save money without any effort required.
Banks that round up savings:
– Up Bank
– Chime Bank
8. Start a coin savings jar
Another fun way to save extra money here and there is to start a coin savings jar.
It’s super simple, every time you have spare coins after using cash, put them into a jar. You could also do smaller bills like $1 to $5 to save extra amounts.
I start a coin jar at the start of every year and open it around Christmas time. It’s the best way to get rid of coins and easily save extra money.
9. Do meal preparation
The last of the save money and live better strategies is to do meal preparation.
Did you know that it’s five times more expensive to order food delivery than it is to cook at home?
Planning your meals for the upcoming week will help save tons of money and time.
An excellent way to start planning meals is to research what foods and meats are fridge-stable for 4-5 days. You can also get dozens of budget meal prep ideas from the posts below. 🙂
Meal preparation ideas:
– 40+ Budget-Friendly Meal Prep Ideas
– 25 Healthy Meal Prep Ideas in 30 Minutes
Conclusion
So there we have nine different ways on how to save money and live better.
If you can implement just a few of these strategies, you should see an increase in the amount saved each month.
Remember to set a savings goal, as it will be a lot easier to accomplish than saving just for the sake of it.
Whether for an emergency fund or a holiday, it’ll make it seem like you’re saving for something worth it.
Which of these strategies will you use to “save money live better”?
Read next:
– How to Save $1000 a Month [10 Useful Tips]
– 5 Ways to Make $5000 a Month Revealed