How To Save Every Day
Here at MtM, we love talking about different ways of saving. Much involves our fascination with credit cards and loyalty programs to obtain “free” – or discounted, at least – travel. While I enjoy that, I’m more enamored with all the ways to leverage these options for everyday savings. Indeed, I save more that way than I do on a few select trips per year. While that isn’t necessarily sexy, it’s more meaningful than an opulent travel redemption to a particular destination which couldn’t intrigue me less. We can use our points and travel mindset to obtain value from everyday activities. Here’s how to save routinely with minimal effort, credit card not required.
An Early Dinner Out
My wife and I started dining out at odd hours (mostly earlier) with the arrival of our first little one. Obviously, that worked out best for little bit’s schedule, but we grew to love other aspects of the early dining experience. We enjoy thinner crowds, no waits, and often better prices along the way.
We found that certain restaurants serve their lunch menus well into the afternoon, sometimes late enough where we make that an early dinner. Lunch selections and portions may be more limited, but often, so are the prices. We come out ahead with more reasonable portions at economical rates.
But maybe those lunch hours cut off a bit early. In that case, happy hour options are a nice contingency. Many establishments serve smaller plates during happy hour at bargain rates. But beware, drinking can eat into that savings – more on that next.
Drink at Home
I know how this sounds. Many have a negative connotation to above. Naturally, creating your own household happy hour at your convenience isn’t necessarily the best option for everyone. But individuals choosing to responsibly consume their booze at home rather than out can easily save. Even better, one can easily host friends for drinks for less than a round at a bar.
When I see the price of a pint at a given location, I often think how much of a six pack that is. By choosing the latter, a friend and I can have a couple on my back deck for around the same price.
Of course, incorporate how you value the experience into your decision. I enjoy meeting others at local breweries to discover different options. But that’s not always the answer.
Grocery Shop on Friday
Grocery shopping just seems to be more tedious these days. If we wanted to find the cheapest price for the variety of items we consume, we’d be going to maybe half a dozen different retailers. Any monetary savings are easily lost with the extra time, gas, and traffic. My wife and I came to what we think is the best conclusion for our situation. We do the vast majority of our grocery shopping at Kroger on Fridays.
Kroger certainly isn’t the cheapest grocer, but it’s also not the most expensive. But we know we definitely save more, albeit indirectly, by grocery shopping on Fridays. That’s because our regional Kroger locations routinely offer 4x fuel points. With every $250 we spend on groceries, we pick up $35 in fuel savings when we optimize 35 gallon fill-ups (yes, I’m that guy with the gas cans).
Of course, plenty of other options exist with other grocers. Bottom line, simply moving around your shopping days can lead to bigger savings.
Open a Window
Spring is here! When I hear or read that, I usually groan. I like my cold weather and am in no hurry for winter to end. But I quickly get over it, because I remember with those more reasonable spring temperatures come more open windows at home (and fresh air). Not coincidentally, I enjoy the silence of not hearing my thermostat and HVAC click on. That silence is savings!
We have similar temperatures for much of the fall, too, but I’m a bit jealous of others who can leave their windows open more than we can. Regardless, consider what you can do to save on your home energy bill, whether while you’re there or traveling!
Cancel a Streaming Service
Many of us get “free” streaming services via credit card benefits. But, inevitably, individuals go out of pocket for a particular watching want. For instance, in the fall, we’ll pay for YouTube TV subscription for all the football. Unfortunately, despite discounts hobbyists can obtain, we can’t ignore that service just keeps getting more expensive. Geez, $82.99 monthly?!
We routinely cancel our YouTube TV service at the end of the football season. Not coincidentally, we’ll then have more time on our hands to address our to-do lists. I’ll shake my head at the stuff I put off because I got unnecessarily sucked into a random college game.
Consider cancelling at least one streaming service you pay for, and maybe even go cold turkey. You’ll have no problem filling the time with more productive endeavors!
How To Save – Conclusion
When it comes to how to save every day, these are just a handful of my preferred moves. Please share your methods in the comments! Often, saving solutions are right there in front of us – we just need to stop long enough to consider them. Maybe crack open a beer at home and ponder! Of course, you can incorporate credit card rewards and benefits to augment savings with the above methods. But these moves alone can easily save you money, as well.
What simple moves have you made to continually save?
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* don’t you have better things to do? Seriously.
Have you ever considered that maybe leeping excess gas lying around is not a good idea, and don’t you have neeter things to do? Serioulsy.