Money Saving Tips Every Girl Should Know
If you struggle to save money then you are not alone, I found that no matter how much I was making each month I was still barely getting by. I was so confused about where my money was going and found it impossible to keep track of it. Once I finally started budgeting, I realized where all my money was going and how to get creative in order to save money without suffering. Just remember that items don’t have to be expensive in order to add up over the month, here are the best money saving tips.
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Coffee
Make Your Favourite Latte At Home
Yep! The torture has already begun, the good news is that you will survive, I promise. It took me months to get out of the habit of grabbing my iced coffee every morning but once I realized how time-consuming and annoying the drive-through was, I actually dread going now.
That delicious coffee or breakfast you buy every morning really adds up, for example:
$2/day = $60/ month x 12 months = $720/ year
$5/day= $150/month x 12 months = $1,800/ year
Hair
No Box Dye Necessary
I was always Way too cheap to dye my hair but once those lovely little greys started to peek through I knew it was only a matter of time before I had to start doing something about it. Fortunately, I am #blessed to be good friends with my hairdresser, who does hair from her home. If you can find someone reputable who does hair from home, it will be much more affordable than going to a salon. Ask your friends, work colleagues, or acquaintances if they know anyone good, most people know someone who does hair.
Another hair tip is getting thinner babylights instead of highlights that will naturally grow out with your hair so I only have to dye mine every 4-6 months, especially since I have long hair that doesn’t need to be cut often.
A cut, color, and style costs about $100 2-3 times a year, which comes to $200-$300 a year.
Nails
Do Your Nails At Home
I used to spend $45 a month on shellac, which adds up to $450 a year. Keep in mind, this does not include a pedicure, which is another cost in itself.
I went out and purchased a UV light off Amazon, in Canada they are expensive but it was absolutely worth it. I’ve now had it for 8 years and it’s still holding on strong even doing my nails twice a month.
I purchase Shellac CND from Nail Polish Canada and in order to get free shipping I just purchase 2 colours at a time.
Yearly Cost: If you purchase 4 nail polish colors a year it comes to $100 and most colors last me years.
The initial setup costs can be expensive because you will have to purchase the light ($140), top/ bottom coat ($50), and colors ($20) but this trick has paid for itself multiple times since I love to do my nails often.
Side Note ** For those of you who are wondering how my nails haven’t fallen off by painting them every 2 weeks, I CAREFULLY scrape my nail polish off with a cuticle pusher from Amazon, this way I don’t have to use acetone. I also use a good quality Vitry nail hardener from Amazon, it works miracles if you use it long-term. My nails used to peel or break halfway down and now they are rock solid.
Clothes
Yes, You Can Still Buy Clothes
Shop Online For Discounts
I LOVE American Eagle and Aerie because they always have clothes on clearance, I get free shipping and will typically get a coupon off my next order. Yes, this can be a slippery slope for a shopaholic so give yourself a spending limit or specific clothes that you need to buy.
Coupons And Cash Back Extensions
I love to use Honey, which automatically finds coupons and also lets you know if an item has increased or decreased in price over the past 30 days. I also love using Rakuten which gives you immediate cashback when shopping online. You can keep these extensions on your laptop so they pop up every time I’m on a website to show me deals. These are the best sites I’ve used to get discounts quickly and easily. Honey is also great because it will tell you if the price of an item has increased to let know if you’re getting the best deal.
Capsule Wardrobe/ Minimalist
I tried to make myself aware of how much money I was wasting on clothes because I had a closet full of clothes that I didn’t really even want to wear. I threw out everything I hadn’t worn in years and only kept the items that I wore on a regular basis.
Tips
Put your off-season clothes in a bin to keep your closet from getting too cluttered.
Take inventory of what you actually wear and only purchase that clothing style.
Buy neutral colors that will last long term.
Mix and match different pieces of clothing if you like variety.
Wear a “uniform” to school or work. I purchased only black bottoms and neutral tops to keep my work outfits simple and stress-free.
If You Haven’t Worn It In The First 2 Weeks, Return It
I noticed that I was purchasing a lot of clothes that I would only wear a couple of times and sometimes not at all. I began to make a rule that I had to LOVE it and wear it within the first 2 weeks of purchasing it. If I didn’t love it or wear it then it went back to the store and this has saved me a lot of money.
Food
How To Save Money Without Starving
Shop At 1 Store
Guilty of having take-out way too often? I sure was until I realized I was BROKE and couldn’t afford to continue being lazy so I put my big girl pants on and started shopping for all of our essentials at Walmart. I buy everything, including home essentials, at Walmart because it keeps me from going into multiple stores. The fewer stores you go to, the less you will spend overall.
Shop Once A Week
I took a tip from Jordan Page and only shop once a week MAX, I’d like to narrow it down to once every 2 weeks purely out of laziness. If you go into that store to buy 1 item that you forgot midway through the week, I guarantee you will come out with at least $100 worth of items, trust me I’ve done this many many times… If you run out of something, you can survive another 3 days without it.
Buy Essential Items In Bulk
I only buy essential items, like toilet paper, dish soap, and shampoo, when they are on sale because they will get used eventually and it saves a few dollars here and there. You could also use Amazon to buy essentials in bulk because they now offer subscription discounts.
Create A Take-Out Budget
Make yourself a budget for dining out and stick to it. My husband and I are extremely cheap when it comes to dining out and will typically get fast food when we are too lazy to cook but this happens only a few times a month. We NEVER eat at restaurants, we always get our food to go, that way we can drink alcohol at home for a fraction of the cost of dining out PLUS you don’t have to worry about cabbing home.
If you give yourself a budget for take-out then you can pick and choose how you want to spend your money each month.
No-Buy Challenge
Buy Nothing For 1 Month
Have you ever felt addicted to shopping? I didn’t until I tried to go 1 month without purchasing anything other than essential items. This is not only a great way to save money but it’s a really great way to find out how addicting shopping can be.
This challenge has given me the opportunity to find out what I really want in life and how important my long-term goals are. I now have a very small budget for items that don’t align with my long-term goals and I try to invest my time and money in things that will help me in the long run.
Postpone Purchases
Stop Impulse Shopping
Here was another tough one for me, I began giving myself 3 days before I would purchase an item. This was absolute torture because I became addicted to the high of purchasing items online and feeling so excited about them arriving in the mail.
Postponing my purchases would give me time to see if I even cared about the item I wanted to purchase and sometimes by day 3 I would realize I was being a little dramatic about how much I NEEDED it. Trust me, you don’t need that thing you have in your cart right now…
It gave me some time to realize that I would have to continuously buy things in order to keep that excited feeling because I was no longer excited about anything I bought 1 year ago, 6 months ago, or even 2 weeks ago. The feeling fades and then you have to buy something else to feel excited again and repeat the process over and over again. My bank account now thanks me every month for realizing this.
In Conclusion
By doing these small things I save on average $500+ every month and now invest that money into my future. You don’t have to be rich to save money and you also don’t have to be rich to waste money. I wasted the most money when I was the poorest which is how I got stuck, living paycheck to paycheck.
I now live on less than I make and invest in opportunities that will grow my money. Please follow along on the broke girl’s journey to making something out of nothing.
I hope this gave you some great money saving tips! If you enjoyed this post then you might also like my other simple budgeting tips and planners HERE.
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