Who couldn’t use more money? If you’re like “nah, I’m good and kinda have too much already,” feel free to send it my way!
For the rest of us though: I have 5 ways to help you save money this month that’ll leave you with a little more cash, without having to do anything drastic like sell a kidney.
Revisit Your Budget and Make Adjustments
If you don't know where your money is going, it's time to find out. If you feel like you do have an idea, I ask you: Do you actually? When was the last time you did this? Grab a coffee (wine can come LATER), sit down with your bank statements and start tracking your expenses. No judgment here – this is about understanding your habits and adjusting as needed.
Chances are as you sit down and get real with yourself, you’ll find some areas of spending you can cut out or reallocate to make life a little easier.
With the cost of living higher than Snoop Dogg, be sure to adjust your budget to actually fit the new cost of things like gas, utilities, groceries, etc - I mean the increased cost of eggs alone. RUDE.
After examining your spending, you may have found a subscription for a streaming service, magazine, gym membership, or food delivery service you’re not using. Cancel it! Even your fave personal finance friend over here discovered she was being charged $10/mo for some Uber thing she wasn’t using. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you. sigh.
So do as I say, not as I do, don’t forget to cancel BEFORE that free trial ends. 🤦♀️
Reign in Dining Spending
Eating out and ordering in, while easy and yummy, can be a major drain on your finances. Instead of dining at restaurants or ordering takeout erry’ damn day, go to that Pinterest board with all those recipes you’ve been wanting to try and start eating at home a little more. Not only is it healthier, but it's also a great way to save money. Pro tip: Make an actual meal plan and grocery list. Do not just blindly go to the store, pick up a bunch of random things and expect it to work out for the week. You’ll either end up going to the grocery store 4 times in a week and spend more than you would have if you ordered out — or be like, don’t have enough for an actual meal here, so come onnn Doordash. Yes, I see you because that used to be me. The amount of lettuce I’ve thrown away, that came along with the best of intentions, is embarrassing.
I’m not saying to give up date nights or getting together with friends. I would never. I’m not that guy.
But try to make cooking at home less of a chore. I love trying out new recipes with my husband. It makes for a fun activity to do together and you might find your new favorite dish to make at home.
As far as friends go, simply invite them over for a night in. Chances are they are trying to cut back on their spending too and will probably be stoked to hear of a cheaper alternative. You can do all of the cooking or make it a potluck.
Declutter and SELL
What’s in your closet that you haven’t worn in 6 months? What’s lying around your apartment that you don’t use anymore?
Take 20 minutes and round up anything and everything that’s collecting dust and creating clutter. Then list it on sites like Poshmark, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace. I know people who’ve had great luck finding thrift store treasures and flipping them for a profit on these platforms. If that’s up your alley, you go, girl (or boi!).
Not only will you earn a profit from stuff you’re no longer using, you’ll also feel a weight lifted from decluttering. There truly is nothing like a good purge.
I challenge you to find at least $100 worth of things you can sell this month.
Put Your Savings on Autopilot
Setup automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings account (a HYSA that is). While this isn’t technically saving money in the way of having more of it in your pocket, it’s saving more for future you, and she deserves it.
The more you have to think about moving that money over, the less likely you are to actually do it. So just set it and forget it so you can move on with your life and let compound interest do its thing.
Explore a Side Hustle
These days there’s no shortage of ways to make money on the side.
Sign up for delivery services like Shipt, Instacart, Doordash, and Uber Eats and do the shopping, pick up, and delivery for people in your area. Drive around while jamming out to music AND making money? Why the heck not! There are literally a million platforms for delivery these days. You can deliver anything from Big Macs to dog toys.
Love dogs? Check out Rover! It’s an app-based platform where you can sign up to walk dogs, board dogs in your home, and do in-home visits for dogs and cats when fur parents need someone else to tag in and help out.
If you’re particularly creative, you can find gigs on UpWork and Fiverr. I've personally used those sites myself to outsource projects. There’s work for almost every skill set ranging from copywriting to photography to chess lessons to Spanish translation to graphic design and more. Chances are you can leverage your existing skills on these platforms to earn some extra income.
Whatever your talents and interests are, there’s a way for you to make a little extra money this month without having to take on a whole second job.
Ready to level up your money game?
One easy way to save money is to invest it. It sounds counterintuitive, but with the average rate of return at 9%, investing in the stock market is a great way to generate more money and build wealth.
Join me for my FREE investing party where I’ll show you how to get started with only $1 (seriously).
