5 Painless Ways to Save Money

"Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving." – Warren Buffett

Saving money can be hard, especially with gas prices rising, inflation and supply chain issues. Saving money can be hard, but absolutely necessary if you want to live a successful and happy life.

Even if you’ve never been educated about finances or do not possess good spending habits, saving money can be done. It can even be done with ease if you adjust your mindset and set plans into action. So before you think it is impossible for you to save a few extra dollars, take a look at these 5 painless ways to save more money.

1. Create a budget

This task is probably the most time consuming of the five ways to save more money but it is essential to start off on the right foot. If you don’t know where your money is going, you don’t know where you can save, so take some time to review your bills, spending, loans–everything.

Once you know where and how much is going to certain areas of your life, you can see where you might be overpaying or overspending. Just being aware of your finances will help you save money. If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to a budget, try breaking it down into categories. Check out this ultimate budget categories list here for help.

1. Eat at home

Saving money can be as simple as packing your lunch. If you go out 5 days a week for lunch, at $8.00 a meal, you can be paying $40 or more a week for a meal that could be easily prepared at home and much cheaper (not to mention most likely healthier). This goes for any meal, snacks or (I hate to say it) drinks. I don’t have to mention the numbers for you to know you’re overpaying on "fancy" coffee drinks you could make at home.

So the next time you’re packing your kids lunches, set a lunchbox out for yourself. Or look up fun new recipes to make your own specialty coffee drinks at home. It’s not like you can’t go out for drinks with friends or never go out for dinner again, but just make sure you’re not spending money going out for every meal!

*To help you track, check out this free challenge: savings printable!

1. Review your memberships/subscriptions

When was the last time you made it to the gym? Or used that makeup from the beauty box that’s delivered to your door? Stop spending money on items or entertainment that you don’t use on the regular. You don’t need 12 different streaming subscriptions so cancel what you think you can live without (you can always re-evaluate after a month or two). Also, stop auto-renewing when you make a purchase!

1. Buy generic

Stop overpaying for fun marketing and fancy logo designs. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the majority of the time you can’t tell the difference between one brand vs the other. And if you don’t believe me, compare the ingredient labels. You can easily save a few dollars when you buy generic medicines, paper products and food staples.

1. Save automatically

Technology is a beautiful thing, especially when you can use it to keep more money in your pocket! Take advantage of online banking by setting up your account to automatically transfer money into your savings. You can also authorize having your direct deposit automatically transfer 10% into your savings account. Once you have your accounts set up correctly, you literally don’t have to think about remembering so save "x" amount each paycheck.

If you want to save money, you don’t have to become a tight-wad or penny pincher. You don’t have to take out all the "fun" in your life either. But you do have to make a few adjustments to your spending habits and these 5 painless ways to save more money show that it doesn’t have to be that hard to do either.

Jenn writes at her blog healthyhappyimpactful.com. She’s a mom of three looking to learn and grow. Check it out if you love helpful tips on health, family, and personal growth.