13 Useful (And Doable) Ways I’ve Saved Money So Far This Year

You can do this with apps like Qapital, but an oldie but goodie is to keep your literal change. I’ve got a cute little golden apple container with my change in it. I’m waiting until it’s either full to figure out where you exchange metal for cold hard cash. (Is CoinStar still a thing??). You can also get a digital coin bank that counts it for you instead of leaving you to guess.

I just started the 52-week savings plan this year and I’m on week 27. That means this week $27 was taken out of my checking and put into my Qapital. Next week it’ll be $28. In the end, I’ll have saved up $1,378 (Europe, here I come!) If you think you’ll be able to afford $202 taken out of your account in December, it’s a great idea. Or, you can do it in reverse — $52 the first week of January and just $1 the week after Christmas.

It’s easy to charge, charge, charge when on vacation. And because we’re on vacation, we tend to get very “treat’yo’self” and overspend our budgets. A small thing you can do is take out that budget in cash. Unless you’re going to a lot of cashless vendors, spending only the physical cash you bring is a great way to keep a tighter hold on how much money you’re spending. Once you’re out of cash, you’re out of the game. Pack it up and head home.

I get nothing by telling you to get a savings account — and I personally recommend theMarcus by Goldman Sachs one. It’s free, online only, and has high APY (currently at 2.15% APY). Instead of the literal pennies that collect every month in my bank’s checking account, my Marcus account sees increases of over a dollar. But really, I recommend looking into any savings account outside of your bank (where you can't dip into it as frequently.

We know how it gets. But the other day, I went straight to customer service at Target to return something and exchange my Sodastream Co2 filter (is that what it’s called?) and then I did something magical. I LEFT! Going in stores only for what you came for is a powerful money saving tip. Make a list before you enter any store and stick to that list.

While it's true that if you don't *see* those promotional emails, you'll spend less money, it's also true that coupons can be invaluable. Make sure you open your email whenever you’re in a store and search your inbox to see if there are any nifty discounts. I’ve been pleasantly surprised many times by having a $5 off coupon for being a loyalty member or because it was the first day of July.

Another fairly obvious one, but everything at Trader Joe’s looks way more delicious when you haven’t eaten all day. Suddenly you’re trying to figure out how to carry three heavy paper bags home.

This is a self-own, because I love a soda or juice with dinner. But my SodaStream for homemade seltzer (with Mio add ins!) and drinking only water at meals saves me money and cuts down on my sugar intake.

This one’s especially for over apologizers. Implement a Sorry Jar at work or home and make others keep you accountable. For every unnecessary “sorry,” add $1. You’ll either watch your language (this goes for swearing as well, of course) or you’ll rack up some nice change. Win, win!