Now these are ways to just cut expenses and save $$ PLUS they may take you surprisingly less time than other things…

Here’s my suggested list on 8 Easy WAYS FOR SAVING MONEY

 

1. Look at your credit card statement

Not to get all judgmental on yourself. Just look at what charges are there (high level, not every $2 Dunkin’ Donuts coffee). I would suggest doing so for 2 months or maybe 3.

Things to look for here to help with saving money:

• Do you see a monthly charge for something you did a free trial for and never cancelled? Well cancel! Unless you want it but if you forgot and haven’t used it in forever or ever, cancel
• Do you see a monthly charge for something you subscribed to but paid for the full year up front and now there are also monthly charges? These happen rather often from what I have seen. They are easy to miss when they may be small and are for a service you use. However, if you paid for a year and are ALSO getting charged monthly (for no separate reason), at the very least you can search for your (hopefully email) receipt and inquire about it. Or just login to that services account and chances are it will say your plan. If it says $80 for a year yet you are also getting charged a consistent $15 a month – contact them!
  • Along the same lines, is there a monthly charge for some service you never recalled signing up for? Contact them. These alone saved me about $30 a month…in about 30 minutes. So $360 for the year. Still 30 minutes. It was a mistake by a service (or two in my case) but hey mistakes happen and they won’t alert you to it but it can add up.
• Also check for other types of double charges. Are you being charged twice a month for a monthly service? Did the pizza you order last Thursday turn into 3 pizza delivery orders? This stuff is way too common. Main culprits I see: telecom/internet/cable/cell, food delivery services, and online subscription services. This doesn’t mean they all do it. But I have seen them myself or heard from others that had these issues enough times that it’s worth mentioning.
• Do you see suspicious activity?
  • This is almost something that should be obvious but we all get caught up in daily life and hear the words suspicious activity thrown all over the place that perhaps it gets easy to not check our own statements. So just do a quick check and remember it doesn’t have to be a big amount. Remember the movie Office Space?
• Do you see a charge for a product or service you returned or cancelled?
  • These jump out to me pretty quick if say I cancelled because I was told it would take an extremely long time or it was not what I was initially told.
  • Yet there it is still on my statement…credit cards usually have a short form to fix this. If not, call your card or bank. They are usually very helpful.
• IN GENERAL: Do you see a double charge or unusually high charge?

Sadly this happens. You order takeout and it shows up 3 times on your statement even though the delivery service called to say the restaurant was actually closed 🤔. Usually you can fix these things faster than you can make money through a lot of money making apps/sites. While they may sound petty, you got nothing for these extra payments so get that money back!

Just take a look. I think you will know what looks off because you know your spending habits best. Maybe its a wrongfully double or over charge, maybe a charge you forgot to cancel, maybe it is one you do not even recognize, maybe you forgot you were signed up to one of many many many services out there now on autopay…

Also, now that you are here, are any legitimate charges standing out because of how high they are in comparison to everything else? That could be because they are naturally just the more costly expenses in your life.

Basically this process is a good opportunity to check perhaps incorrect charges, realize current expenses, notice odd or potentially double or higher expenses, and consider if they are a bit too much for what you use. Or just wrong.

2. Look at LOANS (AHH 😱)

Now that we got past credit card statements….

3. Become more aware of how much you’re spending and where

*use apps! These can become your new best friend. Apps to track money spending habits are plentiful so find one that works for you.

4. Medical expenses

(in case credit card bills and loans haven’t stressed you out enough -not my intention. They are stressful things for many people but hopefully I can help alleviate some of that stress. Because you can find ways for saving money even with stressful expenses.)

• Do you hate dragging yourself to a doctor when you come down with a bug? Or have to pay a lot for that visit? Check out on demand doctor apps or telemedicine.
  • Depending on the illness (and your insurance for some, although not all require it and just charge a low rate comparable to, or even cheaper than, a copay). Some apps offer very reasonably priced “visits” (note: this will depend on your state – some will not be available where you live, some visits are a questionnaire, & some have a short video chat).
• I have used Lemonaid and loved it. There are other similar ones out there.
  • Lemonaid charges a $25 fee for the visit (depending on state this may only be a questionnaire or a short call). Services include birth control pills as well as things you may go to an urgent care center for (e.g., flu, UTI, sinus infection, etc) and some other services. $25 is at least for me cheaper than my insurance copay + transportation costs (and the fact that visiting urgent care when sick can make you more sick…).
    • SAVE $5 OFF OF YOUR VISIT WITH THIS CODE! – LEMONS
  • Bonus: from my experience with Lemonaid, the doctors are very friendly and knowledgeable. 
  • From the first time I wrote this, I have also tried Doctor on Demand. Which is an app as well. It is a bit more pricy IF you do not have insurance. However, a lot of insurance covers it. They are knowledgeable, quick, can send in a prescription to your nearby pharmacy and I believe open 24/7. They also offer mental health services.
    • Doctor on Demand was easier than Lemonaid when I had the flu because of timing.
  • Doctor on Demand versus Lemonaid (my experience):
    • Lemonaid doctors are very knowledgable and thorough which I think is fantastic.
    • Insurance will not cover the Lemonaid fee. Thankfully, it is a reasonable $25 flat fee for the visit.
    • While Doctor on Demand takes some insurance, it tends to cost more than Lemonaid if you do not have an insurance plan that covers it (or that has a co-pay as low as $25 for that type of visit).
      • If your insurance does not cover Doctor on Demand, I would suggest looking for a coupon code. New users can typically get one for their first visit and there are also promotions occasionally throughout the year.
      • Without a coupon or insurance covering the visit, chances are you will pay higher than the flat $25 Lemonaid “office visit” fee.
        • Note, however, that if your insurance does cover Doctor on Demand (or another telemedicine option), then you may save money using that.
    • Doctor on Demand may cover your state or your condition if Lemonaid does not. But this depends on your state. It is worth checking both.
    • Note: I have tried these two services but there are other telemedicine options out there that can both save you time and money.

Prescriptions and saving money.

• Some prescription companies offer coupons.
  • This is especially so for newer brand name medicines that do not have a generic version yet.
  • It is worth checking their website if you are considering a high-priced prescription, but note that there can be limits to how much they will cover if your insurance does not cover it at all.
• GoodRx: Check out pricing on www.GoodRx.com.
  • What is it? Both a website and an app, that lets you save an image of or print a “coupon.”
  • GREAT option to check if you do not have health insurance, your insurance does not cover a certain medicine, or has a high copay.
  • How does it work? GoodRx lets you search the discount cost of a medicine at nearby pharmacies. Then save or print a coupon for that medicine. It will almost look like an insurance card but for the specific medicine and pharmacy. (If you search a medicine it shows you the pricing at nearby pharmacies so you can compare).
  • Note: use the coupon from the GoodRx app or site. I had a paper GoodRx general card. I kept asking pharmacies for cost estimates and they were always way higher than what I was seeing on the app or website. Sneaky sneaky. 😏 but now you know!
  • I was told they HAVE to honor what is shown on this site. This is what I was told. Do not hold me to it. Since using the coupon I get right that day from the website or app though, I have always received that stated price – so no issues there for me at least.
  • Also, if you call beforehand, you can give them the information…
    • So they enter it in just like an insurance card.

5. Other saving opportunities (that I believe should not go last on the list because they add up!)

You can connect your CVS card to it and link discounts from the app to your card. Then swipe your CVS card next time you shop and discounts are added automatically. No coupon cutting (although not every coupon on the notoriously long CVS receipts will be on here but it’s a simple way to quickly save some money) you just hit send to card for each discount you see in the app and use your CVS card when you next shop there (which I’m assuming you do already if you have a CVS card). I mean how much easier could it be?!

Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, and Target all have apps as well as many others but I have not looked into those much. It really depends on where you shop a lot. But I am a huge fan of the idea of being able to link my store membership card and just swipe it when I shop. Automate the saving money process $$.

Say you make $15 in half an hour. Well to take home $15, don’t forget taxes. So you’d probably need to make at least $20 to get to $15 after tax. Some money making apps you’ll spend your life hitting $20 but for arguments sake, let’s assume you make $15 after tax in 30 minutes. If using a savings app, you can cut $15 off your receipt purchasing things you’d get anyways BUT by hitting a few buttons in an app in a few minutes (hey maybe even in line), you have the same amount of money either way. Just way more time.

6. If some service or housing issue occurs, voice your concerns

If you paid or are paying for something that is failing to deliver, you shouldn’t have to pay as much. Not all companies care but it’s worth a try.

7. Referrals

Referring someone to an app may get you $10 but consider things such as your apartment or internet. Referrals for these types of things run higher. For example, I got a $100 Visa card for referring a friend to a cable service and $250 off my rent for referring them to my apartment building.

8. Membership Benefits

Membership in a variety of organizations typically offer benefits. Do you belong to a professional group, an honor society from college, or have a frequent flyer account? They may offer some savings to their members. Check them out! Usually it’s as easy is checking their website.

Now you try one of my suggestions for saving money. I only listed ones I used that I personally felt weren’t going to feel like a big sacrifice or even just would mean giving up something I love. These are things that saved me money and weren’t a big deal to me. I am not saying go live in a cave in the forest and survive off of berries; these are all things intended not to really change your life, but may save you a lot.

 

If you love saving money too, check some of my other posts out on this. For an overview of all saving money posts, see my master savings post list for more posts on saving money (and time).

Also, because saving money can be fun, check out my post on fun ways to save. And if you have a cool idea on saving money, contact me! I would love to hear it.