Saving Money in 8 Easy Steps
Saving Money – 8 Easy Steps (without having to feel like you are saving)
Some steps are more simple than we think. Saving money steps can be as well…
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?
Take-aways:
- However, by looking, you may see say a cable or utility bill that maybe you have not thought about much but has entered into year 2 pricing or otherwise gone up for some reason. If money is tight I’d check these out.
- I found out the “free” showtime I was getting that I never used was added to my monthly bill as an additional charge after the first year. Comcast said this is standard. It took a bunch of calls to get it off – allegedly…. and then it stayed on for a few more bills. So it took a ton of calls. As annoying as speaking to Comcast is, paying them extra because they cannot get things right the first (or 1,000th) time is a no go. boo 🙅
Conclusion on this one:
2. Look at LOANS (AHH 😱)
- *if you have loans, I would consider looking into options for refinancing so long as your credit score is good but either way, you never know!
- *loans are always a stressful thing to think about and especially if you’re tight on money but there are usually options out there. It may be as simple as calling up your lender.
- Remember: they want you to pay at least something at some point in time. With so many people defaulting on loans or declaring bankruptcy, they want to keep people who may actually pay something. They want to work with you here.
3. Become more aware of how much you’re spending and where
- I once thought jeez I’m spending a lot lately, what have I been doing? Didn’t use an app but started paying attention to my grocery trips since those were higher than usual.. The culprit: Buying too much fancy cheese..I love my cheese but man can it add up. I don’t love it that much.
- Some things sneak up on you and if you aren’t short on money you may not think about it; but what if you do and realize you are spending a huge amount on cheese and crackers? You may change your mind then. A trip somewhere may be worth more to you than expensive cheese and crackers..
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.
- 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…).
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!)
Apps and member saving rewards…..
Notes about these apps:
Likely you will need to go on the app and add the discounts you want as they change and/or expire, but for the CVS one you just scroll and hit send to card. AND at least with the CVS app, the coupons from it are in addition to any other coupons say in store.
Double coupons? With a few quick clicks in an app? Yes please. Some of my receipts have only been a few dollars to maybe $5 when I bought $20+ worth of stuff. It won’t always be like that but hey leaving with $20+ of products after paying $2, it almost feels like stealing. These things add up.
Think about it like this…
6. If some service or housing issue occurs, voice your concerns
7. Referrals
- Although this may fall under money making, I include it under savings since sometimes you get the bonus via a reduction in your bill.
8. Membership Benefits
CONCLUSION – TIME FOR YOU TO GO DO ONE OF THESE THINGS AND SEE THEY WILL SAVE MONEY!!!
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.
I love Saving Money.
Final Thoughts
P.S. check out my master list of ways to make money and my referral codes master list post too.
And my Cash App review from last year because it means a lot – the picture and the memories with it…