By: Kim Suazo.
With a New Year comes one common goal – saving money. Many Americans struggle to save, and the fact that most have less than $1,000 in savings is evidence of that. If that describes you, you likely want to know how to save money fast.
Whether you need to grow your savings account, pay off debt, or increase retirement savings, finding creative ways to save money quickly will help you do it. You may feel saving money is too difficult so you never even start. You may also believe small amounts are insignificant.
Don’t believe these lies! Saving money does require discipline, and sometimes the amounts are small. However, with effort it becomes more natural and small amounts add up to something significant over time.
If growing your bank account is a goal for the year, our guide on ways to save money fast provides ideas on where to start.
HOW TO SAVE MONEY FAST
Personal finance is personal for a reason. We all face different situations. Not all of the below tips to save money are for everyone. If some don’t apply to you, let the list get your creative juices flowing to find other opportunities. Also, keep in mind – some of these options do require sacrifice or a bit of work. If you’re working to improve your finances, the result is worth the effort. Pick a few off our list and use it to grow your savings. By the end of the year, you’ll be shocked at how much is in your savings account. If you’re looking for how to save money fast this year, consult our list of 15 options to use.
1. CUT THE CORD
Do you still pay for cable? If so, cutting the cord on cable is the easiest way to save money quickly. The average cable bill is $110 per month, and with the wide selection of streaming options available today, you can save at least half the amount per month.
There are several choices for streaming providers, including:
AT&T TV Now
fubo
Hulu Live
Philo
Sling TV
Our favorite choice is Hulu with Live TV. You receive 60+ channels (including local ones) and 50 hours of DVR storage for $54.99 per month. That’s half the cost of cable. You can cut the price even more if you sacrifice live content. As long as you’re comfortable waiting 24 hours to watch your favorite content, Hulu is only $5.99 per month.
2. GET A CHEAPER CELL PHONE PLAN
Another great way to save money fast is to lower your cell phone bill. How much do you pay for cell phone service each month? It’s probable that you’re spending too much for your service.
Like the cable space, there are various choices to save money and grow your bank account. While there are several excellent choices for no-contract cell service, Ting is our favorite provider.
Ting operates on two networks – Sprint and T-Mobile. And, you create a personal plan with the provider, so you only pay for what you need. Users of Ting, on average, spend just $23 a month on their cell phone bill.
Compare that to what you pay now, and how much could you save?
Better yet, Frugal Rules readers receive a $50 credit when you sign up for service. This deal gives you two months of service for free if you’re near their average monthly user cost.
3. HAVE A SIDE HUSTLE
When you think of how to grow your savings, you may think of ways to cut expenses. But what about earning more money?
A side hustle is the best option to save money fast on a low income, especially if your full-time job does not offer additional earning opportunities.
There are countless ways to make extra money, but my favorite way is through the on-demand delivery space. You can work on your schedule, and often earn tips.
Postmates is a terrific choice for a side hustle. With Postmates, you deliver items to people, including:
Alcohol
Clothing
Groceries
Meals from local restaurants
Postmates claims you can earn up to $25 an hour while delivering meals and groceries. However, reports indicate it’s closer to $18 per hour.
Regardless, it helps you get money quickly to grow your savings account. Just be careful, any money you earn as an independent contractor is subject to taxes, and you may have to pay up at the end of the year.
4. CUT BILLS
While we’re talking about cutting the cord, and saving on cell phone bills, let’s talk about saving money on other bills too. One of the best ways to stop overpaying on bills and subscriptions is to call the businesses and negotiate for a discount.
If simply reading that made you nervous, or you don’t like making calls, there’s still a way to negotiate on your bills.
Enter Trim, a bill negotiation service that’s completely free. They negotiate on your behalf to cancel subscriptions, reduce bill costs, and analyze your spending patterns to save you even more.
If they successfully negotiate savings for you, the only money they take is 33 percent of whatever they saved.
Other than that, you aren’t on the hook for any additional fees. BILLSHARK is a suitable alternative that works like Trim and keeps 40 percent of what they save.
5. SAVE MONEY ON UTILITIES
Are you stuck with your utility or cable provider? Locked into a contract? In situations like there, you probably feel like you can’t negotiate your rates. However, that’s often not true, and a service like Truebill can even do it for you.
Truebill operates much like Trim and negotiates lower bills on your behalf. However, unlike Trim, they also focus on downtime monitoring.
Truebill also gets 40 percent of whatever they negotiate for you, unlike 33 percent at Trim, though the former does provide a more specialized service.
6. GET CASH BACK ON SHOPPING
Do you like to earn cash on your shopping? If so, Fetch Rewards is an excellent choice to make money when shopping. The Fetch Rewards app is strictly for name brand products.
Buying generics are an awesome way to save money, but you may prefer a specific brand, or not have the option to buy generics at each store.
Fetch Rewards is an easy to use app. After you buy your groceries, you scan your receipt. If your receipt is itemized you receive points for each product that has an active discount offer. The app gives you ten points for each dollar spent on those products.
You can redeem these points for cash, or gift c