How to Save Money Like a Minimalist | Minimalist Money Saving Tips

Hello guys and welcome to Abundant Minimal. My name is Sarah and if you are looking to save a lot of

money

this year to achieve your financial goals, then you are in the right place. Today I'm going to share my top 40 strategies to help you reach those financial goals faster and save more

money

, there are a variety of pitfalls to some of these too, so if you're very new to starting to save money or have been

saving

money and are looking a couple of things that will challenge you even more. This video is for you. Well, I'll go in order of difficulty.

I'll start with some of the easier things and then end the video with some of the more challenging ways that may not be as easily done, but can still increase

saving

s, whether you're trying to build your emergency fund, pay off debt or save for retirement, pay off a house, you have a big trip ahead of you and you want to save for whatever. It's a money saver that can be crucial and I know for my husband and I it's been something that's been a big priority for most of our lives, but we're especially a little more focused on that and now we bought our first We bought condo in December and it definitely changed our financial outlook a bit, as for the first four and a half years of our marriage we were in apartments and saved as much as we could to make a 50% down payment. in the house, which was amazing, that's definitely the result of trying to say about one of our incomes living in much cheaper areas, just trying to save as much as possible to make that happen, so we're currently really motivated The house is about 60% paid off, but I'm trying to pay it off in three years, so that's definitely our big motivation for saving.

I'd love to hear what you're saving ahead in the comments below so we can help support each other. One disclaimer I want to make before watching this video is that, of course, you have to remember that this is a personal journey. I'll give you my best strategies and all of them have worked for me, but that doesn't necessarily mean they work. I will work for you and I will be some of what you might think you want to do and that is totally fine, we all have different preferences and maybe in some cases I have been willing to make a certain sacrifice to save more money that other people are not willing to win, so you just have to figure out what the best balance is for you.

Let's start with some of the simpler strategies. Consider purchasing store brands of different products instead of the personally branded product. I have found that there is not much difference in most products and you can save huge amounts of money by choosing the store brand instead of the name brand dress because of the weather here in Illinois, it can definitely be very cold in the winters and very hot in this summer in general in the winter I am known for wearing a lot of layers I will wear several pairs of pants long sleeve shirts sweatshirt I just like to keep warm and so you don't have to have the heat so high which can save a lot on energy bills.

Next, homemade cleaning products. There are many different products on the market, but the truth is that you don't need all of them or as many as you think. A couple of basic ingredients like vinegar. baking soda, lemon juice and water in a spray bottle, you can even reuse one of the old ones, it's an amazing strategy and that means you won't have to spend money on cleaning products again. Many people use the example of your daily coffee drink. Habit is a problem that definitely adds up, but I think we can expand this to any type of drink.

See if you can make your favorite drink at home. I guess there is a recipe online and you can try it that will save you. make a lot of money while still enjoying that particular drink. Another great trick is to use what you have before buying more. We will always be tempted to keep buying new things, but you can drastically reduce or delay your expenses by using what you have. First, whether it's things like body care or different foods in the pantry, use them if you need to produce something. Consider purchasing a used option instead of the new option.

People who have been watching these videos for a long time know that I love used clothes and honestly probably 60-70% of my wardrobe is used clothes that I bought and I love it because not only can you keep different items out of the landfill, but you are not creating new waste from it. item because someone else already made it when they bought it new and honestly the quality of the products is amazing, usually because people have too much, buy too much that they don't need and then end up in different thrift stores and charity shops so definitely consider buying used if you are buying anything, compare prices before you buy.

We've done a lot of home-related shopping recently, so ahead of time we always compare different stores to see what will be the cheapest price, whether it's Home Depot Lowe's Menards Amazon. we like to look forward and say that the food is actually cheaper at this store compared to this one. There are also different programs that can help you earn some cash or some kind of savings on things that are already good with these popular examples that include things. like Ebates and those can have great benefits, but make sure you buy things you would already buy anyway, not buy things because you have an incentive.

Another tip is to wait before making a purchase and perhaps keep an eye out for offers over a very different time period. The products will eventually go on sale, so if you don't need to get the item right away and are willing to wait a month or two, then you can probably get a much better deal and save money. Also remember this. something I really need, sometimes we have impulses that happen in a short time, but then after thinking about it more we realized that it was only temporary and it's a good thing we didn't buy it, be very careful with subscriptions, take a look to everything I can. you are purchasing or paying monthly and ask yourself if it is worth it, if you are using the features of your subscription or your membership, if not, it is something very easy to eliminate.

I think many times we can enjoy a membership or start a subscription, but then we realize that we are not actually getting the value we thought, but that money set on autopay is simply leaving our accounts, so consider whether they are needed. The next step is to use your local library. There are so many great services there that just go beyond putting out books and movies and that kind of stuff. See what services your local library offers. There may also be interesting events you can attend, but even from an entertainment perspective. Save more money on books, movies and entertainment.

Don't overcrowd. Take advantage of your space, which could be a really useful tip for you, especially if you spend a lot on entertainment. Next, if you have a savings account at your traditional bank and the interest rate is low, consider switching to a high-yield savings account. When Jake and I did this, we went from earning three to five dollars in interest per year to our bank accounts to more than a thousand dollars. It was a dramatic increase and that's just because of the type of account that will see much more return. your savings when you buy things that come in different sizes, look at the unit price, which is a surprising way to see what savings you can get depending on whether you buy a smaller or larger product, usually if you buy a larger product, You'll get a better cost per ounce, but it's always important to check, but looking at that can save you a lot of money, especially when you're trying to decide between different brands and sizes of product, etc.

Similarly, consider buying in bulk if your store has a bulk section, whether it's a traditional bulk or spice section or even if there's technically no bulk section, buying those larger products can be a dramatic savings. . Our roommate has a Costco membership so we sometimes go shopping with her and we were able to get 12 pounds of organic brown rice for $11 which is a great deal in our area and was a huge savings compared to if We would have bought a much smaller bag. We talked a little about certain drinks like coffee or tea, but we considered drinking. water in most meals instead of other drinks, this is something Jake and I do, honestly I prefer water in most situations over other drinks, but not only is it healthier for you and it will help keep you hydrated, but you also avoid costs like restaurant food if it costs several dollars for whatever you choose to drink, another strategy is to use energy saving options on your appliances, for example, our dishwasher has an energy saver that says it actually It doesn't dry the dishes and you air dry them.

Instead, also change your light bulbs to be LED bulbs or other more energy-efficient bulbs. I was surprised, as we are recently making some improvements, how there is a dramatic difference between the traditional dressed bulbs and the LED bulbs for our bedroom lights, for example, the packs of bulbs cost the same amount of money within a dollar and their cost was seven dollars a year to run the least efficient ones and fifty or sixty cents a year for the LED bulbs, which was amazing to me and they will last thirteen years. Compared to traditional light bulbs, they are simply lacking in a few years, so it was a no-brainer for us to switch to those that avoid single-use items.

It is also a way to save a lot of money. There is a wide variety, but there is a There are many different products that are sold in individual portions and if you buy a larger portion or reusable items depending on the situation, then you can really save costs. Another habit is to use less of the products you are currently using. Can you use a little less shampoo? or less laundry detergent or dish soap or toothpaste again. I'm not talking about skipping things completely or making dramatic changes, but usually when we wash dishes we only fill a container halfway and we've never had a problem, sometimes we can even think we need a certain amount of those products because of what we see in the commercials, but they are trying to get you to use much more than you need, so you have to buy it beforehand.

Did you know that toothpaste shouldn't actually go over the entire toothbrush, but should just be a pea-sized amount, that's a big difference. You can save a lot of money by simply reducing the amount of those products you are using and still use a lot of them. Another option is to wash your clothes less at least. In the United States people are guilty of overwashing their clothes more than they really need to for most items, with the exception of underwear and socks, and those kinds of things can be worn multiple times without even noticing them. They even recommend that genes wear out. 25 times before washing them, so if you wash your clothes too much you are not only wearing them out but you are also wasting money.

My last easiest money-saving tip is to have more regular financial meetings, whether it's just an opportunity. so you can check in with yourself or your family members just to keep track of expenses, although doing this alone may not necessarily save money, you will start to notice different patterns and it can have a big impact when trying to meet your savings goals personally Jake and I meet to talk about our finances about once a week and that's a great way to check in on our progress and see if we can make any extra payments toward our mortgage or just say what we could have spent a bit. more than we should have last week, how can we correct that?

Moving forward, here are 12 more strategies. I think they are a little harder, at least in my opinion, you might find that one of the above was harder than another. of these, but again, this is just my own ranking of them, another tip is to cut your hair yourself or see if someone in your family can cut your hair. I personally was never one to go to a fancy salon that I would normally go to. you know you like your cool clips for a 12 dollar haircut that kind of thing. I haven't cut my hair myself. I don't have an elaborate hairstyle so it's okay but I was always surprised how expensive some of those different salons are when I can do it myself after watching a few different tutorials online and you know it works.

Cutting television or cable can be really positive. Jake and I have about 10 TV channels, the major networks, and those are pretty much all we need, we don't need them personally. choose to have any of the online TV subscriptions such asNetflix or Hulu, we don't have either of those, we're definitely not people who would really get their money's worth out of the several hundred channels that many people get in a standard cable package. and that would just be wasting money for us. Meal prepping can also be a great way to save money. Now, this is definitely something new for us.

We're still working on more. I know what I talked about in a recent video. the instant pot and that's been really helpful for us from a meal prep perspective because I'm not necessarily meal prepping for the entire week or anything, but I like to make a couple extra servings in the instant pot and then have easy leftovers for another night. later, and prep can save you a lot of money and time when it comes to food too, if you eat out regularly, try making copycat versions of those items at home. Allah will be with him, he might say oh, I will never go. how to eat, but you may have similar cravings, so see if there are options for things you can make at home that will still work for you.

Satisfy those cravings for whatever that type of food is that you enjoy so you don't feel tempted. to spend more when you go out to eat another tip is to exercise at home instead of going to the gym if you are someone who is trying to get healthier through exercise and maybe not someone who gets a lot of value from the different things available online the gym. It might help you to consider exercising at home. Well, there could be different channels for this to exist. There are many great exercises you can do at home that don't require any equipment or much space.

I usually like to do a little dancing at night, but you can also do different planks, push-ups, squats, lunges and much more. Those different text exercises do not require any equipment. There are so many great fitness-related channels on YouTube that you can watch completely free. Another tip is to be patient. I know we talked a little about waiting for things to go on sale, but in this case. I'm talking about if something you want comes out new, wait as long as you need until it's not so new anymore and the price drops. An easy example of this is with movies, if there is a movie that Jake and I want to watch in certain cases.

I'll go to the movies, but it's exponentially cheaper if we wait for it to come to a red box near us because instead of paying about twenty dollars total for both of us to go see it, now we only pay two dollars to rent it. or we could wait even longer and then you could check it out of the library, in which case it's free, so again, you just decide what works for you if there's a new piece of technology that comes out waiting a while or waiting not to receive the latest version It will allow them to make any adjustments they need, such as small problems that may have arisen that they can fix for the next version and it will probably be cheaper at that time.

Another tip is to try to fix things yourself. I've experienced firsthand that house parents can be very expensive and a bit of a pain, so if there are things you can do to save money that can go a long way, another thing in the home is to consider a programmable thermostat, we're done. buying the Nest thermostat. It's a little more expensive at first, but we couldn't get it thanks to a Black Friday deal that took a hundred dollars off us and we can also get another hundred dollar rebate from our energy company. A programmable thermostat is amazing because you can set it to different temperatures, as I mentioned before, keeping it a little cooler or a little warmer depending on the season, which can be a great way to save costs because you're not heating or cooling your space when This is not necessary, such as when you are sleeping or when you are away from home, so it could be an option worth looking into.

Another option is to sell items that no longer add new value, these could simply be things that you no longer need. or perhaps some of your collectible type items that may not provide the value you expected. Another option is to start a garden, either a full garden or just a windowsill herb garden. could be a great option to save on some food costs, now you have to have a little skill for this and my gardening knowledge is minimal at the moment but I'm growing some different herbs, it was nice to learn about various phases of our life. you have those fresh herbs for cooking, but it's also going to be a little expensive to buy them at the store for a small package when you might only need to remove a couple of leaves, so it depends on the person and what you're making, but that might be it. a useful option to save on food costs.

Another option that is very important but perhaps not always addressed is setting up automatic transfers and payments, if you have certain savings goals, set up those transfers with your bank or whatever the organization is so that you can start benefiting and paying yourself same first, don't wait until you've made these other purchases and see what's left, be proactive about it when Jake and I were saving for our house that we had started. thousand dollars every month for our house fund, which was also in a high yield savings account and then after a while we increased that amount to $1,500 a month every month for our high yield savings account, send these transfers automatically meant we didn't have to think about it we do the same with our retirement savings our investments we have all these things set up for automatic payment so we don't have to think about it and then you deal with what's left is what you can use to spend on certain things and my last tip for this moderate section is to surround yourself with people who have similar goals, something well known is that the people you surround yourself with are going to be more influenced by a similar act.

If you surround yourself with people who are more hygienic, you are also more likely to have great achievements. The same goes for money. If you surround yourself with people who are more money conscious, you are more likely to be money conscious as well, while if you are surrounding yourself with people who don't know much about money or who spend frivolously, you are also more likely to do that now. , this doesn't mean that you and your friends will find completely new ones, but I think if we look at our media consumption. For example, if you watch a lot of YouTube, are you watching YouTube channels that encourage you to save or spend money?

Are you hanging out with certain people who are more likely to want to do expensive activities? Who will influence you? results, so try to align yourself with those who will support you, whatever your goals, whether financial or not. Lastly, I have 7 more

tips

. I consider these to be a little more advanced, so if you're someone who really needs an extra push, these things are definitely not easy things to do, they require a little extra effort, but they can definitely be worth the effort. grief. One option that worked really well for us is to get a roommate if you have extra space you can rent.

Well, maybe you have someone in mind who is looking for a space and who would be a good roommate. That can be of great help. Yes, sometimes it's a bit of a sacrifice and it doesn't mean you're giving up some of your space and some of your privacy, but for us this decision has made a big difference financially, so it's something I recommend especially since we had an extra room , the only apartment we were really able to move into recently was a two bedroom and our condo was also a two bedroom, we currently don't have kids that need that second bedroom so for now it has worked out great.

Another option is to downsize your living space, maybe you don't want to have a roommate, but you definitely have more space. your space and you should know the cons in the video, many of you make much smaller spaces work and in return that can save so much money. One of the most expensive parts of life is our living expenses, and if they are smaller, they probably will. Save big if you have an extra bedroom or office that you use primarily as storage, which is a really expensive storage unit and you may want to consider downsizing, of course there could be bigger things involved in this so it's not a tip. for everyone, but in case this affects you, you could drastically improve your financial situation with this other option is ride sharing.

Do you drive yourself to work depending on the commute and other people you work with? Maybe carpooling would be beneficial. I've been carpooling for about a year and a half and I love it for $50 a month. I don't have to think about driving. I don't put miles on my car. I don't have to pay for gas. I have someone. I can talk to him if I want. I can eat breakfast in the car, which means I can sleep in. I can work on things. In fact, sometimes I like videos edited in the car. If I'm fine, there are many benefits for me. at least and I'm wondering if there are benefits to you for doing that.

Another option is to opt for a low-spend or cash-only no-spend type of challenge. There are so many different examples of these different challenges being done on YouTube. Jake and I went cheap. The challenge from early last year of limiting yourself to one of these more extreme degrees can be really helpful in avoiding some of those extra expenses. Now, of course, it's up to the person you have to figure out what works best for you, but many people may find that this is the case. something that actually stops them from spending too much, contrary to that, but still related.

If you are someone who has very good control over your spending, you may find it helpful to use a certain type of credit card or rewards card. beneficial to you in terms of cash back benefits personally, Jake and I have always been pretty disciplined when it comes to our spending, we're not likely to make frivolous purchases, so by having a cash back credit card , we get 1.5% cash back on everything This purchase has been very helpful because, again, we don't use our credit card frivolously, we are very intentional about what we buy and therefore, For us it has never been a problem and in return we get that nice bonus, but if you are someone who has difficulties.

With that temptation, then this probably isn't the best approach for you if you're really trying to make some serious savings. Another option is to live in a cheaper area. Jake and I experienced this firsthand when we moved to the middle of nowhere in western Illinois. Overall, our first teaching jobs we had a really positive experience, but the cost compared to the Chicago area was ridiculously affordable. We rented the entire first floor of a house for $500 a month, which is very little and was extremely easy for us to do. rent payments as well as saving a lot of other money and we lived there for three years so you can imagine having a lot of savings may not be as glamorous but are there places you could live that would be more affordable if you take your goals very seriously Financially, that could be an option, but it's definitely something to consider with trade-offs and lastly, with a specific area, lowering our expectations is a really great way to save money.

Many of us might have different ideas about wealth and you know what status we want to portray or the different types of lifestyles we want to live. This is actually inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk. He doesn't make a lot of business-related videos, so I watch his stuff from time to time, but he talked. about the idea that you know if you want something and you're not really making that much money reduce those expectations save money dramatically for a while don't be embarrassed and if you have to move back in with your parents or someone else o o If you can't spend that much money on food or you can't have some of the holes putting off a little bit what you want that lifestyle to be like to really help me save money, I think this is really important, we live in a society that constantly pushes us to want to live a better life and more comfortable has these different benefits.

Well, I think it's important to maintain balance. I also recognize that there are a lot of things to get caught up in and before you know it you may have set your financial situation behind. goals for a long time because of some of these purchases, so know to keep them in the back of your mind. I think it's very healthy to think that you know what I'm not going to live this super glamorous life right now and that's okay, I know I felt it. that's also some of our previous apartments they were okay, they were safe, they weren't great and they weren't very aesthetically pleasing and I look at other people's videos like, man, you know what a beautiful space, but I remembered it's all part of the overall plan I'm trying to savefor this house to pay this and have that incredible peace of mind so I have to live in a space that's kind of ugly for a while I'll do it you know I'm not in it for the state so I think if we can use that thought process in any area of ​​life where it is important, then that can be very useful.

I hope you are ready to save and reach those financial goals this year. I know I gave a lot of advice in this video, but if you have anything else that you've done to help that I missed in my video, I'd love to hear it from you and, like I said earlier in the video, any financial goals you have so we can Help us hold each other accountable. If you want more finance related videos, you can watch some of them here and you can subscribe to the channel if you haven't already here. See you next time, bye.