SHARK BITES – How to easily stretch your household income
Everyone wishes they could make more money, stop living paycheck to paycheck, or start a savings plan. When you can find ways to stretch the household income that you already have and depend on, then the stress of trying to earn more money can disappear. Here ares some great ways to make your household income seem like more than it actually is.
- Couponing – Whether you print or clip coupons from your Sunday newspaper, use peels on products in the store, or contact companies directly, coupon savings can add up quickly. 50¢ here and $1 there…. you’ll find that if you keep track of the money you save each month from coupons, you’re saving more than you probably think!
- Buy Generic – Did you know that most generic brands offer the identical active ingredients that the familiar name brands offer? Generic versions of household items, medications and food can be just as good (if not better!) than the name brand items. Give them a shot, and you may find your grocery bill dropping even more. If you have picky kids, try buying generic foods equivalent to what they prefer, and keeping the name brand box. After it’s empty, replenish it with the generic version. They probably won’t notice a difference and you’ll be saving tons of money! Speaking of generic, I highly recommend shopping at ALDI if you live near a location!
- Shop Gently Used – A new pair of designer jeans can cost a small fortune. When you can grab that same pair you’ve had your eye on for half the regular price, you just scored! Consider shopping gently used clothing from sites like ThredUp.com. This popular site offers gently used, name brand clothing, shoes and accessories at super deep discounts. Plus, they sell kids’ clothing, too and prices start at only $0.99!
- Get Cash Back – Whether you shop in-store or online, you’ll always be able to score cash back on those purchases. Sign up for sites like Ebates.com that give you money back on the online purchases you make from your favorite stores. Use apps like Ibotta, Checkout51, and SavingStar, to get cash back on your grocery shopping.
- Pack Your Lunch – Prepare your lunches on Sunday before the work week hustle begins. This will save you a ton of money, and keep you from spending on fast food, snacks or eating out. Consider this – a $6 lunch every day for a year is over $2,000. Yikes! You may also want to get a travel mug and take your coffee with you, to avoid those trips to Starbucks that can cost up upwards of $30 a week.
- Shut off Cable – Cable is a quickly becoming a thing of the past. Shut it off and rely on TV antenna for local stations, and sign up for Netflix or Hulu for your favorite movies and shows. Plus, you can grab an Amazon Fire Stick to unlock even more watching potential!
- Eliminate Bank Fees – Your bank could be charging you extra fees that you aren’t aware of! Look over your bank statements or talk to your personal banker to see if there are other options you could be using for the accounts you need. If there’s a better option for a savings account with no additional fees, or a checking account that doesn’t require a minimum balance, you’ll want to know those choices and make the changes as soon as possible.
- Subscription Services – Did you know that you can get household and grocery items delivered to your house at deep discounts? Save on time and gas for your car by taking advantage of member coupons and savings with services like Amazon Subscribe & Save, Prime Pantry, Jet.com, and Target Subscriptions. Purchasing multiples of the items you use daily when they are at their lowest prices eliminates the need to pay full price when you run out.
Do you have any tips or thoughts? Please leave a comment below!
~Sharky
What is “Shark Bites”? Shark Bites is a money-saving tips series here on FreebieShark that aims to help you and your family get the most out of your money. “Shark Bites” posts are both educational and straight to the point. Just another way FreebieShark is helping you save!
