+50 TIPS TO SAVE MONEY FAST (AT HOME AND LIFE) - ARTE

I have always been a natural saver, since I was a child I have been taught methods to learn to save and I continue to practice them. Spending less is not being stingy, it is being smart if you have saved enough money to spend on valuable things and experiences.

In this post I will teach you how to save money fast at home, in your company and in your general life with the best tips, tricks, techniques and tips that I have been learning, as well as other ideas that I have found. You will be able to see results in a day, even more in a month and great results in a year.

If you apply a step-by-step strategy, if you practice a good personal savings plan from today, you will be able to save your money in a short time. They will serve you whether you are a student, father, mother, director of a company, child or a retired person.

I will also teach you easy ways to save from home and for all those expenses that you have and that you can probably avoid. They are ways to stop spending that are easy to apply as soon as you finish reading this article. With this plan you can save on:

Home.
Electricity and energy in general (heating, electrical appliances…).
Food.
Banks.
In the car / auto.
Much more…

Why save?

Why save? What is it for? Some say that the money is to be spent, and it is true, although it is worth spending it on valuable things or experiences. The problem with spending money on unnecessary things is that when you need it for truly necessary things, you may not have enough.

For example, in my case, I don't buy a lot of clothes, I don't spend on drinks (occasionally a beer, yes) and I don't buy the latest technologies, such as the latest iPhone, tablet or television (I've had a Samsung Galaxy for 3 years that has allowed me to do everything).

However, using methods to save has allowed me to do other less common things, the most important of which is traveling. At the age of 15 I spent 200 euros that I had saved to go to Germany, later the same to go to Italy, then to other countries.

On the other hand, I never deprive myself of paying for the gym, snowboarding, spending gas, or dancing classes. It has also allowed me to buy quite expensive workshops or courses for my training. And something that can make a difference; lend enough money to my family so that they do not have to buy on credit and that the bank takes their money.

Those are just some of the benefits of not spending money on unnecessary things. If you are smart, you will resist spending and save money to spend on what will really make you happy, on things that are usually expensive but worthwhile.

It is also recommended that you have a "mattress" in case something happens that you did not expect and that makes you spend a significant amount, such as illness, accident, damage to your home, car…

Expenses you can save on and can't save on

If you are not used to saving, at first it will be difficult for you to give up those little "luxuries".

But if you realize it, that 5 euro drink on a Saturday is not going to give you happiness, nor the latest smartphone model, nor a new car. What gives happiness are experiences; travel, play sports, dance, meet people…

What does not make you happy: buy a smartphone of the latest model, buy a television that is bigger than the previous one, buy clothes if you already have a lot…
What makes you happy: traveling, playing sports, singing, dancing, reading, going to the movies, playing games, talking with your friends, going out…

To do it quickly, you will have to eliminate those expenses that are not regular, that are not necessary and with which you can live perfectly and be happy.

Expenses that can be eliminated:

Presents.
Travels.
Clothes.
Vitamins, nutritional supplements not necessary for your health.
Nail, hair or makeup products.
Journals.
Newspapers
Gasoline if you can walk or bike to the places.

Expenses that you cannot eliminate (but in which by changing habits you can save):

Food.
Telephone.
Transport.
Non-essential hygiene products (gel, perfumes, makeup…).
Entertainment: going out, gym, courses…
House bills, car…
Insurance

I will also teach you some techniques that although once known were "logical", most people do not practice.

Tips, techniques and tips to save money

Do not use card

The simple use of the card makes it much easier to spend.

If you carry cash you will feel that you lose something, you will have it in your hand and it will cost you more.

Put the money you will spend in a month in an envelope

This is a habit that works very well. If you know what you have spent the previous months, you can make an approximate calculation of what you will spend the next.

Put that amount of money in an envelope and take it out as you need it. Don't use a card.

Along with the previous one, it is a technique that is usually used for people who have impulsivity problems when buying and that works very well.

Save what you spend

This trick is very useful; It will help you not to spend, and if you do, you will save.

It consists of saving the same that you have spent on things that are not essential (clothing, technology). For example: if you spend 10 euros / dollars on a DVD movie, you save the same amount.

Study the possibility of changing banks

There are banks that give better interest and also that they do not charge you fees for keeping the account open or for the credit card.

Do not be in the same bank because you have been there for years and have confidence in them. Get informed, look for opinions and if you find a quality bank with better conditions, change it.

I will not mention names, but currently there are banks that do not charge fees for having your account or for using cards. They also give more money for interest. This can save you several hundred euros each year.

By the way, be much more careful with the conditions you sign. Although the customer service people are nice, the bank is not your friend. They see you as a customer and want to earn money through you.

Write down what you spend

This habit is very important.

If you write down on a sheet that you hang in the refrigerator (or in a place where you see it daily) what you spend each day, you will be aware of the unnecessary money you spend.

It's so easy to go out and have a beer, then go and grab a shirt, then gas. In the end you do not know what you have spent, but if you write it down, you will prevent making the same mistakes again.

Use automatic saving

If you can afford it, you can opt for automatic saving. It is simply a matter of taking money after receiving your salary and setting it aside in a savings account. This way you will avoid the temptation to spend it and you will not even have to think about saving.

There are many ways you can save automatically. Some banks offer you automatic discount options for a certain amount of money from your account, which is destined to a personal savings fund.

This is a good option, especially if you feel like you have a hard time saving voluntarily. Of course, be sure to review the conditions of these options very well, since sometimes they can involve certain additional expenses.

Don't buy unnecessary things

There is a phrase by Warren Buffet that goes something like this: If you didn't need it before you saw it, you don't need it.

If you leave your house unwilling to buy, happen to pass by a store and this idea "I need it" comes to your mind, it is probably a whim.

How many clothes and things do you have in your house that you don't use?

Avoid impulsiveness when buying

This advice is related to the previous one: how many times have you bought things impulsively and you really didn't need them?

Impulse purchases are very dangerous. Buying impulsively can lead you to lose a lot of money and regret not having analyzed things a little more.

The more expensive what you are going to buy, the more time you will have to spend analyzing if you really need it. In addition to more time evaluating options that have better value for money.

Whenever you go to buy something, check how you feel: if you have eaten well, if you feel anxiety about something in particular, if you have worries or if you are in a state of euphoria. All this will influence your purchase decision.

Before purchasing a product, take some time to reflect on your real motivations and always be sure of how much money you have and how much you can spend. This information will allow you to make a smarter purchase.

Learn the 15 day rule

It's about waiting 15 days before buying something that you "consider necessary."

Many purchases are on impulse; You see the service or product, the thought "I need it" comes to mind and you go and buy it.

Try to be aware of that process, ask yourself if you really need it or if you can wait and wait 15 days.

Get used to comparing

Never buy something expensive without comparing prices. The differences between one establishment and another can be surprising and will save you a lot.

You don't have to go moving from one store to another. Today with the internet you can compare hundreds of businesses in a very short time. If you have to go to the same store I also advise you to do it.

Buy in different supermarkets and write down your expenses

A very good technique is to go to three different supermarkets each year, buy what you usually buy and calculate the expenses. That is, week 1 you go to supermarket 1, you take your usual purchase and calculate the expenses. The same with the super 2 and 3. In week 3 you can check which one you have spent the least on.

Normally it is usually 10-20 euros (or in the currency of your country), but if you are going to buy weekly, the difference can be 40 euros per month, that is, 480 euros or more per year.

Calculate the hours of work you need to buy something

This technique serves to save, increase your productivity and value your time more.

It consists in that every time you buy something, you calculate how long it has taken you to buy it.

Example: if you charge 10 euros / dollars an hour and you have bought a television for 500 euros / dollars, it will have taken you 50 hours of work to buy it.

Sign up for rewards programs

There are stores, gas stations or any other service that have programs with which you accumulate points and these give you gifts or allow you to spend the points on whatever you want.

If, for example, you spend 10 euros on gasoline a day, each euro gives you one point and a gasoline refill costs 100 points, you will be having 3 days of "free" gasoline per month.

Make your own gifts

It is not something easy if you do not know how to do crafts, but it is a very interesting option if you want to avoid buying expensive things and that you do not know if they will be used.

Also, personally I think something done by oneself is much more original and shows more interest in the other person.

When you go to the supermarket make a list and eat before

In supermarkets you buy many unhealthy products that also make you spend more.

If you go to the supermarket after having eaten, you will not have an appetite and you will not put products such as chocolates or chips that are not essential for your diet in the car.

If you have made a list before, you will know what is really necessary and you will not buy nonsense that you do not need and that will make you fat.

Eat at home

Social life is very important and it is recommended that you go out to play sports, to an event, to a park, for a walk, etc.

But if you want to save more, a very good option is to eat at home and then go out.

If you go out without thinking this, you may get hungry and then spend on ice cream, a hot dog, or some other whim.

There are sweets and desserts that are very tasty and very easy to prepare, and when you eat them on the street they are very expensive.

The Internet is full of sites where you can find delicious and inexpensive recipes that will take away the desire to buy sweets on the street.

Also, when you prepare your own desserts, you can focus on using healthy ingredients, which will translate into physical well-being for you.

And if you are a person with very little free time, I assure you that you will also find very simple, fast and tasty preparations that will allow you to save money and enjoy a good snack.

Sell everything unnecessary

Actually this is more like making money, but at the end of the day it will improve your financial well-being.

Surely you have books, clothes or appliances in your house that you do not use. Find them and put them up for sale, you may not get much. The profit you get will depend on the amount of things you sell and their value. You may even have something old that is worth a lot.

Today there are many platforms to sell second-hand things online, both in Europe and Latin America.

Use the bicycle, public transport or walk

The cheapest, healthiest and most environmentally friendly means of transport is the bicycle.

Also, in my humble opinion it is much more comfortable than having to wait for traffic jams or having to wait for the bus that is sometimes so late.

If you have work several kilometers away, you will have no choice but to use the car or public transport but if you are close, think about buying a bike or walking.

In almost all cities, public transport lines tend to cover a large part of the city, so you can move to where you need to spend much less money than if you did it by car.

Ditch expensive and unhealthy habits

It's amazing how expensive tobacco and alcohol have come to cost. Besides being very expensive, they are unhealthy and you pay taxes for them.

They are habits that only decrease your financial capacity and make your health worse. With the same tobacco, if you smoke a packet every two days it is 60 euros a month and 720 euros a year (if the pack costs approximately 4 euros). It would be 120 euros a month and 1440 euros if you smoke a pack a day.

Also keep this in mind: your health is what is most valuable and tobacco or alcohol diminishes it. On the other hand, taking care of your health can be very expensive in certain cases, so these habits have a possible additional cost.

Eat less

This advice would be applicable if you have weight problems or want to lose weight.

Sometimes people eat without hunger and it is one of the causes of gaining weight. Today there are millions of obese people in the world and the main cause is sedentary lifestyle.

Turn off lights and appliances

Remember to turn off the appliances when you are not at home and if you leave them plugged in, make sure they are not wasting electricity.

Leaving the "stand-by" lights on can mean an additional cost of 600 euros per year.

Install LED lights

They are more expensive to acquire (they cost 4-10 euros) but with time you will amortize that excess amount.

Buy products that produce the lowest cost

By this I do not mean the cheapest products, but those that:

They consume less energy: if a cheap TV makes you spend 1 euro an hour and an expensive one 0.50 euros an hour, in the long run the expensive TV will be cheaper.
That they do not break and have a guarantee: it will not do you any good to buy a very cheap laptop if it is going to break or has no guarantee. In the end you will have to buy another one and you will spend more than if you had bought something good.

Be careful, quality does not mean it is expensive. Something can cost a lot of money and be bad. Like something inexpensive, it can be of very good quality.

Always do your research and compare. To see opinions, you have platforms like amazon or ciao in which you will know the experiences that other people have had with a product.

Don't wait for things to break

If for example you keep your car in good condition, you will not have to do major repairs that cost you a fortune.

It is better that you spend the money on an annual check-up and in which they have to do a small repair than to wait for something to break and you have to make a big expense.

Don't buy to get rid of stress

I know perfectly that feeling of "I'm going to buy this because I've had a bad day…"

It is actually absurd, because not by buying something will you be happier. To alleviate a bad day, you just need to take a walk or visit a family member or friend. Or have a one euro beer.

It is not necessary that you give your rooms to the big companies because you feel bad.

Always check your expenses

Today you can do it online. Almost all banks have virtual systems to view your accounts.

If you review them at least once a month you will be avoiding improper payments, expenses that you forgot or even "bank errors".

I myself had to pay 180 euros to a bank that we rescued all Spaniards for deleting my account too late. I did not check it for a long time and they were charging me monthly fees.

Buy winter clothes in summer and summer clothes in winter

Seasonal clothing is much more expensive.

If you buy the clothes that you will wear next winter in summer, you will save a lot of money, because they are very cheap.

And they are designs that are very similar if not the same as those that you will find "in season".

Make a priority list

If you have so many expenses that you don't know where to start, grab a pen and paper and make a list of priorities.

You will be aware of what is most important and you will be able to eliminate expenses that are not essential.

Make a budget

Organize your income and expenses, and be clear about how much you want or can spend in the month. Creating a budget will help you be more specific and have more control of your finances.

I recommend that you be as specific as possible when creating this budget. Detail very well what your monthly expenses are and be sure to include them all, so that you are not taken by surprise later.

You also need to be very realistic. Focus the budget on what you want to spend, but at the same time keep it strictly associated with your reality.

Discard superfluous expenses but take into account the essential expenses for you; otherwise you will not be able to apply it and it will be a useless tool.

Make short-term savings plans

Sometimes it is much easier to aim to save for a specific period rather than for the long term.

For example, you can establish that you will save 20 euros / dollars per week for 1 month. And after that month you change your structure and consider another type of saving, such as eating homemade food for the next month.

This variation in your structure can make the saving process more dynamic, fun, and even creatively challenging, because you'll come up with different ways to save each month.

Name your savings

A savings will always be more effective if it is intended for something specific. If you have a specific savings goal, you will automatically be more motivated, it will cost you less to give up some tastes and you will reserve the money with more desire.

For example, if you want to save money to travel to a paradise beach, imagine yourself enjoying yourself on that beach.

Or if you want to take a professional development course, think about all the new opportunities that you will get as a result of that new knowledge.

If you keep in mind why you are saving your money, you will have a much better disposition to save.

Repair your clothes

Instead of replacing your clothes with new ones, take a moment to look closely to see if they can be repaired.

Many times a few simple stitches or a few cuts are enough to renew a piece of clothing that you were about to discard.

And if you are not very agile with sewing, you can take your clothes to specialized sites and ask them to modify it according to what you want. It will always be cheaper to repair your clothes than to buy a new one.

Check the free events in your city

Getting out there and being distracted doesn't necessarily have to involve spending money. There are many free activities very close to you, organized by your city council or by private entities.

You can find everything from concerts and recitals to plays, exhibitions or film screenings.

Check the cultural agendas in your area, they are usually renewed every week. You will surely find interesting and fun options for free or very low cost.

Have a small vegetable garden

You don't need a very large space to grow some vegetables. Producing them in your own home will give you many advantages.

First of all, you will guarantee that you will consume fresh and quality food, free of preservatives, dyes and other chemical elements that can be harmful to your health.

And secondly, sowing in your home will allow you to save a lot of money, since you will not have to buy these foods at the supermarket, but you will be able to consume them fresh from your small garden.

Foods like tomatoes, spinach, rosemary, mint, bell peppers, and carrots can easily be grown at home.

Cancel services you don't use

Sometimes when we subscribe to certain communication services some extras are included that we never use.

Review the invoices for these services and see if there are any features that you do not use or use very little. If you find it, remove it from your monthly plan.

Pay all your debts, especially those that generate more interest

It is understandable that you have had to go into debt at some point, there are situations that require it. However, I recommend that you do not get used to living in debt.

Going into debt will bring you anguish and anxiety, it will end up generating a lot of stress and it will make you spend more money than you originally obtained, as a result of interest.

On your priority list, place paying your debts among the top positions. You will see that it will result in less expense and more peace of mind.

Share your home with a roommate

If you have a spare room or even a comfortable sofa bed, you can consider the possibility of living with someone else and thus share expenses.

By dividing the expenses, you will automatically use half of the money you spent on many things, the money will yield much more and, in addition, you will be able to share experiences and experiences with a person or a group of people, which can enrich you a lot.

Currently there are several online platforms where you can rent your rooms.

Consider renting unused spaces in your home

If you have a disused room at home, or a basement that you hardly use, you can consider the possibility of renting it temporarily to people who carry out some activity. It can be a dance school, a one-off workshop or it can even be used as a warehouse.

Take a good look at the spaces in your house, identify which ones you can take advantage of and for which activity they can be more functional. You will be surprised how many people may want to make use of your available space.

When you can use Skype, WhatsApp or other similar ways to communicate

If you have a fixed internet income at home or have access to an open Wi-Fi network, you can consider communicating through applications that use this connection route.

Tools like WhatsApp, Skype, Hangouts and others will allow you to make voice calls, video calls or send messages without spending additional money that is reflected in your phone line account.

Do more outdoor activities

There are many recreational, relaxing, and enriching activities you can do outdoors, and most of these are free. You can take a walk in a park, climb the mountain or enjoy a clear afternoon on a beach.

By increasing your outdoor activities you will see how you will save more and obtain greater benefits for your health.

Plan your meals for the week

The organization will always generate savings, both financial and time. If you plan your daily meals you can better optimize your resources and avoid last minute purchases, as well as poor food administration.

This will also allow you to know exactly how much food you will use weekly and monthly, so you can better organize yourself when shopping.

Planning your meals will also allow you to get creative with the menu, vary it, add new items, or reinvent old recipes. Adding this dynamism to a daily task will make you more motivated when cooking.

If you like to drink tea or coffee, make them at home

Buying a coffee or tea on the street is much more expensive than doing it at home. If you take into account how much you spend on these drinks each month, you will see that it is much more economical to prepare them at home.

In addition, when you make coffee or tea at home, you have the possibility to prepare them to your liking and to vary the flavors if you want to try different things each time. You can also invite friends and share these drinks with them.

Get into the world of DIY

DIY are the initials of "Do it yourself", "do it yourself" in Spanish. If instead of buying you dare to create, you can get very good results: you will save a lot of money and develop skills that you may not know you had.

There are many things you can do yourself: from jewelry and ornaments, to shirts, dresses and pants, to furniture and wardrobes. It just takes a little patience, a few tools, and investing some time.

By following the proper instructions you can build attractive and quality objects investing much less money than if you bought them in a store.

Track your progress in saving

Once you've determined what your saving strategy will be, constantly monitor the progress in your savings fund.

This will let you know if the method you are using is working as expected; otherwise, you can always restructure your strategy and adapt it to your needs.

The most important thing about tracking your saving progress is that this is a motivating factor. If you see that your income is actually increasing, you will see that you get results and you will have a better disposition when reserving your money.

Include your family and friends in savings

It is difficult when you want to save and your friends or family are on a totally different plan, when they organize outings to expensive places or usually spend a lot of money.

One way to keep in touch with them even if you want to stop spending is to invite them to save with you.

They can structure a common strategy that works for several people, and they can even share specific experiences with you that help you in your savings dynamics.

Stay focused

The temptation can be very great when you have decided not to go out one night to save money and your friends invite you to have a drink or dinner at a restaurant.

When this happens, always remember why you are saving and stay focused on your goal.

You can invite your friends to your house, have a night of drinks or prepare a dinner together that will be cheaper.

Always try to look for options and alternatives, but always make the reason why you save a priority; This will help you stay focused.

Eat more vegetables

In addition to being very healthy for your body, vegetables tend to be very inexpensive, so these are an ideal solution when saving money.

Meats are usually the most expensive of the supermarket bill, so you can buy less meat and more legumes.

Some legumes provide the same amount of protein, such as lentils and chickpeas, and they are also low in fat and high in fiber.

Freeze vegetables to make them last longer

If you freeze the vegetables they will keep their freshness and flavor for much longer, which will allow you to optimize their use and spend less money.

Foods such as zucchini, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, among many others, can be perfectly frozen and consumed while maintaining all their properties. This will make you buy more spacedly and thus you will save more.

Go to public bookstores

Public bookstores offer many free or very low-cost services. Here you can review books, borrow discs and DVD movies, access ebooks, and browse magazines.

In many cases, you only have to register as a user of the library for free or at a very low cost to be able to enjoy all these services. I recommend that you find out where the closest bookstore is to you and ask about the services they offer.

Take advantage of the offers

In all the establishments you can find different offers: some are permanent, others are activated at a certain time of day and others apply only with certain conditions.

When you go shopping, be very attentive to what the day's offers are. Some supermarkets even offer discounts on certain products when closing time approaches.

Observe the dynamics of the supermarkets you frequent and take advantage of these discounts, in many cases this will mean quite significant savings when purchasing a product.

Know the advantages of barter

Trading products with other people can give you many benefits. An item that may not be of much value to you can be exchanged for something you do need or want.

There are several websites dedicated to linking people interested in bartering, and these exchanges can be for clothing, footwear, products, services and even accommodation.

The amount of money you can save is great, plus you will get the most out of those objects that you no longer use frequently.

Check the expiration dates of the products

Sometimes people end up spending more money because the products they buy go bad very quickly, and then they must buy new ones.

To avoid this, I recommend that you be very attentive to the expiration date of everything you buy.

Sometimes there are products that are cheaper because they will expire sooner; If you think you can consume them before they expire, you can take advantage of this to save more money.

Make the most of food

It's amazing how much food we throw away every day when we cook. You will be able to save a lot if you take full advantage of food.

For example, if you have fruit that is ripening a lot, you can make jams. You just have to cut the fruit and cook it over very low heat together with sugar or honey, until it thickens.

Have pre-made food for those days when you don't feel like cooking

There are days when you will not feel like cooking because you will be late from work or very tired. It is on those days that there is a tendency to fall into temptation, buy food and spend more money than you should.

To anticipate this, I recommend that you have some “emergency” foods prepared. It can be a salad, a soup with vegetables or some other food that you can think of. You can reserve them in the freezer and only heat them when you need them.

Take advantage of seasonal fruits and vegetables

In addition to eating fresh, choosing seasonal fruits will save you a lot of money, because they are always cheaper.

I invite you to identify which are the fruits of each season and to buy them at the time when they are cheaper, the money savings will be considerable.

Save water

It's easy to lower your water bill by practicing some simple habits. For example, while bathing, avoid leaving the water running when you are applying the shampoo or soap. Also, do not let the water run while you lather the dishes when washing them.

Another highly recommended option is to place water savers throughout the house. Many of these savers can reduce water consumption by 50%. This means that you can get to pay half of what you paid for the water service.

Watch your health

This is the most important tip on the list. Preserving your health will allow you to be active, functional and you will be able to produce money, instead of spending it.

Poorly cured ailments can lead to health complications that, in addition to being dangerous, can be incredibly expensive.

The best prevention is to take care of yourself. Exercise, eat healthy, and do relaxation activities. Avoid getting sick and so you can have a better planning of your finances.

+50 TIPS TO SAVE MONEY FAST (AT HOME AND LIFE) - ARTE - 2025