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        These days it is essential to have some extra money saved up to avoid living paycheck to paycheck. That’s sometimes easier said than done. This is possible by cutting your spending!

        This list is comprised of ways to save some extra cash in 9 different areas of life. These won’t guarantee you an increased income. However, the ideas in this article have the potential to help those with a lower income have a more padded cash flow.

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                                                                         Food Spending

 – Non commercial food shopping is a huge factor in saving income. This means visiting local food shops, or foreign markets if available.

— Avoid name brands if possible. Go for fruits and veggies that are in season at the time. Focus on whole foods (rice, beans, veggies, fruits).

– Frozen veggies and fruits – can run cheaper than fresh, and comes in bulk!

– Meal prep – choose one day out of the week to plan your meals. This helps you have a set plan that can help with spending on food to go. I like to grab affordable meal prep kits from eBay to aid in my weekly food preparation.

– Regrow foods – green onion, lettuce, etc. There is a multitude of foods out there that we can regrow at home, and never need to purchase again!

– Try to resist restaurants, as the bills could really add up on you at the end of the month.(no more than 1-2 times per month!).

 – Avoid bottled water. This is THE biggest money sink that a lot of people fall into, and the plastic waste is ghastly.

 — Filter the water instead. The filter only needs replaced every once in a while and then you can use the tap for free! what blows my mind is that there are filters that costs around the same as ONE package of bottled water.

— Reusable water bottles are handy for when you’re at work and home. The same can go for aluminum foil and sandwich bags. these things can all be re used as long as they aren’t damaged with stains or become dirty.

                                                                             Coffee  

 – Support local coffee shops if you don’t brew your own. If you happen to brew your own, try buying coffee beans in BULK and seal them to keep fresh. 

— A Lot of coffee shops have cheaper/ better tasting coffee than your leading coffee moguls. You would be surprised at how much variety there is outside of our major stop – ins. 

 — One of my favorite companies are based in Chicago, and they also deliver! 

 – Investing in a french press  made it more convenient to home brew coffee because they are easy to clean, and one of the more affordable options.

What  blows my mind is that some shops will grind the beans for you if you ask!

                                                                   Fashion spending

 – Do your own hair! This goes for braids, haircuts, and other styles. (These skills can also make you a profit, if you’re willing to hustle). It’s nothing that a little youtube can’t help!

— Youtube tutorials have come a long way in teaching us to take care of our own matters. being able to figure things out at home in private means that you don’t have to worry about awkward hair encounters.

 – Shop at small thrift boutiques and consignment shops. Poshmark is a great resource for shopping and selling.

— There is also a secret community on eBay that sells great clothing for very low prices (just be patient with the shipping times). I like to get a lot of my oversized Korean inspired sweaters from there.

 – Wear shoes until they are no longer in good shape. Also refrain from buying every new pair that you come across.

3-5 pair of shoes is a practical number: casual, work, workout, formal, snow and/or rain

                                                                            Cable 

 – Do. NOT. BUY. CABLE. You will never use all of the channels that come in your package, plus, this bill can run you hundreds of dollars per month.

— There are antennas online, or at your local convenience store that cost as little as 15 dollars, so you can catch the news or the game if you’re into that.

— The internet is your friend. Hulu can start at around $5.99 dollars per month and includes some of your favorite shows (although they may come a week later). The same goes for youtube or Netflix. These are all a fraction of the price of cable per month.

                                                                         Phone spending

— Go no contract! Pay as you go can be as little as 35 dollars per month if you use certain discount services like Boost mobile.

— I use T-mobile‘s pay as you go plan, and my bill was just lowered to 60$/month from 70 just for being a loyal customer!

— It also saves you money to buy (and keep) phones for more more than 2-3 years. There’s really no reason to upgrade to a new phone every year.

 — More on how to cut cost with your phone plan will become available in a blog post to come, so be sure to check back for an update!

                                                                            SAVE

— Please invest in the stock market if you can. It’s like shopping for your favorite things on a much bigger (and more lucrative) scale.

— It changes your way of thinking about money, because it puts your money to work for you, and the potential for savings is highly proliferative.

— It’s a great way to supplement your savings account, as it’s easier for you to earn interest in the market than in a standard savings. 

— One of my favorite investment platforms to use when I was a beginner was Ally invest, because the commission rate for US trades at the time were only $5 compared to other brokers that charged around $7 to $20.

— Investing also teaches practicality and responsibility with your cash. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?

                                                                         Fun spending

— Learn how to have fun for low prices, (or free…free is great too).

— Avoid always going to bars or clubs, as it’s easy to fall into the money spending trap.

— Feel free to have destination activities, where the perks come in a package (ie: Wisconsin dells, or six flags).

— Free fun really comes in handy when you live in a place that is surrounded by nature. places like Colorado, or Oregon are great states that have natural fun destinations for any occasion, such as national parks, or mountain ranges with hiking trails.

                                                                       Travel spending

— This may seem counter intuitive, but travel actually helps regulate expenses in a number of ways!

— On average, people tend to travel for vacation one to two times per year. This will allow you to save up for each vacation over time, and monitor your spending.

— I tend to find the experiences that come with travel to be so fulfilling that it’s easy for this to become a healthy habit to get into. 

— The feeling of freedom as you board the plane, and the sense of accomplishment when you get a new passport stamp make being frugal a whole lot easier.

— This also gives you a reason to stick to your budget throughout the year. Who doesn’t work harder when there is something to look forward to at the end of the journey?

                                                                     Conclusion

      I use all of these ways to save or spend less money on a daily basis, and it has allowed me to save on average and extra 500-1000 dollars in a single month. WOWZA!

These tips are not meant to make you rich by any means, but if followed pretty strictly, it has the potential to help add more comfortability to your life. Please feel free to leave some feedback below on ways that you cut back on spending throughout the year.

Happy saving.