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Home » 4 Ways to Save Money

4 Ways to Save Money

01/25/15 | Money Saving Tips

It’s a new year and everyone is looking looking for tips on ways to save money without having to sacrifice a lot of their time. For some reason people always think that to save money–especially on groceries–means that it takes up a lot of time, and that isn’t true at all.
As you can see none of these ideas take me a long time to do, but the savings they give me really add up over time.  Try them yourself and see how much you end up saving.

Here are 4 Ways to Save Money this year that are easy to do and don’t take a lot of time.

1. A great way to save money is to do a Weekly Meal Plan.  First I print out the NEPA MOM Printable Weekly Meal Plan. I then check my fridge, freezer and pantry and see if there are any items that I need to use up soon.  I also take note of any items that I need to stock up on.  I then consult my calendar to see what nights I need to make quick meals and fill in those with our favorite standbys–like tacos.


NEPA MOM Meal Planning Sheet Rev

2.  Check the Sales Fliers–I check the store fliers and see what items are on sale that week, print out my coupons, and plan my shopping trip to round out my meals for the week.  At this point I also make a note of what is on sale this week that would make a great meal for the following week.

That way you know that you are only buying what you need for that weeks menu and you don’t have food wasting away in your fridge or pantry.

3. Sign up for rewards cards at the stores you shop at frequently.  I have rewards cards for my local Giant store, where I earn reduced prices on gas and a rewards card for CVS–in fact, I recently got an email from CVS saying that I was in their top 6% of shoppers when it comes to saving money! I had saved over $300 last year just by using my rewards card….Woohoo!!

4. Don’t forget to use Ebates when shopping online.  I shop online all year long–not just at the holidays. Sometimes the best prices are found online and I can do it from the comfort of my own home.  In fact, just the other night I bought my husband a mini-fridge for his office. I checked out prices for a few stores online, found one I liked, got free shipping to the store and then used Ebates to make my purchase. By using Ebates I will get a rebate of .80, which doesn’t seem like much but it can really add up over the course of a few on months.

One final note: One super simple way to save is to participate in the 52 Week Savings Challenge.  With this plan you start off slow–week #1 is only $1–but as the weeks progress you save more until at the end of the year you have more than $1300!

Click here to print out the 52 Week Savings Challenge Worksheet.

As you can see none of these ideas take me a long time to do, but the savings they give me really add up over time.  Try them yourself and see how much you end up saving.

Want some more inspiration? Check out this Ways to Save Post for more tips!

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Comments | 11 comments

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Comments

  1. heather@myoverflowingcup.com'Heather @ My Overflowing Cup says

    January 27, 2015 at 5:42 pm

    Thanks for sharing these tips!

    Another great way I save both time and money is by doubling recipes while I am already cooking so that I have something made ahead for another time.

    When I make bread, hamburger buns, cookie dough, casseroles, etc., I make extra for the freezer.

    When I am washing and cutting something like potatoes, I will prep enough for the current meal as well as for the next. (As long as you keep them covered in water, potatoes can be prepped ahead).

    Thanks for the post! Happy New Year!

    Reply
    • mgalko says

      January 27, 2015 at 7:48 pm

      YES! Doubling recipes is a GREAT way to save time and money, I agree!! A few extra minutes leads to big savings later in the week/month. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  2. girlonthemoveblog01@gmail.com'Julie @ Girl on the Move says

    January 28, 2015 at 1:19 am

    Thanks for sharing these tips! I have also found weekly meal planning to be a great way to save money!

    Reply
  3. hello@townsend-house.com'Heather says

    January 28, 2015 at 9:22 am

    Love these tips! Especially the meal planning, that is something I am trying to be better at this year.

    Reply
  4. swood97@yahoo.com'Shirley Wood says

    January 28, 2015 at 2:18 pm

    These are all great tips. Pinning to my Family Finance board.
    So glad you shared with us at Merry Monday. Please be sure to come back Monday for the new party!

    Reply
    • mgalko says

      January 28, 2015 at 4:14 pm

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Reply
  5. mike@thequarterroll.com'Mike says

    February 5, 2015 at 4:45 pm

    I admit that until recently I would take the sales fliers from the mailbox and put them directly into the garage can. Then someone pointed out, like you just did, that I could be paying less for my weekly purchases by using the fliers to get coupons and insight on where the deals are! So yeah. I scan the sales fliers now….. 🙂

    Reply
    • mgalko says

      February 5, 2015 at 7:15 pm

      Yeah! You are throwing away free money when you throw them away!! Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

Trackbacks

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    January 16, 2014 at 8:26 pm

    […] it is Thursday and that means I am back with another Thrifty Thursday tip to help you save money in 2014.  Today I am going to talk about Freezer or batch cooking. […]

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  2. Buying Meat in Bulk Saves you Money (Thrifty Thursday) - NEPA Mom says:
    January 23, 2014 at 8:43 pm

    […] is Thrifty Thursday and today’s money saving tip is to buy in bulk for items that you use all the time.  For my […]

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  3. Thrifty Thursday Link Party #35 says:
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Hi I’m Megan, thanks for stopping by! Good Food and Family Fun is a trusted online destination for busy moms and dads looking for the very best in family friendly recipes, product reviews, travel tips and more.

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