Money saving. Let’s be real. We are always trying to find a way to cut corners to save money each month.

Before we started making some changes, I didn’t realize there were so many things we could cut out, do without or change to save money.

Here are some of the ways you can evaluate to save money each month.

1.

Rent.

Unless you have plans to move, I wouldn’t focus on this one a ton. If you already have plans to move, pay attention to cost. Yes, a 5 bedroom house would be awesome, but can I get by with a 3 or 4 bedroom? For us, there is a huge price difference in renting a 5 bedroom house versus a 4 bedroom house versus even a 3 bedroom.

Pay attention to the utility company that provides services to the place you are moving to as well. We have a particular company in Arizona that services a particular area. Their costs are much more expensive than their competitor so when I am looking to move, I pay attention to stay out of the costly area.

2.

Electricity.

This goes hand in hand with the above – comparing companies prior to moving. But once you are settled in, you’re stuck with what you have. We have a “beepy box” that goes with our electric company. Essentially, we put money on a card which in turn, let’s us use our “beepy box”. When the money starts to run out, it will beep (hence “beepy box”) letting us know we need to add more money to keep our electricity on.

This works for us for three reasons. (1) I don’t have to pay a huge lump sum of an electric bill once a month. Especially in the summer months, that can be a huge challenge. (2) It makes me more aware of what electricity we are using and what electricity we are wasting. (3) It helps me budget. I know that our summer months will cost us a good $40 per week to run our “beepy box” but in the winter, we can get by on $20 for a week and a half.

If you aren’t home during the day, turn off the air or heater. If you have animals, keep it on, but keep it cooler/warmer than you would if you were home.

Unplug things that aren’t in use! Even if it’s just plugged in, not being used; it is still using electricity!

3.

Water.

We all know to shut the water off while brushing our teeth, but what about other places? Hubby is our biggest water waster. He has a tendency to turn on the shower and then do a million other things before getting in the shower. By the time he is done, our water has been on for a good 45 minutes to an hour. Wasteful.

If your kids are still young enough, have them take baths. A usually showers with me so instead of needing to take 2 showers, her and I can shower together and my routine still only takes about 10 minutes for the two of us.

Make sure your toilet isn’t always running or that faucets don’t drip. Reuse water where you can. If you have a drip, collect it in a bucket and use that to water plants.

4.

Car Insurance.

Shop around. Don’t just settle. Call around and see where you can get the best deal.

5.

Student Loans.

You can’t not pay them. That’s not an option. But, you can work with your lender to have a reasonable payment. Hubby and I both have income based payments so that we are paying a reasonable amount per month that doesn’t totally put us in the red.

6.

Cell phones.

Are you on a contract? Is it the best plan you can get for the right price? A lot of non-contract carriers have up-ed their game. You can get a great phone and pay much less than you would per month with some other companies.

7.

Internet.

I’m not sure about you, but where I live; we are limited on our choices. Although I can say, with our limited choices; some our cheaper than others.

8.

Cable.

We ditched the cable and I couldn’t be happier. Honestly, we were paying close to $90 a month for a gazillion channels, but only watched the same handful of channels all the time. Instead, we purchased a Roku (a little spendy for the initial purchase, but well worth it.) I already have Amazon Prime and we now pay for Netflix and Hulu. Netflix is roughly $9 a month, Hulu is $8 a month and when you split the $99 yearly fee for Amazon Prime; we are paying roughly $25 a month. That’s saving us $65 a month that we can put towards another bill or savings.

9.

Groceries.

I wrote a post 2 years ago on
. We literally did that up until this past week when I learned a new secret!

Walmart has an app that has a savings catcher. {I am just clarifying here. I am not being paid to share this information, but it’s a tool to save money which is why I am sharing it freely!}

The savings catcher works by shopping for your stuff at Walmart and because Walmart price checks; rather than bringing in a hundred ads to price math, you just scan the QR code on your receipt (there is a QR reader in the actual app so you don’t need to download an app for that.)

The app then price checks for you! If they find a lower price, they put it into your account and you can use an ‘e-card’ towards your purchases with the money you saved!

I no longer have to go to 4 or 5 different stores to get the deals. I can just go to one. And since our local grocery store never carried Stonyfield yogurt; we can now go to Walmart to purchase it (because hello! Walmart carries Stonyfield now!) In fact, they carry our favorite Stonyfield product that we couldn’t find anywhere else – the Stonyfield squeezers!

I get it. Money is the bane of my existence, but it is a necessity. It just doesn’t have to be something we spend carelessly. With a little bit of planning and ‘window shopping’, you can find great deals and ways to save money each month.

Do you have a tip to save money each month that I missed? Please share! I am still looking for more ways to cut corners and I am sure everyone else is too!