Ok, it’s time to get super practical. We always talk about how cutting down spending is easy, but now we’re going to explain some specific strategies you can use to save an extra $100 per month, just by changing the way you do a few things.
Using the Rule of 173, saving that $100 per month works out to a savings pile of $17,300 after 10 years!
Who wants an extra $17k?!? Meee 🙋♀️. Well let’s get to it!
1. Carpool, bike or walk to work
If you’re a regular listener of HTM, you know how much we hate cars. It’s because they’re one of the biggest money sucks in people’s lives.
We’re not saying you need to completely live without a car, but by rethinking your transportation, you can easily save $100 per month. Or probably more.
Dust off that bike and ride to work. Carpool with a co-worker 1-2 days a week. Walk your kids to school. Are you working from home most of the time now? Downsize your personal auto fleet from two cars to one. Using any of these strategies will free up at least $100 for you, probably more.
Related: 12 ways to cut down your car costs
2. Negotiate your bills
Most people think invoices and statements are final and non-negotiable. But that’s not always the case! You can totally negotiate your bills, ask for discounts, and get fees waived if you know the right ways to ask.
Believe it or not, even your rent is negotiable! We talked to an expert on rent negotiation recently on the podcast – check out Ep #469 with Justin Pogue.
Once you learn the art of asking for discounts, you can easily save $100 per month on regular bills and big ticket purchases. The bigger the bill, the more savings you can squeeze.
3. Kill your subscriptions
I’ve got a challenge for you… it might seem crazy at first, but hear me out…
First, cancel all your monthly subscriptions. Streaming services, gym, food deliveries, etc. Next, live for a few days (or one week, if you can) without any of these services. I promise it won’t be as hard as you think it is.
Then after a little detox, sign back up for the services that you really miss and can’t live without.
Even if you end up signing back up for all the services you disconnected, just going through the exercise is really helpful. It’ll give you peace of mind knowing that everything you pay for is actually being used. You’re getting value from those things.
But the more likely outcome is that you’ll find services you definitely can live without. You’ll likely be able to eliminate a few that aren’t really providing any value. This is when the big savings come in!
A 2022 study shows that most people underestimate their subscription services by $133 per month! That’s a lot of dollars constantly leaking out of your life. You don’t want to be one of those folks.
4 Try a pantry challenge
Speaking of challenges, ever heard of a pantry challenge? It’s a cool little game you and your family can play to stretch your food reserves, get more creative with meals, and save money in the process!
Here’s how it works… First, select a length of time for the challenge. We’d recommend one week, and then you can repeat this every month. Next, for that week you are not allowed to buy any new food at the grocery store or restaurants. You’ll have to live with whatever food you have on hand, in the pantry, fridge and freezer, and all those places you stock food reserves.
A pantry challenge is an easy way to save $100 per month. As you expand your cooking knowledge and get more resourceful with random ingredients, you’ll naturally become a thriftier chef.
Ps. Also try the no eating out challenge!
5. BYO lunch to work
A $7 dollar coffee and bagel, $15 pesto sandwich, and a $4 energy drink to get through the afternoon. $26 doesn’t seem like that much in the grand scheme of things on a busy workday, but repeating a routine like this is akin to death by 1000 Papercuts.
Convenience food has a hefty markup, somewhere in the neighborhood of 400%! If you can get into the habit of making coffee at home, eating a quick breakfast before you leave, and bringing a good ol’ sambo to work you’ll start to accumulate a significant savings pile.
Even if you BYOB lunch just one day per week, that’ll still probably save you over $1000 per year.
6. Meal prep in advance
Speaking of convenience foods, any time you’re in a rush (and hungry), you’re likely to spend more money on meals for convenience.
The funny thing is, it doesn’t actually take that much time to whip up a meal plan and prepare in advance. In fact, you’ll end up saving more time and money by prepping in advance because you won’t need to make any last-minute decisions at meal times.
This is especially powerful when you have a growing family. Savings or more significant when meal prepping for multiple people. Here’s an awesome podcast episode to help you out!
7. DIY chores
In this day and age, it’s common to outsource things. But does that mean you should pay someone else to handle the basic things in life if you can easily do them yourself? Not if you’re trying to save money!
We’re not here to tell you that you MUST clean your own house or else you’ll go broke. Rather, take a look at some of the things around the house that you can take care of instead of hiring them out. You’ll save some serious dinero!
DIY Pest control, lawn mowing, car washing, laundry service, etc. anything that needs fixing around your house, consider trying yourself before hiring a pro. There are times when outsourcing is worth it and there are times when it is definitely not. Look for and cut out those times!
Related post: When to DIY or hire a professional!
8. Try free activities and date nights
If you spend a lot on entertainment currently, I have good news for you! There are a ton of free activities, festivals, and also cheap community events in almost every city.
Try googling “free activities [your city]” and I bet you’ll find at least 20 websites with jam-packed lists of free and cheap things to do near you. Museums, night markets, fundraisers, school events, city celebrations, etc. another great place to find out about these events is your local library!
Pro tip: for all you single folks, try some of these cheap date night ideas. Dates don’t have to cost a lot, you can easily save $100 per month by getting creative and thinking outside the box.
9. Use YNAB
Most people hate budgeting (unless your personal finance nerds like us!) But did you know that the average YNAB user saves $600 in their first 2 months of using their software? Oh yeah, and over $6,000 in their first year!
YNAB stands for You Need A Budget. And I cannot think of a more appropriate name because if you don’t have a budgeting system in place now, creating one will radically change your financial life. You really do need one!
Tracking expenses and budgeting are the cornerstones of personal finance. And the YNAB software app links with all your bank accounts and credit cards digitally, taking out any manual legwork.
They also offer a free 34 day trial. (It’s also completely free for students!)
10. Say ‘no’ to happy hour
Workplace camaraderie is super important. But if your co-workers are always headed to the bar after work, it’s quite easy to rack up multiple $50 bar tabs each week.
We don’t want you to cut all the fun out of your life, but there are healthier habits you can establish with your coworkers. Afternoon sports, hitting the gym, small dinners at home, etc.
Don’t feel pressured to keep up with your coworkers spending habits. It’s OK to say ‘no’ to happy hours and going out for drinks. And you’ll save a lot in the process!
Pro tip: If you must go out, order water! Adding alcohol to any restaurant tab basically doubles the cost. Even at “happy hour” prices – alcohol costs a ton.
11. Don’t walk into stores
Simply put, browsing leads to buying. If you want to cut down on your buying, cut down on browsing. In fact, don’t walk into any stores at all if you can. Try going on a shopping hiatus!
Shops, supermarkets, and also department stores are all designed to be perfect buying environments. The music, the displays, and even the smell have been carefully selected to encourage spending. Don’t participate if you don’t have to!
This includes online shopping. Log out of your Amazon account, or any websites you frequently buy from. Just by making it harder to log in it will have you buying less, and you’ll end up saving more of your hard earned dollars!
The Rule of 173
One of our favorite personal finance rules of thumb is the rule of 173. It’s a simple calculation that shows you the power of eliminating tiny little monthly expenses over many years.
Whatever monthly expense you can cut, multiply that amount by 173. That’s how much you could potentially have after 10 years. This assumes you are investing the savings and letting them grow with compound interest.
If you can save $100 per month, this means $17,300 after 10 years! It might feel like a small amount of money. But small savings over a decent chunk of time really do add up!
The Bottom Line:
If you’re looking to save $100 per month, there are plenty of opportunities to do so by just looking at your regular habits and making a little cut backs.
We hope you try a few (or all!) of these money saving techniques. We can’t overstate the importance of how small monthly savings can radically change your financial life.
Read next:
- 20+ Frugal Living Tips to Cut Monthly Expenses
- Tips for more mindful spending
- The pros and cons of living a frugal lifestyle
- How to fix a budget that doesn’t work
