16 May Five Easy Ways You Can Save Money Right Now

I’m not going to fluff this article much for you. I could include some funny story to make you laugh or think. I could start throwing out statistics on money and discussing the effects of it. But I’m not going to do any of that.

Nope. Part of saving you money is saving you time, so with that said, let’s get to the money!

1. Get a different car insurance company

Chances are that you haven’t negotiated your car insurance rate recently. I’ll bet you that your premium has gone up over the past 2-3 years even if you haven’t got in a wreck or any traffic violations.

How did I know that? Am I psychic? Do I have mystical powers? No, its just what all insurance companies do because they know people don’t bother switching. Sound like you? Then here’s the good news! A quick call to GEICO could save 15% or more on car insurance…

HAHAHA! No I’m not sponsored by GEICO or anyone else, but the slogan is real. As long as you have a half-decent driving record, call 2-3 of the main companies or GET QUOTES ONLINE. I don’t know why, but some companies offer cheaper rates online compared to what local agents can offer. Not all of them, but many do this (lower overhead costs).

I don’t care who you go with. The point is that insurance companies offer deals for new clients. You can get the same amount of coverage for entry-level prices. Now that company will likely raise prices on you as time goes on, but in 2-3 years, do the same thing all over again.

Cost Savings Potential: Hundreds of dollars annually

2. Buy a “smart thermostat”

Companies like Ecobee and Nest have some great ones for about $200. You need the ones that have sensor capabilities. These smart devices learn your patterns throughout the day, month and year. They keep track of how hot or cold you like it during certain points in the day or night.

Also, they know how to regulate your A/C units to make it cool or hot in the most effective way. You will see a difference on your monthly bill and the estimated ROI is that these devices will pay themselves off in 2 years or less. That’s pretty damn good!

Cost Savings Potential: Around $100/year

3. Better, cheaper light

If you haven’t already noticed, we’ve moved on from Einstein’s version of the lightbulb. The new LED bulbs are brighter, whiter for a more natural light, and last longer. Much longer. In fact, an LED lightbulb can last up to 10 years!

Yes, you will need to cough up an extra $3-$5 per lightbulb up front, but they use about 20% of the energy that an incandescent bulb (the old ones) use. They also give off better light than other bulbs. One more thing, Einstein didn’t create the lightbulb. Edison did. Just making sure you are paying attention…

Potential Cost Savings: Around $10/bulb/lifetime and $4/bulb/year on energy costs.

4. Eat before you grocery shop

It is scientifically proven that we buy more groceries we don’t need if we shop hungry. I mean, I think the science and common sense part of this are self-explanatory so I won’t go into it more. But if you’re a skeptic, here’s a link to it.

So yeah, scarf down a piece of toast or bowl of cereal before you grocery shop. It’ll save you a bundle.

Potential Cost Savings: Conservatively, $15/week x 50 weeks = $750

5. Cancel your least used monthly subscriptions

There are soooo many subscriptions that you can get for a cheap, monthly cost that you don’t even notice how much that $9.99/month charge for streaming music is hurting your wallet.

These sneakily affordable services usually have no upfront cost making them easy to justify signing up for, especially when a free 2 week trial is available. Just insert your credit card for the trial of the services and then forget this ever happened…

The point is, I doubt you’re using your subscription to Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora enough to justify all three. Or even one of them. What about Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and the multitude of other streaming options. How many of those do you have?

And by the beard of Zeus, cancel your damn monthly food subscriptions. I don’t care what anyone says. Blue Apron and all these other ship-your-food companies have not found a cost-effective solution to get the food to you compared to simply driving to the grocery store five minutes from your place. End this now, get off your lazy ass, make a list and go to the grocery store. Be an adult already.

Potential Cost Savings: Conservatively (since there are many companies with multiple levels), if you just saved $20/week x 50 weeks, that’d be $1000/year.

Boom. There you go. Five ways to save a bunch of money. You’re welcome.