I decided at the beginning of May, that I wanted to look for ways to save money each day this month. Finding ways to save money is a fun game when you set your mind on it!
We often say to ourselves that we want to save money, but implementing is often the hard part. Turn it into a daily challenge and you’ll find it’s easier to tackle.
A third of the way through the month, and here’s a different savings idea from each day in May. We’ll see if I can keep it going all month!
Money Saving Ideas
- Switch Insurance Companies. We moved most of our insurance policies to Allstate [1] to take advantage of cheaper rates.
- Use Redbox. We tried out Redbox [2] for the first time, saving money over Blockbuster [3] rentals.
- Cancel Services. I was using Credit Check Total [4] for daily credit scores, but no longer need them, so we canceled the service saving the monthly fee.
- Reduce Christmas Budget. I put money in an ING account [5] each month to save up for holiday gifts. Since we let go of our nanny [6], it’s one less gift we’ll have to buy and it frees up some extra money in our monthly budget.
- Free Magazines. One of my magazine subscriptions expired recently, so I’m shopping the list of free magazines [7] to find a replacement.
- Appeal Property Taxes. After we bought our first rental property [8] below the assessed value, our partner filed an appeal with the assessor. Hopefully, we’ll see a lower assessment and a lower tax bill.
- Lower Estimated Tax Payments. After the implementation of the Make Working Pay Tax Credit [9] I lowered our projected estimated tax payments [10] to save some money.
- Cheap Photos. I took my son to Portrait Innovations to take advantage of the $9.95 portrait special. It’s a much cheaper way to have kids and family pictures taken!
- State Tax Refund. Even though I Filed an Extension to Lower or Hedge our Tax Bill [11], I am getting a $28 state tax refund, so I want to file that one sooner to get my money. I’ll use a preliminary federal copy and amend if necessary.
- Bonus Funds for College. I signed up for a few more Ohio 529 plans to take advantage of the College Advantage $25 Sign Up Bonus [12].
- Lower Expense Ratios. I’m in the process of moving a portion of my Roth IRA [13] from Vanguard to Schwab after Schwab announced lower expense ratios [14].
What are you doing to save money this month?