How to save money in times of need, comes down to saving extra money for those rainy days so you can get prepared and stay prepared!
Are you ready to learn how to save money in a time of need?
If so, the economic world seems to take dips and dives all of the time.
And as the market fluctuates, times of crisis lurk in the darkness.
In times like these, it may seem beyond our control, however, we can control how we prepare our financial situation.
Here are 14 brilliant ‘how to save money ideas’ to help you in times of need.
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14 Ways to Save Money in a Time of Need
1. Lower Your Car Insurance.
In a world where should be putting our hard-earned money into things that count, you could lower your car insurance if you rely on your vehicle to make your money.
During the pandemic shutdown, for example, many people didn’t drive their cars for weeks and months at a time.
And one of the perks car insurance companies use to calculate the cost of your car insurance is how many miles you drive.
If you’re only using one car in a two-person household, all the better because you can even take one of these cars off of insurance until you both start driving more.
2. Switch Credit Cards.
Switching credit cards might sound like a crazy idea when you’re strapped for cash.
However, when you’re trying to pay off a balance plus interest charges, your bill will likely add up quickly.
To get around this, it is wise to keep a lookout for credit cards that offer a 0% introductory APR.
You can transfer your balance to a new card without all of the additional charges if you choose to do this.
Keep in mind these offers will expire. Sometimes the new card won’t allow you to transfer over the full amount too.
If that happens to be your case, give priority to the card with the most money owed.
3. Audit Subscription Services.
There is no doubt about it, all the various monthly subscription services you’ve joined can eat away at your bank account month after month.
So to help you save even more money, it’s time to check out the subscription services you aren’t using regularly.
You might be paying for a music streaming service or a subscription box that you rarely ever use.
Moreover, during a time of crisis, you may not have the extra assets to be able to just set things up and forget about them.
A great way to start auditing is starting with your Paypal account.
Paypal has a recurring purchases category where you can see when the next subscription will be charged, that way you can decide what you truly use and ditch the ones you don’t.
4. Meal Prep.
Another great way to shave off a few dollars each month is to meal prep.
The best thing about meal prepping is it’ll help you get organized with your meals each week while also keeping costs down.
Let’s be honest, eating out or takeout will weigh down your pocketbook.
Moreover, making meals at home (by planning ahead of time via meal prepping) will allow you to not waste money by getting random things at the grocery store.
Also, it’s paramount that you make a grocery list and stick to it.
Doing so will allow you to be able to put meals together for the family or for yourself using exactly what need.
5. Diversify Your Investments.
It’s tough in a crisis to think about investing in anything, especially when the market seems so volatile.
However, believe it or not, this time is actually a great time to diversify your investments.
Once a crisis hits and if your money is tied up in the stock market, you could be in trouble.
However, if you go through your investment portfolio and see which of your investments can be spread in different industries, you might be better off in the long run.
And if you can also place your investments in real estate, if you are very lucky to do so, you might be one of the lucky ones that could benefit largely from a financial crisis.
6. Get fit for Free.
During trying times, sometimes our active lifestyles need to change.
However, that doesn’t mean you should ditch working out altogether.
It just means that you don’t need a gym membership to stay fit.
In fact, you can get fit for free by working out in your home or getting outside more.
Go walking or running. Use fitness and training apps. You can buy some inexpensive weights for weight lifting or find some cardio equipment someone else is selling on Craiglist.
Innovation will always be key to being able to save more money and a financial crisis shouldn’t take away your right to stay in great shape.
7. Refinance Your Mortgage.
Mortgage rates right now are at historic low levels. You can save hundreds of dollars a month on your home if you refinance your mortgage.
Of course, you’ll need to take a few meetings before diving in because it’s a long process. And don’t sign up until there is a significant drop in interest rates to offset the closing costs.
8. Watch your small spending.
Saving money doesn’t have to be some crazy huge step, in fact, you can take small steps to drastically cut down on your expenses.
An easy way to accomplish this is to identify your small expenditures that add up every month.
Once you see a pattern of spending too much, try to stick to a budget.
If you watch your spending patterns to figure out where the small purchases add up that cost a lot, you’ll really notice where you can improve on saving more money!
9. Get Away From Bottled.
It may surprise you to find out that bottled water is a big expense for most people.
In fact, a bottle of water costs an average of $1.45. Moreover, Americans alone spend $11.8 billion dollars on bottled water.
Since the yearly cost for one person to drink this water is about $250, it’s best to drink tap water or buy a water filtration system.
10. Rediscover The Library.
To save even more money, you can easily save money in a time of crisis by going to your local library.
Many people have expensive books stacked up by their beds and buying on Amazon Prime just seems easier than heading to the library.
However, if you are an avid reader, you can easily read any book you want and return it to your local library for free.
Plus, you’ll know that the books you read won’t be added to your book graveyard this way either.
11. Stay Away From The Coffee Shop.
The drive-through coffee line just isn’t how to save money these days.
Plus, you can save loads of money by making your own coffee at home. All you need is a great coffee maker or even a cordless coffee press.
And given the amount of money, you spend a day on coffee at the drive-thru, by making it at home, you can save over $1,000 a year.
12. Automate your lending accounts.
Another genius money-saving idea is to set up your important accounts for auto-pay.
Doing so will help ensure your bills are paid on time as well as you may get a bonus!
In fact, some lenders will actually give you a discount for going auto so don’t forget to ask your lenders and providers if they offer a bonus.
13. Buy Produce In Season.
To save even more money in a time of crisis, buy fruits and vegetables that are considered in season.
In fact, did you know it costs less for companies to stock the grocery store with seasonal food instead of shipping it from another country?
This means you don’t need to go with the most popular, expensive brands when seasonal produce is discounted right in front of you.
Even shopping at your local farmer’s market for in season produce should save you more money.
14. Save A Few Extra Dollars Every Week.
Lastly, learn how to save money from a kid!
Think about it this way, kids often get a little allowance each week, and if they chose to save it all, it adds up quite fast!
If you think like this and save a dollar a week yourself, especially during hard times…
It’s a slow saving process, but it most definitely works!
Moreover, once you get used to saving for a few weeks then you can slowly elevate it to a few more dollars each week.
By the end of the year, you’ve saved yourself over $1,000.
There you have it! These brilliant saving money ideas will help you in downtimes when you need it most.
Plus, we never know when our little world of money will crash, so it’s important to learn to save and be able to live in tough times.
Thanks for reading!
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Author: Rebecca
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