Penny-Wise and Prosperous: 11 Proven Strategies to Quit Wasting Money

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Do you waste a lot of money? Would you like to stop wasting money? I know this can be a pain point for a lot of people, but the good news is that there are some simple, straightforward solutions you can implement to get your finances in order.

Saving money can seem like a pain, but it really doesn’t have to be. These strategies mostly focus on simplifying the process so that penny-pinching isn’t necessary.

Although frugality is important to me, so is having a productive and happy life! And, indeed, there’s no reason to think you can’t do the same.

Why Do People Waste Money?

There are lots of reasons people waste money, but I imagine the main reason is that we all lead very busy lives. Even though many of the items on this list don’t take much time at all to implement, spending any amount of time on anything can seem like too much when you’re busy.

But that is just one side of it. I think many people don’t realize how easy it is to stop wasting money. You hear a lot of talk about skipping your morning coffee. Plus other expenses that are really pretty small.

Whatever the reason people waste money, I’m going to help you spend less in a more productive way.

How to Stop Wasting Money

So, how do we stop wasting money? Instead of thinking about your morning latte or going to the bar on the weekends, we should consider the bigger expenses.

Why? Because these expenses are, well, bigger. They make up the biggest part of our budget – even if we don’t think about them as often.

I tend to refer to this as the “big three” – housing, transportation, and food. But there are others. Here, we’ll focus on those categories, plus a few others.

1. Cut Back on Housing Expenses

This is my most common suggestion because it is potentially the most powerful. That’s because it is the single biggest expense most of us have, accounting for around 25% of our budgets.

 

Last year, I moved into a house with roommates and it cut my rent in half.

But that is far from the only way to reduce your housing costs. Here is a quick list of some other ways to save on housing:

1. House hack – rent out spare bedrooms, or buy a multi-family home and rent out the other units
2. Become a full-time house sitter – live rent-free while seeing some amazing sights
3. Live in an RV or mobile home
4. Get a tiny house

For more ideas, see my complete post about ways to save on housing.

For the record, I’m aware that many of these ideas won’t work for everyone. However, if you have the means to do so, you should definitely consider attacking your housing expenses first.

I cut my rent in half when I moved in with roommates. Referencing the data above (which is already outdated), you have around $20,000 in housing expenses if you are average.

Cutting that in half would mean saving $10,000 per year. That is a crazy amount of savings, which is why I always recommend this option first.

2. Bought an Electric Vehicle

One of the common misconceptions about electric vehicles is that they are inherently more costly than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, but the opposite is actually true.

Why? One word: gas. Well, gas, and other things, like maintenance. But gas is the main thing.

I leased a Chevy Volt in 2018 (the second to last model year). I’m only mentioning this to show I actually went electric, though the way I did it is actually not the most economical way.

In fact, we are probably at least three years away from the point where the used electric vehicle market becomes mature enough for the masses. I say that because, well, maximizing your savings on transportation necessitates buying used.

That said, it is already possible to buy electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus Electric, and Chevy Spark for < $10k. These vehicles aren’te exactly great, but as the electric vehicle market expands, so will your used options.

And, of course, electric vehicles don’t use gas. Electricity is much cheaper, especially if you can charge at home. And these vehicles never need oil changes.

So you can see why vehicles that don’t use gas, are under $10k, and are more reliable in the long run, will become the better option for those with smaller budgets.

This will eventually become the go-to option for those looking to save on transportation costs. I’m calling it.

3. Embraced Used Products

I’m not just talking about used cars here. No, sir (or madam!). Nowadays, anytime I’m buying pretty much anything, I stop and thing, “Can I get this used?”

Now, I should say that it does depend on the type of item. For example, if the thing I’m buying is a small piece of electronic equipment that’s less than $50 (like a flash drive), I usually won’t bother with used.

That’s because, even if I can get one that’s used, it won’t be much cheaper. Such is not the case for a used t-shirt. New ones might be under $50, but used ones can be had for just a few bucks.

4. Cut the Cord

“Cutting the cord” is all the rage today, but that is for good reason. That’s because this one isn’t purely about saving money.

Ask yourself this question: when was the last time you watched live TV?

If the answer is “today,” well, this one may not be for you. But I know that, personally, I rarely watch live TV anymore.

And if you are more like me, why not ditch cable? There’s little reason to keep something if you aren’t really using it.

5. Switched to Google Fi

I didn’t just switch to save money, though. Google Fi works almost anywhere in the world (except maybe Antarctica). Of course, you never need a SIM card – in fact, it uses virtual SIM by default.

See my full Google Fi review to learn more.

6. Stopped Paying So Much For Coffee

Yes, I know I said you shouldn’t worry so much about how much that morning coffee is costing you. And guess what? That is still true.

See, this list is somewhat in order of precedence, which is why this item is a bit farther down. Think of it this way: if you have already tried all of the previous ideas, and still need to cut more in your budget, try this.

One easy way to stop wasting so much on coffee is by using sites like Survey Junkie. As you can probably guess, Survey Junkie is a site where you take surveys and earn points in exchange.

Then, you can exchange those points for some Starbucks gift cards! Cha-ching!

With Survey Junkie, you can get free Starbucks by claiming Starbucks gift cards for as little as $10! Not bad at all.

7. Embraced Generics

8. Embraced Dollar Stores

9. Gave Up Meat (Mostly)