How to Save $500/Month Without Hating Your Life: Small Changes Add Up Fast

How to Eliminate $500 a Month from Your Life Without Dying

Putting money aside may feel like a slog and one that has a lot at stake, particularly if you feel you’re sacrificing things you love. But what if, rather than feeling deprived because your budget now no longer includes that $500-a-month line item, you simply didn’t? Art is making intelligent alterations that don’t send you into a dumpster dive of despair. So here are some practical, small changes you can make to save money while maintaining a good quality of life.

Track Your Expenses

But before you can even start to save, you need to know where it’s going. This is where budgeting does a lot of work! “Just note all your spending for one month. You can use a free budgeting app or a notebook even. That, in turn, will give you clear visibility over your spending and if you've got visibility, then stopping spending on non-essential or discretionary purchases will be easy.

Reduce Unused Subscriptions

There are people who are paying for services that they don’t use at all. Review your bank statements and eradicate memberships or streaming services that aren’t used on a regular basis. Even dropping two or three can save you $20–$50 a month.

Cook More, Eat Out Less

Eating out is expensive. If you eat out four nights a week, make only two. You also save at least $200 a month on groceries because you eat it. In order not to waste time and prevent the temptation to eat junk food, we schedule meals for the week and cook for the week.

Making Coffee at Home

That’s $150 a month if you don’t miss a day on a $5 coffee, annualized. Do it yourself with a good coffee maker. You’ll still be able to sip the morning coffee, but for a much smaller bill.

Use Apps to Shop. Get Cash-Back and Discounts

Look for cashback offers or discount codes before you buy. Even grocers, clothes, online purchases, can all be saved through these apps, such as Rakuten, Honey or Ibotta.

Reduce Energy Bills

And when does all that money spent translate into savings on utilities? Fill your gas tank, black out a room, throw away the hard reminders past their sell-by dates. Because you’ll be using less energy, switching out your bulbs and appliances with more energy-efficient models will also lower your monthly bills.

Buy Generic Brands

Brand-name products may be pricier than generics but provide equivalent quality. Use store brands: Your groceries, household products and even your medicines, and that little switch can save you at least $50 a month.

Save: Use Public Transportation or Carpool

If you’re spending a sizable chunk on gas, either way you slice it, look at public transport or carpooling. How many of these on an average week save you $50–$100/month?

Shop Second-Hand

Avoiding spending money on items like new clothes, new furniture and electronics can save you hundreds of dollars each year. If you want to purchase something new, check for secondhand shops, online marketplaces or yard sales first.

Limit Impulse Purchases

Give yourself a day before you buy something. If you’re still thinking about it the next day, do it. Are you employing one of these simple strategies to stop needless spending?

DIY When Possible

So, good on you, you should go to MST while you can, so no worries there, pay to learn is better. They fix stuff around the house, cut each other’s hair, paint each other’s nails. Pretty much everything has a how-to on YouTube, and teaching yourself to do small tasks will save you a fortune.

Set Up Automatic Savings

Set up an automatic transfer of money to your savings account, so you won’t even have to think about saving.

Put away even $125 a week and it’s like getting $500 a month without lifting a finger.

Conclusion

Cut out any spending you don’t need to do, be mindful of how and when you spend money and even look for extra money-making opportunities to reach your savings target without sacrificing all the fun.

This is not about getting it perfect — it’s about getting it better. Before long, one or two of these can turn saving money into second nature. Alternatively, it might take years, but you will have an unwavering financial cushion and lower financial responsibility.

So, what is one thing you can do today to save more?