10 Easy Habits That Could Save You $500+ Every Month

The most reliable way to save money is to do it yourself.

Whether it's the dishes or the gardening, the surest way to hold onto your cash is to do your own dirty work. Fire the landscaper, the maid, the nanny, the chef, the dog groomer, even the marketer and web builder for your small business. You can do it all yourself with just a little elbow grease.

Oh, you didn't put that on the shopping list? No worries. Here are 10 low-effort strategies to slash expenses and keep more cash in your pocket.

1. Prepare Food at Home

Restaurant meals cost 3–4 times more than home-cooked dinners. Stock versatile, inexpensive staples that go a long way like eggs, rice, dried beans, potatoes, flour, and peanut butter. Even replacing a few meat dinners a week with beans can save $30 to $50 a month.

Packing a lunch is even bigger savings. A $12 fast-food lunch five days a week adds up to about $200 monthly. Leftovers or simple sandwiches cost a fraction of that. Use an air fryer for fast, crispy dinners or a crockpot so you can fix and forget it and have your meal ready when you get home.

If money is tight, do not feel shy about using food banks, pantries, WIC, or SNAP if you qualify. If you meet the income requirements, these programs exist specifically for you and can drastically cut food costs. Some even offer household items, like toiletries and cleaning products.

2. Use Mobile/Pop-Up Vet Clinics

Veterinary exam fees are $75 or more per pet these days! This is a steep price when you're also in need of medication, especially for a large breed with higher prescription costs, and it's unnecessary for routine treatments like flea and heartworm preventatives. Try to find a mobile or pop-up veterinarian clinic in a nearby city. They usually do not charge exam fees. Some cities even have a discount or sliding scale clinic with regular hours throughout the week.

3. Shop Smart

Store-brand items are often 20–30% cheaper than name brands. Buy in bulk when practical for items like dog food, rice, or bottled water. A case of drinks from a warehouse store costs far less than vending machine purchases. Combined, this saves $30 to $50 per month.

Apply the same thinking to bills. Independent brokers can often beat your current car insurance rate, and you can further decrease it by raising your deductible, dropping to the minimum coverage requirements, or paying six months to a year at a time instead of monthly. Threatening to cancel your cable service may unlock better prices, or you could just drop your internet speed down a tier. Switching to a cheaper cell phone provider can shave another $20 to $50 monthly.

Check your annual free credit report and dispute any false or inaccurate entries to keep your score high. Refinancing loans for a lower rate or enrolling in an income-based repayment plan can save hundreds. Do any of your unused credit cards have annual fees? Cancel them. Switch to a bank with no-fee checking accounts and ATM fee reimbursements. And stop doing instant transfers, instead of waiting 1–3 business days for an ACH bank transfer. Those fees add up throughout the year.

Check pawn shops, thrift stores, eBay, and Facebook marketplace before buying something brand new at full price. Pet supplies and baby goods often go for half of what stores are charging. Used vehicles are significantly cheaper, and paying cash for a vehicle reduces your insurance costs, since you can get away with liability-only instead of full-coverage.

4. Cancel Unused Subscriptions

Review your bank statement and cancel any streaming or app subscriptions you have not used recently. Two forgotten $10 subscriptions are $20 every month you could keep. Are you paying for any services that you could get for free or cheaper elsewhere? Libraries lend DVDs, CDs, and even ebooks now, and streaming sites like Tubi and Pluto have a free tier. Some towns even have a Library of Things from which patrons can borrow tools from sewing machines to telescopes.

5. Discounts, Cash-Back, and Coupons

Apps like Rakuten, Ibotta, and Honey find instant savings. Stack these with discounts you already qualify for, like military, teacher (including homeschoolers), first responder, student, or employer discounts. Even Uber offers driver perks. This can add up to $20 to $40 each month.

6. Smart Energy Use

Line dry or rack dry half your laundry. Dryers are power hogs. Cutting usage in half can save $10 to $25 per month in electricity. Pro-Tip: Your laundry will dry up to 25% faster if you add a dry terry cloth towel to the dryer. Works best on small to medium loads.

Turn your water heater down to 120°F and add a $15 insulation blanket. Standby losses drop. Typical savings are $5 to $15 per month, higher for electric heaters. Pair with shorter showers and you hit $30 in savings.

Set your air conditioner thermostat to 76 instead of 71 to 73 degrees, and you save $20 to $30 monthly. For higher savings, set it to 78 or turn it off entirely and cool one room with a window unit. Do the same in winter by lowering central heat and using a space heater. This energy-saving strategy can save $40 to $60 per month.

Unplug unused appliances, especially those with clocks, LED lights, etc. Stop using old, inefficient technology, like that ancient spare fridge in the garage that's gobbling up electricity and driving your bill through the roof. And of course, turn the lights off when you leave the room, and shut the front door. Were you raised in a barn?

7. Pump the Brakes on Travel Spending

Every 10 miles you avoid driving each week cuts fuel costs and wear on your car, saving you money on gas, maintenance, and repairs. If you use Uber or Lyft, check both apps for price differences, avoid peak times, wait for fares to drop, or get dropped off nearby and walk. Try to handle appointments and errands on the same day to reduce trip time. Shaving mileage off your travel time can save $30 to $50 a month.

Sign up for roadside assistance services like AAA and Urgently (often free for Uber drivers!), especially if you have an older car or 'lemon.' Basic plans usually cost $30 or less per year and cover up to 4 incidents. Four tows or tire changes could save you $300 or more. When you exhaust your annual benefit, get a membership with a different company.

Tire warranties can also save you hundreds each year, especially if you have a long commute, travel often, or do gig work as a rideshare or delivery driver. For a small fee, often as low as $10 per tire, the insurance will cover unexpected wear and tear or damage due to road hazards. When you get a flat tire, they repair or replace it for the $10 cost of insuring the new tire. Walmart is the cheapest option, but Discount Tires is the GOAT with wait times usually under an hour at my local shop.

If you ever have to rent a car, choose peer-to-peer vehicle sharing apps like Turo over expensive rental companies like Enterprise or U-Haul, which will kill you on mileage. Turo's mileage rates are a fraction of their competitors' prices, and that's only if you go over the very generous 200 miles per day included with most rentals. Some hosts even offer unlimited mileage.

8. Budget-Friendly Healthcare

For prescriptions, switch to 90-day generics at Costco or a discount pharmacy. Many meds drop from $15 to $4 equivalents. Across a few prescriptions that is easily $30 to $50 per month. The GoodRx app can offer significant savings on many medications. It is a lifesaver for the uninsured, and sometimes, it even offers lower copays than your health insurance.

Another lifesaver for the uninsured is the ER. Do not ever be afraid to go, no matter how broke you are. They are required to provide stabilizing, life-saving treatment, whether you can pay or not. New laws even prevent medical debt from harming your consumer credit score.

If the condition is not life-threatening, consider seeking treatment at an Urgent Care clinic. Their fees are significantly lower than emergency rooms, often $200 or less. They can run labs and diagnostic imaging, just like a primary care provider. 

Also, I don't know who needs to hear this, but never use Uber instead of an ambulance in an emergency. It's not fair to the driver, but most importantly, it's not safe for you. Don't gamble with your life.

9. Drink More Water or Brew Your Own

Skipping sodas, juices, or alcohol during the week can save $25 or more per month. Tap or filtered water is healthier and free. If you just can't give up the tea or soda, brew your own. SodaStream and other home systems are inexpensive and easy-to-use. If your household buys multiple 12‑packs a month, swapping to DIY fizzy drinks can save $20 to $40.

A daily $5 latte adds up to $100 a month. A $10 dollar store coffee maker and a few flavored creamers can make your home feel like a gourmet café bar. Add a cheap milk frother and you can make lattes or iced coffees with premium barista taste for pennies per cup.

10. Plan Ahead

Late fees and reconnection fees are pure waste. One missed bill can cost $25–40 or more. Use auto-pay to avoid late charges if it's feasible, like if the system is built to decline payments when funds are low rather than overdrafting your account.

Plan grocery trips, and avoid impulse buys. Never shop hungry! Impulse buys add $20 or more to each trip. Plan meals, write a list, and stick to it. Combine that with bulk purchases of pantry staples and household goods and you save $40 to $60 monthly.

What Would You Do with an Extra $6K?

Putting half of these tips into action could free up at least an extra $50 a week, enough to cover a weekly date night or even just the water bill. By combining these habits, you can save $500 or more per month. That's $6,000+ each year in savings without sacrificing your comfort or putting in much time or effort!