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1. Cut Unnecessary Subscriptions You Don’t Use
You know that “free trial” you swore you’d cancel after 7 days?
Yeah, that’s been quietly charging your card for months.
Subscriptions are sneaky little money vampires.
They start small, like $5 here, $10 there, but stack up faster than cafecito shots at a Miami corner café.
Before you know it, you’re paying for five streaming platforms you don’t even watch.
Ask yourself. Do you really need to watch three different shows at the same time?
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Check your bank app for recurring charges and cancel the ones you don’t use with a tool like Rocket Money.
📌 SAVE IT FOR LATER! 📌
2. Cook at Home More Often
Ordering takeout feels like a treat until you look at the receipt.
Seriously, $18 for a burger and fries you could’ve made better at home?
Cooking at home saves you cash, keeps you healthier, and honestly feels more rewarding.
Plus, you get leftovers, which is like free money in food form.
Imagine the flex when you tell your friends you made a full dinner for under $10.
Why let restaurants drain your paycheck when you can play chef?
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Plan three simple meals for the week and grab ingredients at your local grocery store.
3. Bring Your Own Lunch to Work
Buying lunch every day at work burns your wallet faster than the Miami sun burns tourists.
Ten bucks here, fifteen bucks there. It adds up to hundreds each month.
Meanwhile, packing a lunch costs you just a couple of dollars.
And let’s be real, leftovers from last night’s pasta? Way better than overpriced sandwiches.
Plus, you get to brag about how much you’re saving while your coworkers cry into their $12 salads.
Ever wondered why the people with packed lunches always look calmer?
Because they’re not stressing about where their money went.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Prep your lunch the night before. Something simple like rice, chicken, and veggies.
Bonus: Keep Track of Sneaky Daily Expenses (Automatically)
Ever wonder why your paycheck feels like it evaporates before the weekend?
Spoiler: it’s those small, sneaky charges you don’t even notice. Like that “quick” $7 snack or the ride-share you swore was cheaper.
When you actually track them, the picture gets real fast.
And once you see the truth, you can finally stop the leaks.
Most people who start tracking for the first time admit they had no idea how much they were wasting.
The good news? You don’t need to do it manually anymore.
Apps like Rocket Money do the heavy lifting, showing you all your daily transactions in one place and even spotting subscriptions you forgot existed.
It’s like having a financial friend who taps you on the shoulder and says, “Hey, you’re spending $50 a month on stuff you don’t use. Want to keep that or save it?”
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Download Rocket Money, connect your accounts, and let it track all your expenses so you can finally see where your money really goes.
4. Shop with a Grocery List Every Time
Walking into a grocery store without a list is like going into the ocean without sunscreen. Dangerous and expensive.
Stores are designed to make you impulse buy.
That’s why the candy aisle stares you down right before checkout.
But when you’ve got a list, you shop with laser focus.
You skip the random snacks, you stick to what you need, and your wallet thanks you.
Think of it as your shopping shield against temptation.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Write your list before going and stick to it. Use a notes app if you’re forgetful.
5. Choose Store Brands Over Name Brands
You grab the flashy name-brand cereal box because the ad made it look “fun.”
Then you realize the store brand right next to it is literally the same thing for half the price.
The truth? You’re mostly paying for marketing and a shiny logo.
Store brands taste the same, clean the same, and last the same.
Your wallet doesn’t care if your pasta sauce came with a celebrity endorsement.
Why throw extra cash away just to flex a brand label nobody notices?
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Next grocery trip, swap at least 3 items for store brands and compare your receipt.
6. Brew Your Coffee at Home
Let’s be real. Fancy coffee shops aren’t selling you lattes, they’re selling you vibes.
Five bucks a cup may not feel like much, but five bucks every morning turns into over $1,000 a year.
You could buy a solid coffee maker for the price of one month’s café runs.
Home-brewed coffee doesn’t just save you money. It saves you from waiting in that endless line with half-awake strangers.
And yes, you can still make it “aesthetic” with whipped cream if that’s your thing. 🙂
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Buy a French presson Amazon or drip machine and brew at home. Add syrups if you miss the café feel.
📌 SAVE IT FOR LATER! 📌
7. Use Public Transportation Instead of Driving Everywhere
Gas prices feel like they’re climbing a ladder to the moon.
Add parking fees, insurance, and random car repairs, and suddenly your car isn’t just transportation. It’s a money pit.
Public transportation isn’t glamorous, but your wallet will definitely cheer.
Plus, you can scroll TikTok, read, or nap while someone else drives.
Do you really need to take your car for a 5-minute trip to the store?
Probably not.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Use a monthly transit pass or apps like Moovit to plan your cheaper ride.
8. Buy in Bulk for Everyday Staples
Toilet paper, rice, beans, detergent. These aren’t one-time buys.
You’ll always need them, so why not buy more for less?
Bulk shopping saves you cash in the long run and requires fewer trips to the store.
Sure, carrying a 20-pound pack of paper towels looks ridiculous, but so does overpaying every week.
Ever notice why big families shop at warehouse stores?
Because bulk works.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Grab a Costco or Sam’s Club membership and stock up on staples you always use.
9. Compare Prices Before Making Purchases
Impulse buying without checking prices first is like handing stores free money.
The exact same shoes could be $20 cheaper, just two clicks away.
You’ve got Google in your pocket. Use it.
Price comparison apps make it stupid easy to check if you’re getting ripped off.
Why pay extra for the same product just because you were too lazy to compare?
Yeah, exactly.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Search the product on Google Shopping to compare prices before buying.
10. Track Your Spending
You think you know where your money goes. Until you actually track it.
Suddenly, you realize you’ve been dropping $200 a month on late-night snacks and “quick” Amazon buys.
It feels like someone hacked your bank account, but nope. That’s just you.
Tracking every dollar gives you instant control.
And honestly, it’s kind of addictive once you see where the leaks are.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Use a budgeting app like Rocket Money to track all your spending automatically.
11. Cancel Gym Memberships and Work Out at Home
Be honest. How often do you really use that gym membership?
If the answer is “barely,” then you’re paying for an expensive guilt trip.
You can do pushups, squats, and YouTube workouts at home for free.
Buy a couple of resistance bands or dumbbells and you’re set.
Your abs won’t care if they showed up in a gym or your living room.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Cancel your unused membership today and set up a simple 20-minute workout at home with YouTube.
12. Borrow or Rent Instead of Buying New
Need a power drill for one project?
Spoiler: You don’t need to own it.
Borrow it from a friend or rent it for a day instead of dropping $80 on something you’ll use once.
The same goes for books, party supplies, or even formal clothes.
Why buy when you can borrow and keep your cash where it belongs?
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Check your local library, tool rental shop, or borrowing apps like Fat Llama before buying.
13. Turn Off Lights When Leaving a Room
Your parents were right. Leaving the lights on wastes money.
It might seem small, but those electricity costs pile up faster than Miami traffic at rush hour.
Every bulb you leave burning is cash slowly slipping away.
And no, “it’s just one light” isn’t an excuse.
Flip the switch and keep that money.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Make it a habit to hit the light switch every time you leave the room.
14. Wash Clothes in Cold Water
Hot water sounds nice, but most clothes don’t need it.
Washing in cold water gets your laundry just as clean.
Plus, it uses way less energy, which means lower utility bills.
And your clothes last longer because you’re not blasting them with heat every week.
So yeah, cold water is the real MVP.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Change your washer settings to “cold” for all regular loads and only use hot for heavy stains.
📌 SAVE IT FOR LATER! 📌
15. Air-Dry Clothes Instead of Using a Dryer
Dryers are basically money-eating machines disguised as appliances.
They chew up your electric bill and wear out your clothes faster.
Air-drying might take longer, but it’s free and keeps your shirts looking fresh.
Plus, nothing beats that crisp, sun-dried smell.
Why pay extra for heat when the air does the job for free?
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Grab a cheap drying rack or clothesline and let your laundry dry naturally.
16. Limit Eating Out to Special Occasions
Eating out every week feels fun until you check your bank account.
Restaurants don’t just charge you for food. They charge you for rent, staff, and their “vibe.”
Cooking at home most days and saving restaurants for birthdays or dates is smarter.
You’ll enjoy eating out more when it’s not a daily habit.
And your wallet will feel less like it’s bleeding cash.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Set a rule only to eat out once or twice a month and budget for it.
17. Avoid Shopping When You’re Hungry
Walking into a store on an empty stomach is dangerous.
Suddenly, everything looks good, even the overpriced snacks you never buy.
Your hunger convinces you that you “need” it all.
And before you know it, your cart is stuffed with impulse buys.
Eat first, then shop. You’ll thank yourself later.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Always eat a snack before grocery shopping so you don’t overspend on cravings.
18. Try a No-Spend Weekend Challenge
Ever tried not spending a dime for two whole days?
It sounds tough, but it’s surprisingly fun.
You start finding free activities, cooking with what you already have, and actually appreciating your stuff.
It resets your spending habits and makes you realize how often you buy things out of boredom.
Plus, it’s kind of a flex to say you survived a weekend spending zero.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Pick one weekend, plan free activities like park days or Netflix nights, and stash the money you’d normally blow.
19. Use a Water Filter Instead of Bottled Water
Buying bottled water is basically paying extra for plastic.
It’s wasteful, expensive, and adds up way faster than you think.
A decent water filter pays for itself in just a few weeks.
And guess what. It tastes just as good, if not better.
Your wallet and the planet both win with this one.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Buy a Brita or similar filter pitcher on Amazon and refill it instead of buying cases of bottled water.
20. Use Cash Envelopes for Monthly Spending
Swiping your card feels painless. Until the bill shows up.
Cash, on the other hand, hits different.
When you see those bills leaving your hand, you suddenly care a lot more.
That’s the magic of the envelope system.
You give yourself a set amount of cash for categories like food or fun, and once it’s gone. It’s gone.
It’s old school, but it works like nothing else.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Split your budget into labeled envelopes (like groceries or gas) and only spend what’s inside each.
📌 SAVE IT FOR LATER! 📌
21. Switch to a Cheaper Phone Plan
Phone bills are sneaky little money traps.
You pay for features you never use and “unlimited” data you don’t need.
Meanwhile, cheaper carriers offer almost the same service for half the price.
Your texts and memes won’t care which plan delivered them.
Why pay $80+ when $30 does the exact same thing?
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Compare low-cost providers like Mint Mobile and switch to one that matches your actual usage.
22. Cut Back on Impulse Purchases
Impulse buys feel good for about 5 minutes.
Then regret kicks in when you realize you don’t even need that random gadget.
Stores literally design layouts to trick you into grabbing extra stuff.
The only way to win is to stop falling for it.
Your bank account will love you for saying “no” more often.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Wait 24 hours before buying anything unplanned and see if you still want it the next day.
23. Do Simple Repairs Yourself
Calling a repair service for every little issue burns through cash.
Most simple fixes can be done with a quick YouTube tutorial.
Leaky faucet? Loose chair leg? Easy stuff you can handle yourself.
And trust me, you’ll feel like a legend when you fix something without paying $100.
DIY repairs save money and give you bragging rights.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Search “how to fix [your problem]” on YouTube and follow a simple step-by-step guide.
24. Carpool or Share Rides with Friends
Driving solo every day is basically throwing money out the window.
Gas, tolls, and parking fees add up fast.
Sharing rides splits those costs and saves everyone cash.
Plus, carpooling is way more fun when you’re not stuck in traffic alone.
You save money and maybe even your sanity.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Coordinate with coworkers or friends using apps like Waze Carpool or just rotate driving days.
25. Shop Secondhand for Clothes and Furniture
Why pay full price for something that loses value the moment you buy it?
Thrift stores, consignment shops, and online marketplaces are full of steals.
Half the time, secondhand clothes still have the tags on them.
And furniture? You’d be shocked at the gems people sell for cheap just to clear space.
It’s budget-friendly and way more unique than anything mass-produced.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Check thrift shops, Facebook Marketplace, or Poshmark before buying new. You’ll save a ton and find hidden treasures.
26. Reuse and Repurpose Instead of Replacing
Throwing things out just because they look “old” is a cash killer.
That glass jar could be storage.
That old T-shirt could be a cleaning cloth.
Repurposing stretches your money further and keeps you from constantly buying replacements.
It’s basically free creativity with a side of savings.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Before tossing something, ask if it can be reused. Like turning jars into containers or old towels into rags.
27. Skip Brand-New Tech and Buy Refurbished
New gadgets drop every year, and people rush to upgrade like their lives depend on it.
The kicker? Last year’s model does 99% of the same stuff.
Refurbished tech saves you hundreds without losing performance.
And no one’s going to judge you because your phone isn’t the “latest.”
Your bank balance will thank you louder than any software update ever could.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Buy certified refurbished electronics from trusted sellers like Amazon Renewed or Apple’s official store.
Hi! I’m the founder of Money Vice and a passionate personal finance enthusiast. I started this site to help people across America save more with the least difficulty, get rid of debt, and to start putting their money to work (in the easiest way possible).
