What We’re Doing To Save $12,500+ A Year

Are you looking for ways to increase your savings? I’m sharing a list of the most impactful changes to make in order to increase your savings.

With increased savings, you can put that money toward things like an emergency fund, house downpayment, credit card debt, and so many other things!

Best ways to make extra money now

• Sell printables – Selling printables is the #1 side hustle to make money. This can be done on your own schedule and turn into passive income! You can earn over $10,000 a year selling printables.
• Sell dog treats – Make $1,000+ selling dog treats from the comfort of your home. One of the most successful side hustles right now!
• Proofreading – Earn $20+ an hour proofreading from home. Be your own boss and set your own schedule.
• Surveys – Make money filling out surveys. You can take as many surveys as you want and earn up to $5 per survey.

Here’s what we’re doing to save $12,500+ a year.

Switched to Mint Mobile

Even though our T-Mobile bill was only $112 for three people, I kept hearing from family members that they were only paying $15 per person with different carriers.

I did some research and found out Mint Mobile charges as low as $15 a month, and they even use the same cell phone towers as T-Mobile. Ugh! That was the final straw for me, I wasn’t going to pay more for the same thing. 

Mint Mobile is a wireless company with plans starting as low as $15 a month which is what I decided to go with.

You get to choose how much data you want which is not common with popular wireless carriers. This is where the savings really come in.

We’re saving almost $800+ a year as a family. Our rate is locked in so when you do the math, if we each live another 50 years, we’ll save over $40,000 just for switching cell phone carriers.

Savings: $800+/annually

Read this: Mint Mobile Seriously Honest Review

Ditched pest control service

We used to pay for pest control to come to our house and spray. After reconsidering it, we decided to eliminate this service and if pests become a problem, we’ll do it ourselves.

Savings: $420 a year 

Bought a house way below what we got approved for

When we got approved for a mortgage loan, we knew we’d be approved for way more than we need.

I don’t remember the exact number, but it was in the $500,000 range and that’s when our income was half of what it is now.

We bought a house that we love but was also in the budget. 

Savings: Thousands 

Budget

I use the EveryDollar app to budget all of my finances in our household.

I used to hate budgeting but now I cannot imagine not doing it. I check our budget every 3 days or so to make sure we’re on track with finances. 

There are so many ways to budget including apps, printables, excel sheets, planners, and cash envelopes. I used all of those until I figured out I enjoy using an app the most. 

Savings: $800+/annually

Investments are automated

401(k) and HSA is contributed to automatically as if the money never existed.

My husband’s 401(k) and HSA is automatic and taken before we get any paychecks.

We contribute the full amount to both of those. Any leftover money after bills goes straight to IRA’s and brokerage accounts.

Savings: Thousands

I go to a salon school for services

Whenever I want to get a facial or my nails done, I visit a local salon school. Regular cost of nails at the salon school range in the $20 area and you are not allowed to tip at these salon schools. Facials are in the $30 range. 

They even have Groupons listed so I triple my savings by buying a Groupon, using a coupon for Groupon, and sometimes my credit card even has cash back for Groupon.

I know, super confusing but I love coupon stacking. 

For example, I recently got my nails done and a facial.

This is regularly priced at the salon school for $50, but I had a Groupon, coupon for Groupon, and used a credit card that was currently doing cash back for Groupon. So I ended up only spending $20 for both a pedicure, manicure, and a facial. 

Salon schools typically offer things like massages, facials, haircuts, hair color, nails, and so on.

I personally don’t feel comfortable getting my haircut at these places, so I have a person outside of the salon school I go to for that. 

Savings: $30 each time 

We paid off all debt

We made a strict plan to pay off all debt including credit cards and student loans.

Since we no longer carry balances on any of this debt, we no longer pay interest fees.

My husband had over $60,000 in student loan debt and we paid it all off during the pandemic, which happened to be the period where there they stopped charging interest on student loans. We got really lucky. 

Savings: $1000+

All bonuses and raises go to savings/investments

Any time my husband receives a bonus or raise, we put that extra money toward our savings and investments.

Our cost of living doesn’t increase. We make good use of any extra money by saving or investing it.

If you’re not sure how to invest for retirement, check out the course Build Wealth by Investing in Index Funds. This course makes investing easy and simple and everything is explained in a way where a 10 year old would understand it.

Savings: Thousands 

Side hustles

I’m a huge side hustler because I love multiple sources of income going into my bank account. I prefer this because I don’t want to just rely on one source of income. 

Some of my side hustles I do now or in the past include:

• Sell printables – #1 recommended side hustle for people looking for a low-stress way to earn passive income from home.
• Pinterest Virtual Assistant – Help businesses shine on Pinterest as a Pinterest manager. Create your own schedule, work for yourself, and work from anywhere in the world.
• Sell dog treats – Make up to $2,500 a month selling dog treats with this fun side hustle perfect for people who love dogs.
• Proofreading – Earn $20+ an hour proofreading from home. Be your own boss and set your own schedule.
• Surveys – Make money for answering simple questions. You can take as many surveys as you want and earn up to $5 per survey.
• Bookkeeping – Start your own virtual bookkeeping business and earn up to $80,000 a year from home.

Savings: $1000+

Read this: How I Make Over $10,000/Month With These 4 Side Hustles

I use Honey for coupon savings

If you’re doing any kind of shopping online, you need to use Honey.

Honey finds the best coupons online for you so you don’t have to go searching for them. With just one click, you can get the most savings on any online purchase.

For example, I was shopping on Petco for dog food and Honey found me a 20% off coupon.

Join Honey here and start saving.

Savings: $50+

We use a fully paid off car

I paid off my car after about a year of having it, so not only did I save a ton of money on interest but I’ve had a fully paid off car for several years now.

We could easily afford a fancy new car but we purposely decide to stick with our current car which is a reliable Toyota Corolla.

We plan on keeping this car until it’s on its last leg and no longer running.

Savings: Thousands 

We don’t use cable

I’ve never paid for cable in my life.

When I first moved out on my own, Netflix was becoming quite popular and that’s all I paid for. Currently, we only pay for Disney+, Hulu, and Paramount+.

We got a Hulu Black Friday deal for $1 (FYI this deal seems to pop up every Black Friday). We’ll most likely get rid of Disney+ and Paramount+ since we watched the new shows/movies we wanted to see. 

Savings: $500+

We maximize savings with insurance company

Did you know you can get major discounts with your insurance company?

For example, there are driver discounts for good drivers, teens who get good grades, people who have taken a driving class, and so much more.

State Farm even has a beacon discount where you put a beacon inside your vehicle and the beacon grades your driving. The higher your grade, the better your discount. 

If you have State Farm, check out all of the discounts you may be eligible for.

Savings: $100+

I use Rakuten for cash back

Whenever you do your regular shopping, make sure you’re using Rakuten.

Rakuten is a cash back service that is completely free to use and has the potential to save you hundreds of dollars a year. 

For example, I recently shopped at Petsmart online and got a percentage cash back from my purchase just by using Rakuten. You are missing out on savings if you’re not using Rakuten while shopping online.

Sign up for Rakuten here.

Savings: $100+

Brew my own coffee at home

I love making coffee at home and was never huge into going out for coffee every single day.

I make my own coffee using an AeroPress which is also great for camping.

I purchase all of my coffee beans in bulk or in the clearance section at my grocery store. Making coffee should be a fun process so tweak your set up and make it something you enjoy.

Savings: $100+ a month

Emergency fund sits in a HYSA

We store our emergency fund in a high yield savings account with Ally.

I love using Ally Bank and always recommend it to others. Their checking and savings account is one of the best because of the added free features like sinking funds (they call it Buckets) which lets you organize your money and visualize what you’re saving for.

So your buckets could look something like this:

Total of $20,000 in the savings account

Bucket #1: Emergency fund $10,000

Bucket #2: Wedding fund $5,000

Bucket #3: Annual medical and dental expenses $3,000

Bucket #4: Vacation $2,000

Ally savings account have ZERO maintenance fees and no minimums. The current APY is 2.25% which is insane considering most savings accounts are .17% (laughable). 

Savings: $50+

I ditched Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime currently costs $139 a year. Not only that, knowing I was paying for it made me want to buy stuff all the time because of the convenience of getting it shipped the next day.

I even went through my Amazon orders to check how much stuff I’ve bought and if I still use the things I’ve purchased.

For a lot of the stuff, I’ve forgotten about it and no longer use it. I buy a lot less stuff now. 

Savings: $139+ a year

Key takeaways

We found so many ways to save money. I hope at least one of these money saving tips helped you. 

• Switched to Mint Mobile
• Ditched pest control service
• Bought a house way below what we got approved for
• Budget
• Investments automated
• Salon school for services
• Paid of all debt
• Credit card hacking 
• Extra money goes toward savings
• Side hustles
• Honey for coupons
• Use the same car we’ve had for years 
• Rakuten for cash back
• No cable
• Maximize savings with insurance company
• Brew our coffee at home
• Emergency fund in high yield savings account
• Ditched Amazon Prime