5 Creative ways to save money |

Saving money can be difficult, especially if you are on a tight budget. Sometimes it helps to think of creative and easy ways to save money. Here are some ways to save that are so easy that you won’t even think about it.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.

Open a separate savings account

Most of us that have a bank account have the option of having both a checking and a savings account. It is very easy to transfer funds from your checking account to your savings account, but your savings account funds are still easily accessible. If you are trying to build up some savings, I recommend having a separate online savings account. There are a few different credit card companies or online banking services that have the online bank account option. Some even pay interest, which is an added bonus. You can put money into your online savings at any time, but the easiest way to do it is to set up an automatic transfer from your regular bank account to your online savings account. You can set it up to have money transferred once a month, twice a month, or even once a week. The amount you have transferred is totally up to you. It can be as little as $20 a month, but it will slowly add up over time. You are able to make withdrawals from this account, but you may only be allowed to make a few withdrawals per month. Remember, this is a savings account so that is a good thing.

The online savings account that I use is www.capitalone.com. A Capital One online savings account is easy to set up and use and you don’t have to have a credit card through them. It’s also an interest paying account so that’s an added bonus. I have a small automatic transfer to this account set up for once a month. Whenever we have a little extra money to spare, I transfer it over to this account.

Start a money jar

Another old school way of saving money is putting extra cash in a jar or an empty coffee can. Remember doing that growing up when you wanted to save up for something? This is the grown up way of having a piggy bank.

Several years ago my mom and I wanted to go on a girls trip to Hawaii before I got married. I was busy saving all my extra money for my wedding, but we knew this might be the last chance we’d have in a long time to take this trip. Several months before the trip, my mom made me this savings can with how much money I would need to put in the can each week. She put the date and the amount I needed to put in each time to reach my goal. Over the months it all added up, and when the time came I had enough money to pay for my trip. You can use the savings jar idea to save for pretty much anything. A new car, a vacation, some new furniture, or whatever your heart desires.

There are different and creative ways to save and put money in your savings jar too. If you like to buy coffee drinks from your favorite coffee stand, you could try making your own coffee drinks at home a few times a week instead. Every time you normally would stop by the coffee stand, put $5 into your savings jar. It adds up pretty fast!

Sell your stuff

Another way I put money in my savings can is by selling things I don’t need anymore on local swap and sell sites. There are probably some for your local area on Facebook, or you can also sell your items on sites like Craigslist or OfferUp. I sell my children’s clothing that they’ve outgrown and household items I don’t need anymore. Any money I make from selling my items goes into my savings can.

Use the Ibotta app

The Ibotta app is a way for you to earn cash back on items that you already buy. You simply search for offers from your favorite stores, select the items you will buy, and then take a picture of your receipt once you’ve gone shopping. You will receive your cash back in the app within 24 hours. Once you reach $20 you can transfer your cash to a PayPal account, or to your choice of the gift cards they offer. There are offers from hundreds of grocery and other retail stores and online stores, including Amazon. You can just save your earnings in Ibotta until you are ready to transfer them to a PayPal account, or to a gift card for a store that you were saving up to purchase an item from. You can also transfer your earnings to a gift card to give as a birthday or Christmas present. Click on the link below to download the app. You will earn a $20 bonus just for signing up!

For more info on how the Ibotta app works and why it’s my favorite cash back app check out this blog post:

How to earn money with the Ibotta app

Start a blog

If you need more ways to save money, why not earn some extra money on the side? Blogging is not just a hobby anymore. You can actually turn it into a money-making business and you can blog about pretty much anything these days. How do you make money by blogging? There are many ways including; affiliate marketing, advertising, and sponsored posts, just to name a few. If this all sounds too overwhelming and you think you’re not cut out to start your own blog, do not fear. It’s actually easier than you think. If you’re still not sure where to start, then I highly recommend taking a course. When I was thinking about starting a blog, I took this course called How to Start a Blogging Business. I couldn’t have started my blog without it. This is just one of the many courses on blogging that they offer. If you are interested in starting your own blog, check out this free course.