Top 10 ways to save money when your budget is tight.

Saving money when money is tight. Everyone has been in that tough position whether it is for a short period of time, or for a longer time.  Whether you need it right now or want to file this away for the future, let’s look at 10 ways to save money on a tight budget. 

Sticking to a budget is hard.

Everyone runs into times when their budget is tight. It may be for a month, or it may be for a much longer period. Either way, give yourself grace while you are navigating this difficult time. 

You may make mistakes, overspend on something, forget to record something in your budget, or just have a moment where you buy something that is not in your budget. 

It happens. Don’t beat up on yourself for the mistake. Acknowledge it, see if there is anything you can do to make it better, and then get back on track with saving money and sticking to your budget. 

Mistakes happen, but they are not going to ruin you. Stopping your budgeting and saving money efforts may ruin you.

Let’s get to the tips to save money!

Know where every dollar is going. 

In order to know where every dollar is going, you need to have some system in place to track your spending. This could be done in various ways:

• An app like Mint or You Need a Budget
• A spreadsheet and you manually track your spending
• The cash method is where you use cash for any spending that is not a “fixed bill”. 

Any of the options can work great for you. The main thing to know is that you need one that you will use! Having the best tracking app on your phone is fine, but if you never take the time to categorize your purchases or review your spending, then there is no point.  You can’t know ways to save money on a tight budget when you don’t know what your budget is! 

No spending besides necessities.

What is the bare minimum you need to survive? Have you come up with your bare-bones budget?  Any purchases you make that are not for your bare-bones basic survival, need to be set aside until a later time when your finances are more stable. 

Cut your food cost to the basics and eat only home-prepared meals. 

Yes, this means no take-out, fast food, or coffee out. Get a thermos at the thrift store, and pack your lunches. There are several budget-friendly cooking websites out there that can help you cook creative dishes with low-cost ingredients. My favorite is Budget bytes.

Make a shopping list each week. Stick to that list, and plan out how you will do the best cooking at home. Some people prefer a once-a-week meal planning cooking event, others prefer to cook small amounts each night. 

Personally, I am in the middle and usually cook a full meal 2-3 times a week. I then mix leftovers with some basic meals I keep on hand like salads and wraps. 

Look for items you no longer use to sell.

If there are things that you don’t use or need, look for ways to sell them to get a little extra cash. Are there clothes you have in good condition, household decorations, furniture, or storage that you are no longer using? List them on Facebook marketplace and let the cash roll in! 

Find cheap/free things to do with friends.

Entertainment can be one of the largest expenses in people’s budgets. They are the kind of costs that just sort of slip through your fingers in a month. Be on guard for these sneaky costs to keep them out of your monthly spending! When a friend asks to do something, be prepared with a few lower-cost ideas to spend time with them like:

• Hiking
• Potluck dinner/movie night
• Volunteer together
• Explore a park or downtown area
• Evening in on someone’s balcony or rooftop patio
• Boardgame night at home
• Check your community calendar for free events 
• Do a free Youtube workout class together. Yoga in the park anyone?
• Watch the sunset or stargaze
• Start a book club
• DIY home spa night

Looking for ways to save money also forces you to be a little more creative! No drinks with friends for the 50th time this month! Your friends will be impressed with the creative experiences you come up with (and their budget will probably appreciate it too).

Housing is usually people’s largest expense.

How can you reduce your housing costs since it is usually people’s largest expense? Consider if you can do any of the following:

• Add a roommate to split the costs.
• Use short-term rental options like Airbnb to rent out part of your place (even if it’s just the couch for 20 bucks a night) people are looking for low-cost places to stay. Even 5 nights a month can get you an extra $100.  
• Move to a cheaper place.
• Reduce any of your associated living costs, Like insurance, utilities, or parking. 

After housing, transportation is often the next largest expense. 

How can you lower your vehicle or public transportation cost? 

• Shop around for cheaper insurance
• Drive less, walk more to reduce the amount of gas you use
• Keep up on vehicle maintenance to avoid any large repair bills. 
• Consider a monthly transit pass rather than paying per ride if you use transit frequently. 

Go through your credit card and bank account looking for subscriptions.

Unsubscribe to any subscriptions that are not absolutely vital. Recurring subscriptions are sneaky little money vampires. They start as just a few bucks a month, and after a year, can end up totaling 50 or hundreds of dollars spent. 

If you identify subscriptions, verify the subscription is necessary and there is not a cheaper, non-subscription method you can use to replace them. 

Identify a debt you can focus on paying off quickly to gain a little more room in your monthly budget.

Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball method is great at helping with this!

Part of knowing where your money is going is being aware of the current debts you have. Make a list. I know this is painful, but you need to know and face it head-on. 

Write down each debt you are paying monthly. The payment amount, Interest rate, and how much longer you will be making payments for (or when is the payoff date). From there, identify the smallest debt, or the one which will be paid off first, and make a plan to pay it off faster. 

Once you have paid the smallest or first one-off, then take the payment from it, and the extra you are paying, and start paying off the 2nd smallest. You can read more about this method in a post here. 

The last tip!

The final tip number ten is to find a way to increase your income. 

This is the most important tip on the list. Cutting expenses works to an extent, but at some point, there are no expenses left to cut. The ultimate solution is to increase your income in some way. This could be through a higher paying job or working a 2nd job or side hustle. 

There are tons of ways out there to make extra money. Be cautious you don’t get caught in a scam. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is! Here is a post from a reputable site with 25 suggestions to get you started. 

A tight budget will only get better if you are able to expand it a bit and that comes through growing your income. There are only so many ways to save money on a tight budget, then you start cutting too far and it becomes unsustainable.

You got this! 

Living life on a tight budget can be tough. But you are tougher! Make your plan, stick to your budget, and find ways you can still live and enjoy life. 

What have you learned through tough times that have helped you to get through it? Are there ways to save money on a tight budget that I missed? Add them down in the comments or over on our Instagram page! 

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