In my post, Money Saving Tips, for your Big Trip – Part 1, I shared that we love to take trips and needed to start saving money for our passion. With that in mind, I did some research and found some of the best ways to cut our expenses, thus helping us save for these precious trips. After doing all this research I figured this might help others wanting to save and be able to take their family on a summer vacation this year. I found 18 money saving tips that can help make these trips possible. There is a lot of information, so I decided the break up the list into 3 separate posts. Here is Part 2 of my 3-Part Saving Money Tips Series. This post shares tips 7-12.
7 – Cut down on salon and spa costs
There are some people who will say this is not a place to talk about saving, and that no one should be going to a spa anyway if they are trying to save money. What this is about is such things as haircuts, waxing, nail care, etc. If you can stretch the time between some of these, or do some yourself, it can save you a lot of money. Doing them at home will not only save you on the service, but it will also save you from shelling out a tip. You could also try going to a beauty school where they are usually cheaper because they are still in training.
8 – Visit your local library or Rent E-Books
I am an avid reader and do not have enough money or space for all the books I read in a month. Not to say I don’t ever splurge and buy books (especially of my favorite author), but I will go and read a bunch of books from my local library or rent e-books from the library. I also will share kindle books with family and friends. It saves so much space and money.
9 – Go for take-out
We are a typical busy couple with sometimes difficult schedules and don’t leave a lot of time for home-cooked meals. Thus unfortunately we do eat out a lot. However, we are trying to save so more often than not we will just grab fast food and try to get healthier options. Doing Fast food may not be as nice as a sit-down restaurant, but it is obviously cheaper and saves you from having to give a tip. I am a huge pizza fan, so this is also something we grab often when eating out. We don’t usually order something to be delivered, but if you do, you might want to consider picking it up instead. It will save you in delivery fees, and again save you on forking out a tip. Thanks to a reader she reminded me that eating out at lunch is a lot cheaper than dinner. Plus, if you skip the soda and get water, it will be even less expensive. Hey, every dollar saved is a dollar earned, right? Thank you Alice at Alice’s Grand Adventures for that reminder. 🙂
10- Cut coupons
Cutting coupons has never really been my thing. I usually don’t have the patience, but I have seen how much people can save and I have recently started using coupons and can see a small difference. It might not be a lot, but it does help out. Some of the grocery stores are even doing digital coupons that you just load onto your account and are used when you scan your shoppers’ cards. It’s quick, easy, and efficient. I like it better than clipping coupons each week. Our church also has a program where they get money for the school based on the dollar amounts we spend each visit. It’s free money for them and we are glad to help the school fund projects that might not happen because of reserve shortfalls. It’s a win-win.
11- Sign up for freebies and rewards \ credit cards
This is one of my favorite ways for saving money. We have several reward accounts set up with various airlines, hotels, etc. Every once in a while we will receive a free night, or flight, etc It definitely helps. We also save money on gas by shopping at grocery stores that give us a discount at the pump. That helps A LOT!. Don’t forget about frequent diner cards you can get at certain restaurants that will give you a free meal etc after the 10th visit. However, the biggest award we utilize is a money-back credit card from AAA Travel Credit Card. I use this credit card for everything I can, but make sure to only charge items I can pay off by the end of the month. Like I said we filter everything we can through this card and usually get a nice amount of money back each month. It goes right into our travel fund. It’s surprising how fast it can add up. Make sure to get a reward credit card if you want to earn some free money. Just make sure to pay it off at the end of the monthly cycle or you will be paying obnoxious fees in interest charges.
12 – Make staying in fun
Like most people, we like to go out and have dinner and drinks with friends but that, as you know, can add up quickly. Instead, how about having a fun game night, or dinner and a movie. Each couple can bring a game, or a snack to eat while watching the movie, etc. You can make it fun and not feel like you are missing out. I say the more people the better. 🙂
So what do you think of these first 6 ideas? Are there any that you are doing? If so, are they helping? Thanks in advance for any comments. Here is a link to my post – Saving Money Tips for Your Big Trip – Part Three of Three if you want to see all 18.
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Eating out is a big expenditure. I will be starting a habit of saving money starting NOW, not for trips, but simply to save for eventual retirement. I’ll probably work for the next 5 years. Thanks for the tips.
Great tips! I am known as the Coupon Queen and hubby always warns shoppers not to get behind me because of my stack of coupons. Now with the digital coupons it’s even easier but I watch the cashier like a hawk to make sure I get my extra 25 cents off an item. LOL I also wrote a blog about credit cards, I never leave home without mine. I never pay an annual fee for a card and I use the cash back option. Always pay entire balance when statement arrives and we get a hefty check at the end of the year. Looking forward to your next set of tips!
HI Martha, love it. That check is really nice to get at the end of the year or period (however you do it). It is also nice if you get it near Christmas time if money is short.
These are all great tips. It’s so easy to spend money in meaningless ways and finding ways to save a little here and a little there is awesome.
We love to travel and as soon as I read, “cut down on salon and spa”, I knew that I would not enjoy this post LOL. They sound like good tips and I am grateful that all I have to do is take on an extra client for those times travel is not in the regular budge.
lol Rachel. Thanks for the message. I liked it and your positive attitude. Thanks for sharing.
What great ideas for saving money. Here is one more. If you like to go out to eat, it’s less expensive to go out for lunch than for dinner. You’ll find many of the same foods, but the price will definitely be lower. Also, if you drink water, you can save a good deal of money.
Hi Alice, great suggestion. I have updated my post with your comment 🙂 Appreciate your message and thank you for helping make my post better. 🙂 Happy travels to you.
These are great ideas! One warning: I have found that in Phoenix, the cost of take-out or even fast food has escalated so much, that relaxing in our favorite Mexican restaurant is only a couple of dollars more. Delivery can be expensive here, too. I find having frozen GF pizza and a packet of pepperoni stored here is the least expensive quick delight. Also, I have an air popper for popcorn and we can melt real butter over the popcorn. Thanks for a thoughtful post!
Hi Kebba, thank you for the message and the local information. 🙂 I had one of those type air poppers a long time ago but don’t know what happened to it. Do you remember the old Jiffy Pop? Now that was fun. FYI, today’s post talks about popcorn and movies at home. I think that it one of our favorite ways to save money. Thanks again for the comment.