- Be a safe driver. Stop speeding and observe traffic rules and you won't have to worry about a costly ticket. I am being super careful on my errands today and when I am driving around town in general. You can even save money on your car insurance if you get an app that tracks your driving (probably something like Life360 where it can track your quick acceleration and hard braking).
- Buckle up and make sure your passengers are also properly buckled. This applies to making sure your kids are buckled properly in your vehicle. In my state, it can be $60 per ticket plus court costs if your kid is not in the proper booster or car seat so make sure you know the rules.
- Get the Ibotta app! You get cash back in the form of PayPal cash or gift cards when you buy specific products! I recently received a Pillsbury pie crust to bake a pie and take a survey and there was $15 in my account! Check out my post here.
- Forget drinks out and take your own. I don't drink much alcohol so that's not what I'm talking about here! What I mean is when I go somewhere I might normally take a $5 coffee to, instead I am taking a huge container of strawberry watermelon Crystal Light, which cost me pennies. Bonus: WAY fewer calories, which helps me to ...
- ... reach my Weight Watchers goal faster. I pay $50 per month for my WW plan and ActiveLink subscription (tracks activity) but the faster I hit my lifetime weight goal, the faster I pay ZERO for the plan! YES! Once I reach my goal, I maintain for six weeks then I can attend meetings and weigh in for FREE for the rest of my life! (update: I don't pay for any weight loss program anymore at all)
- Grab the Honey app on your phone/computer (click the referral link then Unlock your gift from Kerrie). I only use it on my home computer and it pops up to give me Honey Gold when I buy things all sorts of places, like Amazon and eBay, among many others. I get coupons from them applied instantly and also bank Honey Gold, which translates into gift cards and cash.
- I recently discovered Fetch Rewards as a phone app. I buy products that are featured that I normally would purchase, snap a receipt, and get points which translate into gift cards (comes in handy at Christmastime when those translate into Amazon gift cards). Didn't buy a featured product? No problem. You still get 25 points for a regular receipt to places like grocery stores and gas stations. Grab the app in the app store and use my referral code, please: MJNYQ. Thank you!
- Swagbucks is a great way to bank gift cards and PayPal money taking surveys, watching videos and purchasing things online that you normally would. Also check out the Fetch app on your smartphone and use my referral code MJNYQ — we'll BOTH get a bonus!
- I did a post about Scribd for only $8.99 per month (I believe the cost has gone up since I posted this originally but it's still a great deal vs. Audible, whose "free library" is very sparse) because it saves my family big-time on library fines. We devour books and audiobooks around here, so it's been a huge money-SAVER to spend that each month and save $30+ on library fines on paper books (or often the library doesn't have the audiobook we want). It also saves me time searching online for books, putting them on hold, driving to pick them up and driving to return them.
BONUS! You can sign up on Fiverr.com using my referral code and start your side hustle!
Some of the above were replaced, so I've put the originals below:
10. Eat at home. I'd love to head to KFC for lunch or get some other fast food for my family, but that simple act during lunch adds up to over $30. Instead, we had sandwiches made with Aldi wheat bread (Fit and Active), sliced cheese and deli turkey I got on sale.
11. Ditch the gym membership. I love walking at the park where I take my kids to play with their friends. I walk in the mornings, evenings or at the park for FREE and get a great workout. Add some 5-pound weights in at bedtime while we pray as a family and I am getting fit for free!
12. Forget expensive beauty treatments. $30 manicures and pedicures, $75 hair color, haircuts ... and more. I ignore my fingernails, paint my own toenails, and even cut my own hair. I realize this is not possible for everyone, but if you have long hair and a simple hairstyle, just ponytail it, bend over, and CUT. FREE. Box color at the grocery store is a great option for coloring your own hair at home if you simply must.
Some of the above were replaced, so I've put the originals below:
10. Eat at home. I'd love to head to KFC for lunch or get some other fast food for my family, but that simple act during lunch adds up to over $30. Instead, we had sandwiches made with Aldi wheat bread (Fit and Active), sliced cheese and deli turkey I got on sale.
11. Ditch the gym membership. I love walking at the park where I take my kids to play with their friends. I walk in the mornings, evenings or at the park for FREE and get a great workout. Add some 5-pound weights in at bedtime while we pray as a family and I am getting fit for free!
12. Forget expensive beauty treatments. $30 manicures and pedicures, $75 hair color, haircuts ... and more. I ignore my fingernails, paint my own toenails, and even cut my own hair. I realize this is not possible for everyone, but if you have long hair and a simple hairstyle, just ponytail it, bend over, and CUT. FREE. Box color at the grocery store is a great option for coloring your own hair at home if you simply must.
*originally written September 2015
