5 Small Changes That Help You Save Big Money

When it comes to saving money, we often “discount” the little things (Yep. That was a pun). Most people don’t really believe that changing a few weekly habits could actually make it possible for them to pay off their mortgage, take a dream vacation, or save toward another great, big goal.

But, that just isn’t true. As you’ll see, when it comes to frugal habits, it’s often the small things that make the biggest difference.

In this post, I’ll cover five small, easy changes you can make today that could save you thousands of dollars in a year.

Watch the Video

For an in-depth look at which small changes will make the biggest impact on your goals, watch this video.

1. Eat Out Less

Hang onto your hat! A study from PopMenu recently revealed that the average American family not only ate out more in 2022, even though restaurant costs went up significantly.

Fifty percent of those surveyed shelled out an average of $500 a month on eating out.

On the surface, $125 a week or $500 a month doesn’t seem so bad. Yet, when you do the math and multiply it by twelve months, you’ll quickly find that your restaurant habit is costing you $6,000 a year.

How much will you save?

That means, if you cut your eating out expenses by two-thirds, you could save $4500 in the next year.

2. Do a Grocery Receipt Audit

Fifteen years ago, I was feeding three hungry boys and I was pregnant with our fourth child. I was constantly overspending our food budget. 

I, honestly, thought I was doing everything I could to cut our expenses. 

But, one day (almost on a whim) I decided to try something new. I called it a grocery receipt audit. 

After arriving home from shopping I looked carefully at each item I had purchased. 

• Was it junk food?
• Was it necessary?
• Was it full price?
• Was it on the list?
• Could I have gotten it cheaper elsewhere?

The entire grocery receipt audit took me less than five minutes. 

Yet, after a few weeks, it helped me became aware of flaws in my my grocery-shopping habits. 

I began consciously questioning each item that went into my cart. 

As a result, I made simple changes like buying cheaper (and healthier) options for less money than I had been paying for the overpriced or unnecessary items which had previously been in my cart.

As an end result, I was able to cut my food bills by twenty percent.

We recently received an email from a YouTube viewer about how much money she saved with her first audit. With a couple of quick, easy changes to her buying habits she realized she would save over $400 a year.

Here’s what she said about the effect of doing a grocery audit. “I realized that $5 a week on anything adds up to $260 a year that I began to seriously question each item I buy. I’ve cut out a few $5 bad habits.”

How much does the average American family of four spend on food?

According to the USDA, the average grocery budget for a family should be about $1000 for those on a “thrifty plan”. If you follow less-strict buying habits, you will spend nearly $1600 a month on the USDA’s Liberal Food Plan. These food plans include two adults between the age of 20-50 and two grade school age children.

Okay, let’s do some simple math. At these prices you’ll spend $12,000 a year for the thrifty plan and $19,200 a year for the liberal plan.

How much will you save?

Accepting the numbers given to us by the USDA as the norm for the average family, by simply cutting your weekly grocery bills by twenty percent, you’ll save between $2400 and $3800 a year – just from the one, simple, 5-minute weekly task of auditing your grocery receipts.

3. Cancel Cable TV

Since we’ve never paid for cable in our 35 years of marriage, we were honestly shocked when a YouTube viewer wrote us that when she cancelled her cable subscription, she saved $200 a month!

Yet, US News and World Report recently verified an average price range of $31 to over $200 when cable is bundles with other services, like phone and internet. However, the stated price of services does not include a whole host of additional fees and taxes.

The article pointed out that part of the problem is that cable companies generally lure new customers by offering an introductory price.

Additionally, by offering to bundle your services (such as a TV, internet, and phone), the consumer loses sight of exactly how much each service is costing. Since the hassle of breaking up services into individual pieces overwhelms them, they continue to pay the bundled price, rather than call to get a reduced price package.

How much will you save?

Assuming that you have expanded basic cable and spend $75 a month, cutting the paid TV cord will save you $900 a year.

4. Reduce or Eliminate Meat-based Meals

The average price of a pound of ground beef had risen to $4.81 by the end of 2022. Granted, you could get meat on sale or buy a cheaper type of meat. But, many people do pay full retail price.

If your family is average, you eat around 274 pounds of meat per person per year. For a family of four, that’s over one thousand pounds of meat every year. That means at an average cost of $5 a pound, a family will shell out $5000 a year just on meat.

How much will you save?

Although this cost will vary based on what cuts or type of meat your family eats, consider cutting meat consumption in half. You’ll pocket an average of $2500 dollars a year.

5. Lower Your Electric Usage

The average monthly electric bill across the US is currently about $160 a month. Much depends on your home’s location, size, energy efficiency, and heating/cooling equipment. The average home uses 1100 kilowatts of electricity each month. By using targeted methods to lower our energy usage, our home consumes less than half that amount on average.

Illinois had the fourth largest percentage increase in electricity in 2022, with New Hampshire being the highest. However, we just heard from a Connecticut YouTube viewer that their supply costs will double this month. Meanwhile, a viewer from Sweden reported that their utility bills TRIPLED in just one month. 

The question is: How much money can you save simply by changing the way you use energy. Things like “turning off lights” and lowering your thermostat don’t take long, but over time, they can save you big money. Remember, it’s all about doing the math.

How much will you save?

If your average electric bill is $160 each month and you lower it by 30%, then over the course of a year, you’ll be saving nearly $600 in one year.

Is it possible to save that much money?

Yes! We’ve heard from a lot of viewers and readers, telling us that they have saved money by using the strategies we recommend. 

How Much Money Will You Save?

The grand total the average person will save using these five strategies combined is $10,500.

Let’s just say you aren’t average. You’re like us: You pinch pennies until they hurt before spending them. If you even shave 10% off your regular expenses – then you could have a cool grand extra in your bank account in twelve months.

We truly believe that everyone can make changes which will allow them to spend less and save more.

But, maximizing savings begins with a written monthly budget which actually reflects how much money is coming in … and how much money is going out.

If you’ve tried budgeting in the past, but you’ve given up, our 4-step budgeting method will take you less than 30 minutes to set up.

Ready to Save Even More Money?

Grab our free guide to learn ten ways we reduced our expenses so we could reach great, big goals.