Hey everyone!
Welcome back to Lavendaire.
It's Aileen.
One of my favorite parts of creating your dream life
is having financial freedom and creating financial abundance.
That means having enough money so that you don't have to worry
or stress about how you're going to pay your bills,
having more than enough money so that you can live comfortably and happily.
To make it super simple:
Two ways to make more money is to 1) make more money, or 2) save more money.
So today I've partnered up with Ebates to share
15 ways that you can save more money in your life.
So let's start with 1) Use cash instead of credit cards.
We live in a digital culture where it's so easy to swipe your credit cards,
buy something online, even pay your friends back using your phone,
that we sometimes don't realize how much we are spending.
It just looks like a random number and you're like, "Okay, click click click."
It's super easy.
So using cash instead of using your credit card will help you realize how much you're spending,
and when you see that amount of money in cash,
it just seems like so much more money because of the physical paper.
It just feels more substantial and more real.
Also, when you use cash, you're spending money that you already have.
And when you use credit cards, you're kind of using borrowed money,
money that you don't have to pay at that moment and that can be very dangerous:
making you spend more than you actually have and you can go down that slippery slope
of getting into credit card debt which is the worst type of debt to be in
because it's so high interest and you're just going to be paying so much extra money
that just does not make sense.
It's not smart.
Pay your full credit card bills off, you guys.
2) Write down all of your spending, all of your expenses, on paper.
Take time to look at your past transactions and really keep track of how much you're spending.
See where your money's going.
How much are you spending on food?
How much are you spending on Amazon or groceries?
It can surprise you, and this is your chance to bring awareness to this area
so that you can see where you can start to cut back.
From there you can start to set new budgets for yourself and kind of make it like a game.
See if you can spend maybe $100 less on food this month
or whatever categories you think you might be overspending in.
This brings me to my next point which is 3) Cancel any unnecessary subscriptions.
You might just be subscribed to something that you don’t realize you're subscribed to
or something that you don't use anymore, that you can technically cancel or put on hold.
For example, I realized that I haven't shopped on Thrive Market as much anymore,
so I'm planning on cancelling that annual subscription.
And I also use Audible, but because I've collected so many credits for audiobooks over time,
I realized that I can actually downgrade my plan
into paying every other month for an audiobook, vs. every month.
So that suits me better and it saves me money.
4) Always Google a coupon code.
I can't tell you how many times I've saved money using this trick.
I never check out without Googling for a special promo code first
because I just know that there are so many promos and coupon codes out there.
So for example: There was this YouTube convention last year that was pretty pricey.
Say, the convention was $400 to attend.
I was about to pay that $400 to attend that event, but instead I was like,
"Hm, let me Google this and see if there's any coupon codes out there."
So I ended up finding this guy who was speaking at that event,
and he turned out to have a special code for his followers.
So I just took that code, inputted it, and my ticket came out to be half the price.
So I saved $200 just by a quick Google search.
Tip 5) Use Ebates to get cash back on your purchases.
You can actually get up to 15% cash back when you shop online through Ebates.
If you haven't heard of Ebates, it's the largest cash back site
which partners with over 2500 of the biggest name brands
like Sephora, Amazon, Adidas, Urban Outfitters, even Coursera,
to bring you cash back coupons and promo codes, all for free.
I've been using Ebates since 2015.
I love that it rewards you for shopping at places that you would normally already shop at.
So it's kind of a no-brainer to use.
It feels like free money.
Using Ebates is super easy.
I personally like to use the Google Chrome extension
so that whenever I'm doing some online shopping,
then there will be a pop-up letting me know if that shop has Ebates Cash Back.
So there's just a button that says "Activate Cash Back".
You click it and you're good to go.
You can also get cash back by shopping through the Ebates website.
When you go on the website, there are tons of brands.
You just click through it and then you'll be on the road to getting cash back that way as well.
If you want to sign up for Ebates, you can click that first link in my description box
for a $10 welcome bonus after you join for free, and there's also a giveaway.
So click that second link if you want to enter
my $100 Visa gift card giveaway, cosponsored by Ebates.
So you must be an Ebates member and subscribed to my channel to enter.
But it's free money.
How exciting, right?
Now for the sixth way to save more money: 6) Start building an emergency fund.
An emergency fund is a sum of money that is about 3-6 months-worth of your expenses.
So calculate your average monthly expenses and times that by 3-6.
It just depends on whatever number makes you feel good,
whatever number lets you sleep at night.
That is your emergency fund to dip into whenever there is an emergency.
The way you start building this is to make a plan
to start setting deposits to that emergency fund.
You can make this automatic, or it doesn't have to be automatic.
Start to consciously think of ways to save that money,
and then actively transfer it to your emergency fund.
Trust me, once you start thinking about it, the ideas will come and before you know it,
you'll be on the way to building that emergency fund safety net and you'll be good to go.
7) Schedule your shopping allowance.
This is a way to limit your shopping habits.
So instead of shopping whenever you feel like it
or whenever you're bored, set a schedule for your shopping.
Allow yourself to buy clothes once every other month or once every three months.
Maybe every quarter when there's a new season, that's your opportunity to start shopping.
Whatever, you make up the rules that work for you.
What you can do is start adding items to your shopping list.
Just use any list-making app,
and write down things that you want to buy as you think of them.
Don't buy them right then.
Just put them on your list like, "Oh, I need new socks," or "a new blender".
Put these all in your list and schedule a day in your calendar to let yourself shop.
That will help control any impulse buying.
And it will help you be a more calculated and planned-out shopper.
8) Wait it out.
So if you don't like the previous tip on scheduling your shopping allowance,
you can also apply this tip to "Wait it out".
Give yourself 14-30 days after you want to buy something to actually buy it.
This also helps curb that shopping impulse, if you don't do any impulsive shopping.
So when you want to buy something –
say you want to buy a new camera or a new laptop – really sit on it.
Don't buy it immediately.
Take your time, I would say 14-30 days.
And then after those days, if you still feel like you want to buy it then make your purchase.
That way, you'll make more informed and smart choices.
9) Only buy what you really need and what you'll really use.
I kind of want to counteract the popular belief
that shopping in bulk is a way to save more money.
Yes, in some cases, it is.
But I see a lot of people kind of go overboard with it,
people who like to save money like to buy bulk everything,
like "Let me buy 20 paper towels,"
or all of this toilet paper or all of these hand creams,
all of these bananas, just because they're on sale.
And yes, it might be cheaper per piece, but really think about what you're going to use
and what you really need because if it's food, for example,
I've seen people go crazy with buying a lot of food but the food will eventually expire
and you might not eat it all even though it was cheap.
I've seen my friends buy a lot of hand creams because they're all on sale
and then they think that they're going to keep using those hand creams forever,
but they just forget about them and they become storage and clutter.
So really think about buying what you'll really need, what you'll really use.
Reconsider buying too many things at once.
I just don't think that you always save that much money.
Plus, it's just always better for managing your things.
10) Use your public library.
This is something that I am looking forward to exploring more because when I was growing up,
my mom would take us to the library every week and we used to check out books.
And I really enjoyed that experience, and when I grew older,
I kind of forgot that that public resource was available to us.
I forgot that I could get a library card and check out books
without having to buy them on Amazon or Audible, and that can actually save a lot of money.
Books can get expensive, especially if you like reading.
So consider finding your local library.
See if you can get a library card because most libraries have all the books that you want to read.
And libraries also have DVDs, movies, audiobooks, audiotapes.
They got more than you think.
11) Plan your meals around grocery store sales.
This was a tip that I picked up from a friend recently, and I just never thought about it before.
If you look at your local grocery store, they always have certain items on sale.
Maybe you can find the coupons you get in the mail.
And plan your meals around what's on sale.
My friends invited us over for dinner.
They cooked this steak – and it was a huge steak that they got for like $6.99/lb,
which if you were to order that at a restaurant, it'd be like $50-60.
And it was because that steak was on sale and they shopped based on what was on sale.
And they were like, "Oh yeah, come over next time!"
And then we asked, "Oh, what should we cook?"
And they're like, "I don't know, whatever's on sale that week!"
So I was like, "Oh! That's actually pretty smart."
And I think that's a tip that you guys can start trying out and let me know how it goes.
12) Buy used instead of new.
This is a common tip, but I think there are a lot of used things that we don't typically realize is used.
For example: If you look on Poshmark, there's a lot of makeup palettes
and things like that that aren't really used –
they're just opened and the people don't use them –
so they resell them on Poshmark for a lot cheaper.
I personally bought a lot of things new and realized that I didn't like it or need it,
but I wasn't able to return it, so I just sold it on Poshmark
for a lot cheaper than I got it and it was better for both parties
because it's new but it's cheap for the customer,
and I didn't need it anymore and I still made some of my money back.
So whether you're on either ends of that spectrum,
you can definitely save money by buying used or selling something that you don't use anymore.
13) Make your own vs. buying.
DIY whatever you can.
Usually DIY does save you money.
In some cases, you spend more money trying to DIY things,
buy just to put it super simply: cooking at home,
making your own food vs. buying your own food.
Making your own clothes if you're so talented at sewing vs. buying clothes.
Making whatever you think you can.
Personally for me, I like making hand soaps, cleaner sprays, things with essential oils.
That's because I'm more comfortable with that realm.
But I've definitely made clothes for myself.
I've definitely made a lot of random DIYs.
Artwork, I've DIYed.
There's a lot of ways you can get creative if you're willing to put in the work yourself.
14) Learn to cut or do your own hair.
You can save a lot of money from going to the hair salon by just cutting your own hair,
whether it's trimming your own bangs or doing a full chop.
There are so many YouTube videos teaching you how to cut your hair, how to layer it evenly.
Or if you're not comfortable with that, you can always ask a friend to help do it for you.
Personally, for the past 4 or 5 years, I've dyed my own hair.
I would bleach it, I would tone it, put color in it.
So I learned all of that myself, just through looking up hair forums and YouTube tutorials.
This is my first year of letting someone else do my hair
because I'm luckily more financially abundant,
I can pay for someone to do my hair so I don't have to mess up my own hair.
But for a good amount of years, I was doing it myself and saving so much money.
I still tone my own hair and color my own hair too.
The only thing I get done is the bleach because that's tough to do yourself in the back.
For example: Toning my hair at home costs like $10,
just using the products I can buy off Amazon.
Toning my hair at a hair salon costs $100,
so you can see how much money I save just by toning my hair myself.
I cut my bangs myself.
I tone and color it.
I still do a lot of those things myself.
My last tip for today is to get social and
15) Swap with a friend, whether you want to swap clothing, swap books, swap –
I don't know – a vacuum?
Cleaning supplies?
Whatever you can swap, lend out, borrow, do that with a friend
so that you don't have to buy everything for yourself.
You can save so much money by sharing items that you don't normally use every single day.
That could also be a great opportunity to bond with friends
and get to know them on a deeper level because you're sharing the same things,
always calling each other up, sharing your styles.
It could be so much fun.
Alright, I hope you liked this video on 15 ways to save more money.
Definitely, definitely share your tips on how to save money down below in the comments.
I want to learn new tricks, new tips and strategies to save money.
So feel free to share!
I will see you guys next time, and don't forget to click the link down below to try out Ebates.
And also enter that giveaway for the $100 Visa gift card.
I love you guys so much.
See you next time.
Bye!