Money Saving Tips & Resources
As an influencer, I know I share a lot of links + products, which encourage spending money, but as someone who was raised frugally and lived that way for a very, very long time, I wanted to share simple ways to save some money during these tough times. I was an avid coupon cutter and I am now going back to that due to the inflation of groceries, utilities and literally everything else. We are blessed that we can put food on the table without thinking twice, but I know that's not the case for the majority of the population. In current times, these $$ saving tips apply to everyone. Just because you have the $$ doesn’t mean you should spend it.
Hope this helps!
Apps + Portals that offer rewards for shopping
I personally have used Rakuten and recently downloaded Fetch and ibotta.
Rakuten -- gives you a percentage back for your shopping when you shop through their portal. This means, you have to go to the app, find the store you want to shop at and purchase online directly through the Rakuten app. They also have a browser widget so you can shop from your computer.
Fetch- I'm still trying to figure this app out, but it rewards you for uploading your receipts. You get points and then can redeem those points. Sign up w/ code JV7GXT & get 2,000 pts
ibotta- I like this app the most so far because it gives you money back (rebates) for groceries. They have different deals on there all the time and all you have to do after shopping is add the deal you want and upload the receipt. Use code fmvgbil to sign up today.
Here is a great article about how to utilize Apps + Portals to save $$ while shopping. Remember — every $1 counts
I also found this tool to compare which apps/cards have the best percentage back at certain stores. It changes from time to time, but a great way to check how to get the most money back from your purchase.
Price Matching - Before and After purchasing
I am all about price matching. I shop at Target a lot and will save a bunch of $$ just by scanning the item on their app and matching to the online price, which has proven to be cheaper many, many times. You can price match in real time as you are buying something and you can also price match after the fact if something you bought lowers in price. There's the standard way, where you are in the "return" window and bring your original receipt back (the paper one) and they refund you the difference. OR sometimes, if a store is giving you a hard time, you repurchase the item at the lower price and then return it with the old receipt that has the higher price on it.
The Krazy Coupon Lady has a great article about price matching here
Grocery Store Apps
This is vital for grocery shopping— grocery stores tends to have coupons and deals that are only on their app. This is also a great way to see what’s on sale at your local grocery store and plan your meals based on those deals. Then you can stack these deals with deals you see on ibotta and get more of a discount.
Couponing
As someone who was an avid double coupon-er, there are sooooo many tricks here to save $$.
Here is a great beginners guide to couponing
And if you already coupon — here’s a great guide to EXTREME couponing
Smart Thermostats
After my last two gas bills, I’ve been trying to learn how to save money on our utilities. Rumor has it that a smart thermometer can really save you $$ in the long run and reduce energy bills by 23%.
We also are now setting our thermostat set to 68 when we are home (versus 72 from before) and down to 60 when we are not home. This will be a lot easier to do with a smart thermometer and I’ll update here how much our gas bill decreases by next month. I haven't tested any yet, but once I do, I will definitely share!
If you utilize multiples of these, you’ll save even more. It takes more mental energy and planning, but I promise you that it adds up quickly.
There are some amazing creators out there sharing ways to save $, loopholes, deals, and all that fun stuff. Here are a few of the accounts I follow and learn from.
