Ways to Save Money on Everyday Tasks in 2021

• Author: Jacob Greene
• Posted: 2024-08-02

While you go about your daily life, there are many easy ways that you can cut down on your spending and have more money to put away. These range from just being more mindful to planning ahead with your money. Here are some ways to save money while taking care of everyday essential tasks.

Keep Your Car's Tires Adequately Pumped

If you need to drive a car and want to spend less on gas, your solution might not have anything to do with your engine or fuel itself. Driving with underinflated tires can make your engine need to work harder to move the car, which in turn burns more gas. When you fill up at your local gas station, be sure to go to the air machine and pump your tires more often. Many gas stations offer free or low-cost tire pumping capability, so the savings you get on gas from inflating your tires will make a difference. Additionally, having your tires consistently pumped correctly can save you money on maintenance bills and possibly flat tires.

Upgrade Your Light Bulbs

Old incandescent light bulbs do not burn brightly and require a lot of energy to work. Instead of keeping old-fashioned light bulbs in your home, consider replacing them with modern LED versions. These light bulbs are cheap to buy and easy to install. Once you get them working, they will save you a lot of money on your home's energy bill. LED light bulbs are simply a win-win situation. They are brighter than old bulbs and use much less electricity.

Don't Get Manipulated by Store Sales

Stores like to advertise their promotions as limited-time discounts that are urgent to purchase, but unless you do not absolutely need their products, you should not take the bait. These sales are designed to draw people into stores to spend extra money that they do not need to spend. It is very tempting to shop at stores and get carried away with spending during times of discounts, but if you do not take the bait, you will find that your money will go further. If you would not buy items on sale at full price, you should make the judgment not to go out of your way to spend money on it at all.

Buy the Store Brand

The desire to only buy name-brand products in grocery stores is wasteful and unnecessary. There is almost no difference between most store-brand items and their name-brand counterparts besides their label and price. For example, buying store-brand rotini pasta over the box with the fancy name on it will save you a good amount of money. The difference between generic and name-brand products is the distribution and supply chain processes in which they are made and transported. Generic products have fewer middlemen to pay in their supply chain, so buying them consistently will drastically reduce your grocery bills.

Use Public Transit

Though the convenience and privacy of a car are attractive for most people, taking public transportation regularly can save you vast amounts of money. Public transit in most cities is heavily subsidized to make it the most affordable option to use, so taking the bus or train to work will cost much less than driving. Additionally, the time you spend on public transportation is potentially productive, so you can knock some work out before you even arrive. Avoiding pricey gasoline bills and wear and tear on your car is worth taking a few extra minutes by transit.

Don't Drink Bottled Water

Though people may think the health benefits and quality of bottled water are superior to the tap, if you use a proper drinking filter, it is not the case. Bottled water can cost hundreds of times more than the equivalent amount of water you would get out of the sink. Drinking water filters may be expensive up-front, but over time, the savings of not needing to buy bottled water will make it pay for itself. Drinking water has a minuscule effect on your home water bill compared to buying heavy packs of bottled water.

Set Automatic Savings

When you get your paycheck every couple of weeks, you should set a certain amount to set aside for your savings. Most banks provide this feature for convenience. Instead of spending all of your paychecks discretionally, having a certain amount taken from your checking account to your savings account will get rid of that temptation.