4 extremely simple ways you can save extra money every month!

Sometimes we try our absolute best to save a little extra every month, yet it never seems to quite pan out. You either end up not saving at all or over spending. I myself had trouble figuring out how I could cut down my expenditures without necessarily sacrificing too much for my son and I. When it comes to my son, I haven't necessarily found too many ways to save due to his extreme sensitivity. There are certain products he has to use, so I've had to get creative on my behalf. I have however, been able to purchase many of my sons particular items through Amazon in bulk. For example, I bought an 800 count of his wipes for way less than at a Target. I've done the same for his body wash, lotion, and Vitamin E oil. It still costs more than a plain pack of Pamper wipes, but now that I purchase in bulk, it's not much of a difference. (You can see the specific products my son uses for his extremely sensitive skin by checking out my prior post HERE.) For me on the other hand, I don't require such precise items so I've been able to play around with what I can and can't save on. 

An extremely common way to save money, that you may or may not have heard of, is by making your own coffee at home and skipping the coffee shops. Obviously this is pretty self explanatory as you could purchase a medium roast coffee at Trader Joe's for around $, that will last you approximately a month if you only have half a cup/one cup a day. The way I increased my savings was by ditching my traditional coffee maker and purchasing a French Press. 

I started noticing that whenever I'd use my coffee maker, I would not only have to purchase the filters, but I would subconsciously put in way too much coffee and water, leaving me with leftover coffee that ended up down the drain along with my money. No thanks. Yes I understand that I could purchase filters for $1 and I could focus on not trying to use so much product, but I would much rather be sure I'm not being wasteful. Now that I have a French Press, I can add one or two scoops of coffee and just the right amount of hot water, giving me the strength I'd like without wasting anything. An added bonus to owning a French Press is that it doesn't stop working on you when you're in a rush to get your daily caffeine. Plus, it's way quicker. Put a pot of water into a saucepan, put it on the stove, and as soon as it starts to boil pour it into the French Press with your scoops. Boom, you're coffee is done. No more warming up slowly, dripping like a leaky skin, watered down coffee. Only perfection. Your budget will thank you.

Another fantastic way to save money for all you naturally beautiful people, is by ditching those god awful, chemical filled, harsh makeup remover wipes! Even if you spend $1 on cheap wipes, you could potentially go through 1 to 2 bags every week. That's up to $96 on non-biodegradable wipes that go into our landfill every year. Do your skin, your budget, and the planet a favor. Purchase one $20 Makeup Eraser from Sephora and be makeup wipe free for up to 3 YEARS!!!!! That's $268 cheaper than 3 years of those $2 wipes. Just saying. It's a piece of soft cloth that removes all of your makeup with only warm water. That's right. No chemicals, no harsh products, no rough fabric, no waste. What happens after 3 years of it's use? You buy another one and use the old one as a new washcloth. If you'd like to read a full review and see a demonstration, check out a prior post I did surrounding the Makeup Eraser, HERE

My favorite way to save money is by going old fashion and ditching the dryer all together. That's right, I air dry my clothes. Why you ask? There are a lot of benefits you may not have realized that affect you, your family, and your budget. First off drying your clothes makes the color's fade and the fabric wear out quicker. By air drying your clothes, you're helping to preserve your wardrobe which in itself helps to save money. You won't have to keep purchasing new shirts, because your old ones stretched out. Secondly the dryer sheets are added waste, added money, and added chemicals. They can agitate sensitive skin - my son can attest to this - and it can also increase allergies in some people. Of course you can purchase the organic and unscented dryer sheets, but that doesn't help preserve your clothes, decrease waste, or save money of your electric bill. In my case I live in an apartment complex, which means to use our communal dryer, I would have to pay $1.25 every load. While sometimes I do hand wash my clothes to save even more money, I mostly stick to the washing machine. The only times I really hand wash is during Summer when the clothes dry quicker. When I do use the washing machine, that's another $1.25 every load. We do our laundry every week and end up with 2 to 3 loads, because of washing towels, sheets, and blankets. So every month we spend about $15 on washing alone. Add another $15 and there's the drying. By air drying my clothes, I save roughly $180 a year (not including when were sick. I change the sheets and blankets every day as an added measure). That's a trip to Disneyland people! 

The last way I will mention today, is by using good ol' coupons. I don't care for high brands when it comes to shampoo or conditioners. Of course I don't use $1 one's, because I also don't want to completely dry out my hair. So I tend to stick to the TRESemme, but for another good reason. The 28 fl. oz. bottles run about $3 when they're on sale, which happens quite frequently at our local Ralph's, Von's, Food 4 Less, Target, and Walmart. In the coupons we receive in the mail, I also notice that we frequently get TRESemme coupons. Most of the time it's $3.00 off the purchase of two bottles, but sometimes we will get a BOGO coupon. (Buy one get one free). When we get the $3.00 off coupon, I hold off until the sale comes on again, which is normally within a week. I do this about once a month, which gives me a constant flow of hair products without having to overspend. When we get the BOGO coupon's, I still wait for the sale, which cost's me the same amount. For body wash I tend to stick to Suave, as it doesn't break me out or dry my skin. Some people don't like it, but I love it. Plus the mail often has a coupon for Suave body wash as well. Either money off or BOGO. I also use off brand's for other items at Bed Bath and Beyond, and then use my 20% off or $5 off $15. I love the Bed Bath and Beyond razors ($3 for a pack). They are the off brand for the traditional "Daisy" razors, but I actually think the BBB one's are better. They also don't give me razor bumps on my legs.

These aren't all my tricks, but they are my top ways I save. Saving money can be easy if you just get creative. You just have to play around with different options, do a little research by going out to the actual stores and compare, search Amazon for possible bundle options of a wide variety of items, and use your coupons appropriately. I say appropriately, because so many times I see people use coupons just because they have them. A friend of mine would purchase makeup to use her coupon, but she didn't need it. So it ended up going bad before she had the chance to use it. (Mascara) 

A cool way to see how much you're saving, is by jotting down how much you spend now and how much you'll spend if you just alter a few expenses. Whatever the saving amount is, put it into a piggy bank and watch your savings grow. You'll start to become addicted to creative saving techniques and before you know it, you'll have enough money for a little trip or something special for your family. 

What are some of your favorite money saving tips?