21 Best Ways to Save Money to Live Comfortably

Inflation is causing everyday living costs to rise by leaps and bounds. However, many employers cannot give workers yearly pay increases to keep up with the inflation rate.  

So what should you do when everything around you increases in price, but your income is barely rising? How do you offset the inflation rate so you and your family can continue living your current lifestyle? If you need fast results, extreme frugal ways to save money shows how to save $500-900/month with a 90-day sprint plan.

Finding the best ways to save money on everyday expenses is an excellent way to live more comfortably. In this article, you will find money-saving tips to help you reduce household expenses and live below your means, even with inflation soaring.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.  If you click and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  You can read my full disclosure here.

Best Ways to Save Money: Household Finances

Sometimes the best way to save money is to revisit your household financial plan and money goals. Paying closer attention to managing your money can pay off big time in the long run. Here are money management tips that will help you save more cash every month.

Make a Budget

A budget is a fancy name for a spending plan. Creating a budget allows you to dictate how you will spend your income. Each dollar gets assigned a job to do, whether paying the electric bill, paying down debt, or saving for a large expense. For 2026, we’ve built ready-to-use budget templates for $45K, $65K, and $75K salaries.

A budget will help you save money because you can identify where you are spending too much money. Then, develop a plan to reduce those expenses so you can channel that money elsewhere.

Use Cash

Cash for specific budget categories, which you tend to overspend on, is one of the best ways to save money during the month. You can use the cash envelope system for budgeting to help you organize your money. Cash envelopes are simply envelopes labeled with the budget category for which you are strictly using cash. You stop spending on that budget category once the money in your cash envelopes is gone.  

Pay Off Debt

Debt is expensive. Focusing on paying off the high-interest consumer debt you have is a fantastic way to save money. Once the debt is gone, you will have that extra money to put toward your financial goals.   

Automate Your Savings

Automatically depositing money from your paycheck to a savings account is one of the best ways to save money each month. Making the bank transfer automatic eliminates the possibility of spending the money before it lands in your savings account. 

Use a High-Yield Savings Account

A high-yield savings account will help you save more because you will passively earn money on the cash you deposit each month. There are many outstanding online high-yield savings accounts available. However, one you should check out is the Axos High-Yield Savings Account. No monthly maintenance fees and minimum balance requirements make this account accessible for nearly everyone.  

Check out the Axos High-Yield Savings Account here.

Best Ways to Save Money: Food

Food prices have been rising sharply over the past few months, making it harder to buy groceries and stay within your monthly food budget. However, plenty of money-saving strategies help stretch your grocery budget. Here are some of the best ways to save money on food.  

Meal Plan

Meal planning will not only help save your sanity on busy weeknights, but it will also help you save money on food. Start with a simple weekly meal plan with grocery list to save up to $300 a month. Making last-minute stops at the grocery store on your way home from work to pick something up for dinner is not suitable for your wallet.  

Planning your meals out for the week will help you strategize your grocery spending. You can meal plan around what you already have in your pantry, fridge, and freezer to spend less at the grocery store.  

Cooking a double batch of one meal is often cheaper than buying the ingredients for two different meals. Also, getting creative and using your leftovers to make other meals to feed your family is a frugal way to save money.

Helpful Tip: If you hate meal planning or have tried it and can’t figure out a system that works for you, you should look at $5 Meal Plan.

$5 Meal Plan is a meal plan service that sends you weekly meal plans to your inbox and the grocery list for the meal plan already done for you!  

All you have to do is check off the things you already have and head to the grocery store to get the rest.

Most of the meals work out to be around $2 per person. And it’s only $5 a month!  

So if you would like to check it out, they have a free 14-day trial you can sign up for here.  

Eat at Home

Eating out gets expensive, especially for families. Limiting the number of times you eat at a restaurant will help put more money in your pocket (and bank account). Budgeting for eating out is crucial to avoid overspending and allows you to still enjoy yourself once in a while.  

Pack Your Lunch

You can save so much money by packing a lunch to take to work. Invest in a nice lunch tote, some reusable containers, and cooler packs to make carrying your lunch to work a breeze. If the thought of packing a lunch every night makes you cringe, do all of your meal prep on a Sunday for the entire week. Try a variety of lunch ideas, so you don’t get bored. But keep your noon-time meals simple to make them easy to prepare.  

Use Ibotta

Ibotta is a cash-back app for groceries that is free to download and use. You can use it at stores like Walmart, Target, Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger, and more.

You add the grocery offer to your account in the Ibotta app, take a picture of your receipt, and they deposit the money into your Ibotta account.  

Ibotta can also be used with Walmart Grocery Pickup, even though you don’t get a receipt with Grocery Pickup. That’s how we use it the most.  

Before starting your grocery order on Walmart, you click on Walmart through the Ibotta app. Then, it redirects you, and you start your shopping.  

Once you pick up your groceries, the money gets deposited into your Ibotta account.  

If you don’t have Ibotta yet, you can sign up here.

Signing up through my link can receive up to $20 in welcome bonuses!  

Shop at Discount Grocery Stores

Shopping at discount grocery stores is one of the best ways to save money on groceries. They are some of the cheapest grocery stores around. You won’t find many brand names in a discount grocery store, but the quality of the store brands is usually just as good as the name brand version. Don’t forget your reusable grocery bags, and be prepared to bag your groceries at places like like Aldi or Lidl.  

Try Grocery Pickup

Ordering groceries online and using curbside pickup is an excellent way to control your grocery bill. Why? Because you can see the running total of your groceries and remove items from your cart as needed to keep your food costs under budget. In addition, picking up your groceries instead of going into the store will help you avoid impulse buys.  

Best Ways to Save Money: Spending Habits

Spending habits can make or break a budget. Adopting a few of these tips over the long term will help you get your spending under control and to save more money each month.

Stop Impulse Spending

Impulse spending can easily break a budget. If you see something you want while shopping, wait it out for a few days to see if you still want the item. If you do, shop around for the best deal on it. Or find a less expensive alternative that you like.

Buy Used

There are many items you can save money on by purchasing them second-hand. Search for used items in gently used condition on popular marketplaces, like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay, and Poshmark. Check out garage sales and thrift stores for used items. Here are things you may want to consider buying used to save money:

• Clothing
• Accessories
• Toys
• Cars
• Sports Gear
• Exercise Equipment
• Furniture
• Books

Try a No-Spend Challenge

A no-spend challenge is when you stop spending money on non-essentials. Examples of non-essential items in the budget are clothing, eating out, and entertainment. A no-spend challenge is an excellent way to reduce your spending for a specific time, allowing you to save money for your financial goals. 

Shop Around and Negotiate

Shopping around is an incredible way to save money, especially when making a large purchase. Taking advantage of special sales throughout the year and planning your purchases around the sales will help you to get a great deal. Also, try not to be shy when making a large purchase. Asking for a price match and negotiating the price could save you lots of cash.

Use Rakuten

Rakuten is a cash-back app you can use to get cash-back at over 2,500 stores online, and it’s free to sign up.  

How it works is Rakuten gets a commission from the stores for sending customers their way. Rakuten then shares the commission with you in the form of cash-back.  

You get paid every three months via Paypal cash or a check. In addition, there is a mobile app and a browser extension so you can use Rakuten on your phone, desktop, or laptop.   

If you didn’t join Rakuten yet, you could check it out here.

Best Ways to Save Money: Monthly Expenses

Reducing your monthly expenses will help you live below your means. There are many ways to save money on your household expenses. Cutting costs on some of your expenses may take a bit more legwork than others, but in the end, you will save money over the long term.

Refinance Your Mortgage

Your mortgage payment is likely your most significant monthly bill if you own a home. Check to see if you can save money on your monthly payment and the interest you pay on the life of your loan by refinancing to a lower interest rate.  

Cut the Cord

Breaking up with your cable company is doable nowadays. Many free on-demand and live streaming apps could take the place of cable TV. Finding a cheaper alternative to cable can save you hundreds of dollars a year, making it one of the best ways to save money on your monthly expenses.  

Find a Cheaper Cell Phone Plan

There are tons of options when it comes to cell phone plans. If your cell service provider doesn’t have a plan that fits nicely in your budget, shop around to find a cheaper plan you can afford. A pre-paid phone plan, like Tello or Mint Mobile, can be a great way to save money and avoid overage fees.  

Lower Your Utility Bills

There are many ways to save money on your utility bills. Making your home more energy-efficient and finding other ways to save money on your utilities can help lower your monthly payments. Here are some ways to reduce your utility bills to save money.

• Turn off lights
• Use timers on lights
• Hang cellular shades or insulating curtains
• Do laundry in cold water
• Set shower timers for kids
• Use a programmable thermostat
• Hang some clothes on a drying rack
• Only run a full dishwasher

Shop Around for Insurance

Insurance premiums can vary significantly between companies. Shopping around for car insurance, homeowners insurance, renters insurance, and life insurance can help you find the best deals. Save money by bundling your different insurance policies with the same company. Also, ask about other discounts you qualify for that could lower your premiums.  

Final Thoughts on the Best Ways to Save Money

The rising cost of living doesn’t have to ruin your budget. First, look at your budget categories to see where the best ways to save money are for you. Then, use these money-saving tips as a guide to help you identify areas where you can reduce costs to live below your means.