4 Things I’m Saving Money On Right Now

I try to avoid a lot of current events and news-type topics, mostly because a lot of it is ugly, but I can’t not mention this.

Y’all. It was $53 to fill up my Rav4 this past week.

$53 DOLLARS. I cannot wrap my head around it. I am SHOOK.

I mean, I know that inflation is a crazy thing but NEVER in my life have I spent this much to fill up my car.

In addition, the price of certain groceries is definitely increasing and I’ll be honest - it’s scary. For me, and for others. We’re a DINK household (double income, no kids), and even I’m going over our budget again. I don’t know how some families are feeding their kids.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I like to be as prepared as I can be, so I’ve picked up a few tips to make our dollars stretch a little further. Here are 3 simple, practical ways I’m saving money right now.

Overnight Oats.

A friend of mine started a Facebook page about how to make the most of your grocery budget, and let me tell you, she’s a GENIUS. Here’s the page if you’d like to follow along. This past week, she posted some overnight oat recipes and how they cost less than a dollar per serving. We typically eat spinach omelettes every morning, and while it’s a healthy breakfast, it’s not the most cost-effective. As it turns out, oats are CHEAP. This week, I have swapped out 2-3 of our omelettes for overnight oats. It mixes things up for us, saves a little money and honestly, they’re delicious. Follow her page or click this link for some quick and simple recipes for overnight oats.

Plant A Garden.

I recently started my seeds to grow zucchini, lettuce and kale. We eat a lot of these vegetables in the summer. I like to buy those salad kits (around $3), and add a bunch of spinach, kale, lettuce (whatever I have on hand, or have growing in my garden). The salads are soon twice as big, packed with nutrients and last for another whole meal. Last year, my kale grew from April to October! Not only are homegrown vegetables delicious, but they also save a LOT of money.

Skip the Gym Membership.

I’m a huge advocate for regular exercise, and I work out 4-5 times a week. I also do not have a gym membership. When we bought our house, we were spending almost $60 a month on our gym, and that was on the lower end. We purchased a Beachbody membership ($99/year, for both of us), which is loaded with hundreds of workouts for people of all fitness levels, and many require no equipment whatsoever. There are also TONS of free workouts available on YouTube. And at the end of the day, you can always go for a walk or run around your neighborhood.

Look, if you want to exercise, you can find a way to do it while living within your means.

Shop at Lidl or Aldi.

You can find a lot of cheaper groceries when shopping at Aldi or Lidl. Unfortunately, their selection isn’t quite as vast as ACME or Safeway, but if you can get the basics for a lot less, you can minimize your trips to the larger chains - saving tons. I almost exclusively shop there, only venturing out to Food Lion when I need specific ingredients.

It’s definitely a difficult task to cut spending and save where you can, but it’s so, so worth it when you can use those funds toward paying off debt, saving up for a trip, car or new home, or just building your savings.

For more on budgeting/saving, check out 5 Budget Hacks.