What are some ways to save if you have a lower income? Is it even possible to save when you live paycheck to paycheck? Post any tips or tricks you use to help others in similar situations.
A little at a time.
It's really hard to save when any little thing (car breaks down, medical bill, plumbing issue, etc.) could crop up and wipe out your bank account. I've been doing little side hustles, like Swagbucks, Fetch, Clickworker, Ibotta, Shopkick, etc. I opened a PayPal account, and whenever I earn cash or a Paypal GC, I deposit it there and don't touch it. I've deposited more than $2k since I started in May 2020, and that's not counting all the Amazon GCs I've earned, too. Ibotta, Fetch, Shopkick, & Swagbucks all offer rebates on certain products and sometimes they're for the same items. Sometimes you can combine them with each other, plus coupons and/or store sales to get items for cheap or free or even get paid a little for buying them. Find ways to reuse items instead of buying new, i.e. pick up some cloth napkins at a thrift store instead of buying paper napkins. Make a list of things you need but can't afford at the moment, and then keep an eye out for those items at thrifts, estate sales, and yard sales. You can often find better quality or unique items there, anyway. Use vinegar, baking soda, and water to clean your house instead of expensive chemical cleaners. Heating water is really expensive and so is a city water bill, so if you're not getting sweaty every day, just shower every other day. If you have time, meal planning can really help. I created a menu of my family's favorite meals with different categories, like soup, sands, Mexican, etc., and approximately how much they cost to make. Now I check out the weekly sale flyers and then pick from my menu, depending on what's on sale, how much money I have in my budget, and how much time I'll have that week since some things take longer to make. I try to shop once a week, so I'm not tempted to buy more than I need. Look at a good sale as an investment–if you can save 25-50% on something that you know you'll be able to use up, buy a bunch. That's a much better return than you're likely to get in the stock market or from savings account interest. If there's a discount grocery nearby (the kind that sell things that are close to the expiration date or closeouts), check it out. I've never gotten anything bad at the ones near me, and I'm amazed at how cheap most of the food is.
These are all good ideals for saving while on limited income, I would make one suggestion, shop at one store that always offers you savings without having to scramble all around for different coupons. My store is Walmart.
I have hear couponing and look for bogo sales
