I do not claim to be a financial expert; in fact I am a former financial failure. Saving money is hard for me. H-A-R-D I tell you! I am always on the lookout for simple ways to save some money without having to make a major lifestyle change. Here are a few easy ways I save money:

• Save your change: I always pay in bills only; at the end of the day I dump my change into our Angel Kisses jar. You would be amazed at how quickly a few coins adds up. We use that money to pay for our monthly date nights. This is also a great way to save for a donation to a specific charity.  Most banks will cash your coins for free or you can take advantage of automated machines, such as Coinstar.

• Pack for errands: I tend to run my errands all on one morning, which means a longer than normal time in the car for my 2 ½ year old. Inevitably about 20 minutes in to our trip, he is begging and pleading for a snack. Instead of driving through a fast food chain or buying something way over priced at the gas station, I keep individually wrapped snacks in a basket under the passenger seat.  The snacks are either ones I have picked up for free or nearly free, or homemade. This saves us a lot of money (and gas).

• Stock up: This is probably the hardest savings strategy for me, but has the biggest pay off in the end. Since I shop on a cash-only budget, I often have to be creative to fit in extra items that I find on super sales, but by doing so I have saved our family over $400 in the past 6 months. By taking advantage of coupons and sales when I see them we avoid those “budget busters” such as needing Pedalyte at 2 am. Our stockpile also allows us to donate more items to our church charities.

By using these easy-to-implement savings strategies, we have been able to save and give more than I thought possible. What about you? Do you have an easy way to say a little?

Photo by Iain Farrell

Janet is a mom, wife, and teacher. She and her husband are on a quest to “happen to their money” rather than “let their money happen to them.”  She can be found blogging about hot issues at educate, empower, enjoy or keeping up with her crazy family at ZieglerZoo.