If saving and managing your money sounds boring, then get creative with it! Spice up your money management habits with these quick and easy money saving ideas. Make saving and managing your money a fun adventure you look forward too. Here are a few ideas to get you motivated.

1) Start with your morning cup of Joe…

We’ve all heard this money saving tip before, brew your coffee at home instead of going to Starbucks or Caribou every day. The reason everyone says this is because it really will save you over $1,100 a year. That’s a nice chunk of change! But it doesn’t have to be as boring as it sounds. Make it fun by trying out several different coffee brands and flavors to find one you absolutely love! My personal favorite is called Highlander Grog from a Minnesota company called Cameron’s Coffee. Now my morning is not complete without it! And no, I was not paid to say that.

2) Just stay home

If your family is one that likes to get out of the house every weekend, that can add up to a lot of extra money spent. Try a “No-Spend Weekend” each month, where you take what normally would’ve been spent going out and put it towards your savings. You can use this savings to go on a big family vacation later. Plus, it forces you to get creative with your activities. Make a treasure hunt for your kids, build an obstacle course, do arts and crafts, bake cookies, play board games, or just chill and watch movies together.

3) Budget weekly, not monthly

Sometimes looking at your monthly expenses can feel overwhelming. Instead, try splitting your payments over 4 weeks instead of monthly. It can be easier to budget for $250/week than $1,000/month. This also can help put your expenses into perspective. This is an easy way to start a budget too. If you only make $500 a week, but your expenses are $550 a week, you know you need to cut back by $50 a week. That can be a more achievable goal than cutting $200 a month, even though at the end of the day it’s the same thing. Sometimes you just have to trick your brain.

4) Create inspirational passwords

Make your passwords to your accounts a financial goal you want to accomplish, and then whenever you login you’re reminded of the goal you’ve set. For example, BEdebtFREE!2018 is not only a secure password it’s also an excellent goal to set for yourself. This is an easy way to help keep yourself motivated to achieve your financial goals. A few other ideas: Vacation2019! #SaveMore2018 !NoCreditCards2018

5) Set regular reminders for your goals

Set up a recurring weekly reminder on your phone or work calendar that pops up to tell you to “Save Money” or “Payoff Your Debt”. This will help keep your financial goals in the front of your mind with little effort on your part. Once your meet your goal, just change up the message! This is probably one of the easiest ways to keep yourself motivated to achieve your financial goals.

6) Play with your kids

There’s a great saying “realize that what your children want most of all is your time, not your stuff, and you’ll find money in your pocket and joy in your heart”, this is so true. Research consistently shows that the more time you spend with your children the better behaved they will be. This is because your kids want nothing more than to have your undivided attention. This is good news for your wallet! It means you can skip the expensive toys and focus on quality time together. 

7) Don’t accept the status quo

Did you know if you’ve been making your credit card payments on time, you have the right to negotiate your current interest rate with your credit card issuer? It’s true! But, a credit card company will never lower your interest rate automatically; you have to ask for it. If your financial situation has improved since you initially opened your credit line, then call them and ask for a better rate. If they won’t lower it, then start looking for a better credit card option.

8) Be a money savvy gamer

Video games are fun, but can get expensive when each game is around $50 each. To help save some money on your gaming habit, buy video games that have a lot of replay value and don’t buy new ones until you’ve mastered what you have. Plus, you can trade in your old games and buy used ones at places like Game Stop to save even more. You can even try out online game streaming through Steam, they have sales on great games all the time. You don’t have to give up your favorite hobby in order to save money; sometimes you just have to get a little creative in how you get your gaming fix.

9) Save energy, save money

Anytime you’re are cutting back your energy usage, your saving money, plain and simple. One easy way to save on your energy cost is with energy-efficient light bulbs, like LEDs or CFLs. Some people shy away for these because they cost more initially, but they have a longer life than incandescent bulbs and use far less electricity, saving you money long term. The best part, is you can change them out in your house as your regular bulbs burn out. This way you are not having to spend a lot upfront to make a big impact on your energy bill.