If you’re struggling to pay your bills or just want to splurge without taking on debt, a little extra money could come in handy.
By saving just $5 a day, you’ll have around $150 more in your monthly budget. Sock it away for a year, and a little more than $1,800 would be at your disposal.
Consider these 10 easy ways to save $5 each day.
— Make your own cafe drinks.
— Take advantage of cash-back apps.
— Quit a costly vice.
— Cut back on food waste.
— Ditch delivery.
— Cancel unnecessary subscriptions.
— Swap out an expensive health club membership.
— Ditch the season tickets.
— Sell things in your spare time.
— Go for gig work.
Read on for more information on each $5 savings strategy.
[How to Save Money: 10 Expert-Backed Ways]
Make Your Own Cafe Drinks
If you buy your morning coffee or tea from a cafe, you know it adds up. Consider brewing your own instead. There’s a cost for that, of course, but figure out where to get the best price on whole beans or ground coffee (such as Costco) or stock up when your market has a sale. You’ll come out ahead.
Take Advantage of Cash-Back Apps
These apps reward users with a small percentage of cash back on qualifying purchases. When you’ve accumulated enough, you can withdraw the money and have it funneled into a designated bank account or payment app such as PayPal.
“There are many cash-back apps for everything from credit cards to certain retail sites,” says Jamison Manwaring, co-founder and CEO of the investment management company Neighborhood Ventures. “These can be used to earn money back on your purchases. And as they say, a $5 cash back earned is $5 in cash saved.”
[READ: Best Cash Back Apps.]
Quit a Costly Vice
Is there anything you’re spending money on that’s just not good for you? Vices can be expensive, both for your health and your financials. For example, depending on where you live, a pack-a-day cigarette habit may cost you anywhere between $5 and $10 a day.
Cut Back on Food Waste
Think about all the food you’ve tossed because it went bad. To save $5 per day, make a concerted effort to purchase only food you need — and in the correct amounts.
“An average four-person household throws away about $1,600 of food each year, which is about $5 a day,” says Prateeksha Uday, founder of the CutWaste app. “This is mostly due to the fact that we are unable to track everything in our pantry, and often food perishes before it can be used.”
[READ: How to Save Money When Grocery Shopping on a Budget]
Ditch Delivery
You can get almost anything delivered to your home. But if you rely on these services, it may be costing you more than you think.
If you’re a big fan of ordering restaurant food from DoorDash, you’re likely spending up to $4.99 for delivery, plus an additional service fee of around 15% of the purchase price. Therefore, a $35 meal can top $45 before you even add gratuity.
Frequent Amazon purchases can also be expensive. If you don’t have a Prime membership (currently $14.99 per month or $139 per year), you’re paying approximately $5 in shipping fees for orders less than $25.
By dodging these fees, the money you would spend on delivery is back in your pocket.
Cancel Unnecessary Subscriptions
Imagine you have the following monthly streaming subscriptions: Premium Netflix ($19.99), Max Ultimate Plan ($19.99) Disney Basic ($7.99) Hulu (no ads: $14.99) and Amazon Music ($10.99). And let’s say you’re also subscribing to the Identity Guard Ultra Plan ($19.99) for credit monitoring, plus a premium podcast at $30 a month.
These subscriptions add up to almost $125 per month. If they’re doing nothing more than sucking funds from your budget, cancel them and save that money.
Swap Out an Expensive Health Club Membership
Getting fit doesn’t have to cost a lot, but the dues for some gyms and health clubs are prohibitive. Some gym memberships can easily exceed $150 per month for a single user.
If you make the most of the facilities by going often, it can work to your advantage. But if you can’t remember the last time you’ve been, or you only go only once a month, it’s a waste. Consider dropping your membership and taking up something affordable such as running or working out with free YouTube videos.
Ditch the Season Tickets
Buying season tickets can be a major-league investment.
For example, if you’re a Boston Bruins hockey fan, the full season will set you back a minimum of $4,840 (approximately $13 per day or $400 per month). The same seats per game, however, will cost only $110. If you attend two games a month it will cost you $220, which is a savings of about $180 a month — or approximately $6 a day.
Or for a fraction of the cost, put the game on at home and have other fans join you.
Sell Things in Your Spare Time
Selling new or used products can add some padding to your budget.
“Turn a hobby into a small business or sell handmade items,” says Tammy Trenta, founder and CEO of Family Financial LLC. “Or sell clutter you no longer need online or at a yard sale.”
If you don’t want to drag your items into the front yard, there are many buying and selling apps that make this process a breeze. If you can make just $35 a week by getting rid of unwanted things or selling products that you’ve made, it will deliver that daily $5.
Go for Gig Work
A number of websites enable you to do gig work, including one called Fiverr, where those who need freelance work done can list jobs for as little as $5 per project. You can, however, price your services at a higher rate.
So, if you have a skill like website building, graphic design, resume editing or music production, consider signing up with a site where people who are looking for these kinds of services — and start getting paid for doing them.
Know What to Do With the Money
Once you’ve identified how you can add $5 a day to your life, make sure you save it so it doesn’t get reabsorbed into your budget. The aim is to feel the difference.
Designate a personal tip jar or box for the money and make a point of depositing that cash into it every day. When you’ve accumulated a certain sum, deposit it into a special account, or have that money withdrawn from your checking account every week and put into savings.
Also, decide what you want to do with the money you’ve saved — and try to make it meaningful.
Maybe you’ve been wanting to have a fancy dinner date with your partner, start your child’s college fund, pay off high-interest debt or just have it as a slush fund that you can dip into whenever you like. You might be surprised about how $5 in savings per day can make a big difference.
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10 Easy Ways to Save $5 a day originally appeared on usnews.com
