3 Unusual Ways to Save Money

When I was thinking about unusual ways to save money, I came across a few ways that I would not choose to save money. First and foremost, I came across the suggestion to stop using toilet paper. What?! Oh, yes. Ditch toilet paper and use newspaper or junk mail instead. Um, no! I can just see it now. “Honey, we can save like $10 a month that’s $120 year! I mean newspapers and junk mail are full of crap anyway, right? That’s a hard no for me and I think most would agree. (If you have given this cost saving measure a try, good on you! Please let me know the comments, because I really want to know.) For the rest of us, here are three ways to save money that you may not have considered before but aren’t gross.

Apps are here to make our lives better. Apps like Acorn take saving change to the next level, by rounding up your purchases and automatically investing them. This is a step up from that change jar on your dresser. Let’s face it, your never going to wrap those coins up anyway and the change machines at your grocery store like CoinStar take a whopping 12% to count it for you. There are apps that will automatically put that money into a savings account as well, where you can access it for an emergency or unexpected expense. There are too many apps to count or list here and new ones come available all the time. Just search “change saving” apps. You may be surprised how easy it is to setup and start saving your change like it’s 2019.

This one might seem silly but it works. Restaurants always supply you with an abundance of extra condiment packets and napkins. Save them and use them–extra catsup, mustard packets, horseradish, barbecue sauce, salt and pepper, specials sauces and dressing. When you pick up food, pick up all the extras. Save them in the fridge and use them on your home cooked meals. I actually watched a cooking show recently where the host prepared low cost meals using only the extra packets from restaurants. Brilliant!

If you don’t consider yourself a do it yourselfer, I get it. But as I stated before it is 2019. Youtube has all the information you need for about any job you have around the house. It always amazes me what I find when I take a moment to look. Youtube has taught me how to replace a broken belt on my drying machine, replace the rotors and brakes on 3 different vehicles, install two water heaters, install a sink and run new Pexs lines to the sink to name a few. I assure you I’m no handyman and very mechanically challenged. When you have a video with a step by step process right in front of you, it makes what seems impossible possible. Some very intimidating jobs have been completed at a fraction of the cost because I decided to look it up on Youtube first.

I grant you these money saving steps aren’t as extreme as the newspaper trick but they work for me and they can work for you. Do you have any crazy or just a little unusual trick to save money? Don’t be shy, share them below! Also, if you’ve given up toilet paper, you are a money savings hero!