Favorite Home Hacks To Save Money

Did you know a simple mindset shift could be all you need to start saving more money? It’s true. There are so many ways you might be wasting money at home and you don’t even realize it. There are a few things you can do that can make a big difference at the bank, plus be better for your family. In today’s post, I’m sharing some of my favorite home hacks to save money.

Set Your Air Cooler

Do you have a programmable thermostat? If you do then this tip is perfect for you. Take a few minutes to set your thermostat to adjust the temperature when you’re not home or in bed. For instance, during the day when you’re out at work have the temperature either drop (for cooler months) or go up (for warmer months). Now you’ll be paying less to cool or heat an empty house. You can also set the program to do this at night, too.

To make it easier and less of a headache, make sure the temperature readjusts back to normal about an hour before you get home or wake up. That way you won’t notice the change.

I love the Nest Thermostat for this because you can even control it from your phone. That way if you’re getting home a little earlier or later than usual you can keep your temperature in the right zone.

Unplug Appliances You Don’t Use Daily

Do you leave your toaster plugged in all the time, but hardly use it? Unplug that sucker! Even if the appliance isn’t turned on, it’s still drawing energy from the outlet. Go through your house and unplug any appliance you don’t use on a daily or weekly basis and that it’s not a huge hassle to plug in when you do need it. If you something sitting on a counter that you can easily get to, then unplug it. However, if you have to move a very heavy cabinet to unplug your lamp in the family room then don’t worry about it.

Split Your Sam’s Club Membership

Do you have a Sam’s Club membership, but hardly ever go? It could be because you’re afraid of where to put all this stuff after you buy it. Especially if you have a smaller family. For us, our family of three loves to buy in bulk but we don’t go through our nonperishable items that fast. Talk to a friend, family member or someone to see about splitting some of those bulk items with. Maybe your family of three doesn’t need a massive case of Q-Tips, so see about splitting that with your sister and her family.

If you love to buy in bulk check out my post with some great money saving tips.

Hang Dry Your Clothes

If you have space in your house or maybe a place to hang a line outside then start hang drying most of your clothes. We do this a lot to keep our clothes looking nicer longer. I actually talked about it in our Laundry Hack video. You will save a bundle by having less clothes run through your dryer. What is put in the dryer will dry faster, which means less run time.

Here’s a drying rack similar to the one we have. It sits in our guest room most of the time, but we can easily fold it when we have family staying.

Money Saving Apps

Make sure you use money saving apps on your grocery items. I’m a huge fan of Ibotta and the Walmart Savings Catcher app. You can base the brands you buy off of what’s listed on your app before you go shopping, which can sometimes sway which brand to buy – you might be able to get the name brand cheaper after using Ibotta. Or you can do your shopping like normal and then see if anything you bought is on the app. I prefer to scan our receipts before ever leaving the parking lot, but that doesn’t happen every time – thanks to a toddler I know.

If you do any shopping online, make sure you have Ebates. It’s by far my favorite for doing any shopping.

Ask For Trial Periods on Your Satellite

If you still have satellite and have broken it down to a basic package then there might still be a chance for a free upgrade. We recently gave up our satellite, but before we did we always had the movie channels for free. All you have to do is call and asking if there is a promotion to try out a certain channel lineup. Usually there is. Sign up for the free trial period – typically 30 to 90 days. Then make a note in your calendar to call and cancel before the trial ends.

Check Your Door Seals

Make sure the cracks around your doors are sealed properly, especially if you have dogs. They tend to destroy a lot of door seals at the back door when they’re trying to get back in. A quick way to do this is to close your door and stand a few feet back. Can you see any daylight coming through the edges? If so, then you need to change out your weather stripping. You can buy adhesive seals at your local store or online, like this one, and just apply to the missing area. This will help keep cold air in and hot air out during those warmer months (and vice versa during winter).

Opt For Safer Cleaning Products

When our son was born I was a big fan of using natural cleaning products like vinegar and baking soda to do most of our household cleaning. Not only was it safer for him to be around, but it was lot cheaper too. So next time you need to freshen your carpets reach for a box of baking soda instead of your scented carpet refresher from the store. We actually have a dog that was super allergic to the store bought ones – her eyes would water and swell a bit. But the baking soda has no effect on her at all.