How to Save $20 a Day

Saving money is one of the first steps you can take to get your personal finances into a healthy state. Saving $20 a day is a great first step toward your goal of financial independence!

The first step will be to make more than $20 a day. If you aren't making more than $20 a day then skip over here and read about ways to make some money. If you are making more than $20 a day then you are all set to read on.

Easy Things (you might need a few of these to get up to $20)

1. Make your own coffee

2. Buy in bulk (especially for your pantry)

3. Use Keepa to price watch

4. Cancel anything you pay for monthly and don't need (I'm looking right at you cable bill)

5. Spending freeze (pick a few days a week to freeze any spending)

6. Carpool

7. Brown bag your lunch

8. Use a coupon

9. Ask your neighbor to borrow their tools (I'm guilty of buying a bunch of one-time-use tools)

10. Turn off the lights and anything else that doesn't need to be on

11. Check your tire pressure

12. Buy generic

13. Change your lightbulb (LED bulbs are super energy efficient)

14. Wash your car by hand

15. Cut your own veggies

16. Hang your clothes to dry (double benefit here is your clothes last longer)

17. Sell old clothes, or donate them and track it for a tax writeoff

18. Ask for a discount when buying something

19. Buy children's clothes while on clearance at the end of a season (its Spring, so buy Winter clothes now and make sure they are a size or two larger than what they are wearing now)

Harder Things

1. Start a garden

2. Shop around for things (insurance, mortgage, cell phone plan, gym membership)

3. Skip the movies

4. Don't pay for anything to drink (drink the free stuff, water!)

5. Stop smoking (your home insurance costs are typically lower if you don't smoke)

6. Change your own oil and air filter

7. Eat less meat, it is expensive

8. Make your own baby food

The goal of saving $20 (or at least spending $20 less per day than you would have otherwise) is to put that money aside for something. If you invest it, at a 7% return, you will have over $300,000 in 20 years. If you put it in a savings account with no interest you will have $7,300 at the end of one year.