The products and services mentioned below were selected independent of sales and advertising. However, Don't Waste Your Money may receive a small commission from the purchase of any products or services through an affiliate link to the retailer's website.
6. Trade Clothes With Friends Instead Of Buying New Ones
Clothing swaps are a great way to save money on clothing. Whether you have a monthly swap with friends or just borrow things on an as-needed basis—you’ll end up saving money no matter what.
7. Make Your Own Soap
In the past, we’ve written about things you can make in your Crock-Pot—aside from food (hint: candles, lip balm and play dough)—and soap was among them. When you make your own soap, it will most likely last longer than store-bought liquid soap; not to mention, you know exactly what’s in your homemade soap, so it’s better for you. Once you try it, aside from seeing softer skin, you’ll see the monetary savings, too.
8. Use Half Of A Dryer Sheet Versus The Whole Thing
You can find more about dryer sheets here, like how many uses they have around the house—i.e., being a DIY air freshener for your drawers, bottom of your garbage can or under your car seats. But did you know that using half a dryer sheet is just as effective as a whole one? Name-brand dryer sheets average five cents per sheet, whereas generic ones average three cents per sheet. If you use one a day, that’s a savings of $11-18 per year. No complaints there!
9. Make Your Own Toothpaste
Your grandma may have once told you that making your own toothpaste is easy—just grab some baking soda!—but it’s true. We like this recipe by Kitchn, where all you need is baking soda, salt, glycerin, and spearmint, cinnamon or peppermint essential oil. Soon, you’ll love making it so much that you’ll be making it for friends and family, too, and saving money in the process, of course.
10. Use Reusable K-Cups For Coffee
K-Cups have been the rage for a while now, but they’ve also faced backlash for being environmentally unfriendly. Plus, the cost adds up. When you use reusable K-Cups, however, it’s a win-win. In addition, you get to experiment with all kinds of coffee flavors versus buying a box of them only to realize you don’t like the kind you chose. So drink up—and save up!
There you have it—several easy money-saving habits you can start today that’ll help you save in the long run.
About the Author
In addition to Don't Waste Your Money, Natalia is an ongoing writer for Bustle (sex, dating, relationships, and money), HelloGiggles (pop culture and news), Simplemost (lifestyle topics), and The Delite (feel-good stories). You can also find her writing in the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune's RedEye, xoJane, Elite Daily, Scary Mommy, Elephant Journal, and Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies, among other publications. She has a Ph.D. in couch-surfing, having spent four years sleeping on over 200 L.A.-area love seats and sectionals, all in an effort to whittle down her student loan debt. She still loves couch-surfing in other cities, too (hint, hint). More.
