8 Money Saving Hacks to Save $100 RIGHT NOW!

May 9, 2019 | Budgeting, Budgeting Tips, Finances, How To Save Money, Video

We all need a little extra cash in our pockets from time to time. Use these easy money saving hacks pronto and be wowed at how quickly you can save a chunk of change! Put it towards debt, save it for a rainy day, or add it to your vacation fund. The choice is up to you since you're about to become a savings pro!

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If your wallet has been crying and you've been looking for some good money saving hacks, today is your lucky day! Don't worry, emailing your Nigerian prince relative is NOT required! Whew! I'm going to show you what you can do RIGHT NOW to save or earn $100. Not only one way, but EIGHT ways. Do them all and you can pay off some debt or take a mini vacation!

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Watch the video online HERE, or click and watch below:

Pretty easy, right? In case you missed something, or just decided to not watch the video you can also check out all of my money saving hacks below!


FOOD-RELATED MONEY SAVING HACKS

Grocery and food budgets can be some of the biggest expenses that we can encounter and they're one of the easiest areas to cut back in! Try these money saving hacks out and see how quickly you'll save that dinero.

BROWN BAG YOUR LUNCH

prepped lunch in divided glass dish, from Fun Cheap or Free

If you work away from the home, it's very common to get together with your coworkers and head out to lunch. While the food might be delicious and the company even greater, you'll be spending anywhere from $8-$12 each time, possibly more. If you average spending $9 per meal 5 days a week, you're spending $180 on food eating out. Taking your own lunch to work is one of the easiest ways to save money fast!

I recommend taking a day when you're not overly busy and cooking up a big batch of a dish you really like and packing it up into individual portion containers. Better yet, starting right now, today, the next time you cook food, double it. Stick the other half in your freezer whole for another meal for your family or portion it out for easy to grab lunches. Most offices have a microwave and a fridge so it's the perfect way to save money and a lot of it! Go do something fun with it that doesn't involve flushing it down the toilet.


SKIP YOUR FAVORITE EXPENSIVE DRINK

Don't hate me, but buying fancy coffees or sodas through the drive-thru every day adds up FAST! A delicious Latte can set you back five bucks or more and soda isn't too far behind. Instead of spending that money out, which can easily add up to $100 or more per month, make your coffee at home or buy your soda in bulk. Want to save even more? Stock up on Zipfizz or Crystal Lite with Caffeine and mix them with water in your refillable water bottle! Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay! You can do hard things!


SHELF COOKING – ONE OF MY FAVORITE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY

shelf cooking to save money, from Fun Cheap or Free

It's a real thing guys! I actually made it into the Urban Dictionary with this! Shelf Cooking is one of my favorite ways to save money. First, just go to your freezer or pantry and see what you have. Then make a meal using what you have on hand! You will be SHOCKED at what you can cook using the ingredients you already have.

You might need to run to the grocery store to buy a few things, but your cost will be significantly cut and you'll be saving on food waste. Win-win, save the world AND money at the same time. GO YOU!

Have you checked out ShelfCooking.com yet? Our brand new site is dedicated to helping you cook delicious, homemade, down-home-cooked meals for your family without spending too much time in the kitchen! Basically every parent's dream, right? Join our Shelf Cooking Community today!


QUICK WAYS TO EARN MONEY

These ideas will help you to make some money while decluttering your house or doing your normal shopping. Score!

EARN MONEY BY SELLING SOMETHING

I've talked about this on national TV many times because the tip never gets old. As soon as you're done reading this, I DARE you to stand up and walk around your house and find at least three things you can sell. There are a million things that you're probably not using but other people would love to have and buy from you. Take a few minutes and I bet you'll earn at least $100 by finding things you can sell!


EARN MONEY BY SHOPPING

earn money by shopping with Rakuten, from Fun Cheap or Free

Did you know you can earn money while shopping?! I've talked about it about 100,000 times, but I. LOVE. Rakuten. They're the largest cash back site. They partner with over 2,500 of the biggest name brand stores. It's free to sign up and you get a $10 welcome bonus after your first purchase of $25 or more.

You shop online like you always do but you can earn extra money. They run annual birthday deals that are incredible. Right now as I'm writing this, you can earn 15% back at hundreds of their retailers! There are three easy ways to shop with them and earn money:

  • Through their website – Click through one of their links and you're on your way.
  • Through the app – How easy is that?
  • In stores – You connect your credit card and then when you go into the store and use your credit card, they automatically give you the cash back!

You get a check in the mail every quarter. It's INSANELY EASY and is one of my favorite money saving hacks!


EASY MONEY SAVING HACKS

Here are some of the best ways to save a chunk of change fast! You're about to be blown away. 😉

CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO SAVE MORE MONEY

There are a million subscriptions that can rack up your monthly costs. Gaming subscriptions, music subscriptions, streaming, Netflix, recipe, fitness, etc. Usually, we sign up for them on free trials and forget about them. The easiest ones to not notice are the $5 or less ones. They are easy to miss, but once you cancel them, money will start adding up!

I suggest giving yourself three months after you cancel one before deciding to sign back up. Chances are, you're not even going to miss it! There are even apps and websites out there that will help you find the subscriptions you're signed up for so you know which ones to cancel. Ironically, Truebill is a subscription-based app that goes through anything your bank account or credit card are attached to and will show you where your money is going.


SPENDING FREEZE

A spending freeze is one of the best money saving hacks you can do to save money fast! Tips from Fun Cheap or Free

Here's one of my favorite money saving hacks that will save you money fast. Don't stop reading, don't run, it's going to be okay! I will hold your hand and walk you through everything. You still with me? Whew! I know there are a lot of people out there that do month long spending freezes or years without buying anything. I definitely don't want you to do that. I'm recommending doing a spending freeze for one week from today.

Aside from any necessary bills or absolute emergencies, try to not spend anything! Eat in using what you already have, do a date night at home, borrow what you need, and just get creative! You've got this!


JUST STAY HOME

The simplest of the money saving hacks (in theory, anyways) is to just stay home. It's fun, it's cheap, it's usually free. Fun Cheap or Free. Ring a bell, anyone?! Truthfully, though, I have friends that just want to go to Target or go into a store to check something out. You probably know as well as I do that once you go in, you aren't coming out empty handed. Just stay in and you'll not spend close to $100 on a cart full of all the things! Then you can get projects done around the house and what's better than that?


There ya go! There were 8 quick ways for you to save or earn $100 right now! I want you to pick one or two and let me know how it goes in the comments below. Or do you know another way to save 100 bucks? Share your genius ideas below!

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16 Comments

  1. Julie bradley

    Love it. Bring a lunch has saved so much.

    Reply
    • FunCheapOrFree

      Right?! It’s mind-blowing when you realize how much money you’re spending when you’re eating out all of the time!

      Reply
  2. Catherine Godfrey

    I’m selling so much stuff. I’ve done very well

    Reply
    • FunCheapOrFree

      That’s so great!

      Reply
  3. Cherelle | The Inspired Prairie

    Hey Jordan!

    Love this post! I went to your other blog post about ShelfCooking and I am super tempted!! Right now we do a $300 a month grocery budget, but I’m now thinking we could easily take it down with shelf cooking. I’m excited to try it! Thanks girl ?

    Reply
    • FunCheapOrFree

      That is so exciting to hear, good luck with that!

      Reply
  4. Katy

    Guilty of buying a Red Bull (or two) on my way to work almost every night (I work overnights). That will save me a TON of money! And I’ve done a spending freeze before and I think I’ll do one again this week!

    Reply
    • FunCheapOrFree

      Go you, you can do it!

      Reply
  5. Jen @ This Time of Mine

    Thanks for the tips! It’s amazing how much you can spend on lunch! We love brown bagging it! I love the video too. So helpful!

    Reply
    • FunCheapOrFree

      So glad that you liked them! I agree, it’s so crazy how much you can spend when eating out!

      Reply
  6. Danielle

    The selling one is one I have never tried before but am finally warming up to. I have these life jackets we bought two summers ago that my kids have literally never used. WHAT?! I could get some money for those for sure. Thanks for the tips! These are great!

    Reply
    • FunCheapOrFree

      You should totally try it! I bet that those will go quick since people will be looking for life jackets for their kids for the summer. Good luck with it!

      Reply
  7. Deborah Kos

    I’ve used Ebates in the past and I really should start using it again to save money. Thanks for the great money saving tips.

    Reply
    • FunCheapOrFree

      Yes, it’s such an easy way to save money!

      Reply
  8. Aida

    Honestly I love these ideas, and especially the last one which is litteraly a back to basics: STAY AT HOME. I love it. I’ve been going out way too much this summer for a lot of reasons and today is the first day of me going back to basics and not spending as much anymore, I’m thinking of going on a spending freeze and stopping alcohol for a few weeks 🙂

    Thanks Jordan, I just purchased Budget bootcamp and I’m soooo ready

    Aida

    Reply
    • Jordan Page

      You can do it!!! 🙂

      Reply

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