It often seems that saving money requires a lot of hard work and effort, and that the reason we can’t save money is because we’re too lazy. But there are lazy ways to save money and help improve your finances.
Stay Home
Chances are, if you leave the house, you’re going to spend money. It could be a few bucks worth of gas or a couple hundred on a shopping spree or for a fancy night out. By staying home you can avoid these expenses (provided you also avoid online shopping, that is).
You probably spend money each month on an internet connection, cable, and/or Netflix – so why not stay home and make sure you are getting your money’s worth? Invite some friends over or make a date night out of catching up on your DVR or watching every Ryan Gosling movie.
If you are staying home, you can skip your regular grooming routine – hair, make-up, shaving, etc. – and thus cut down on the number of times you need to replace these items as you use them up. You can also cut back on laundry and dry-cleaning expenses by putting your fancy clothes away and instead lounge in your sweats or pjs.
Skip the Fancy Meals
There is no reason why every meal has to be elaborate. A bowl of cereal for breakfast is cheaper, quicker and easier than bacon and eggs with toast. Or better yet, eat your leftovers from the night before instead of throwing it out later.
You also don’t have to follow dining etiquette rules all the time. It’s okay to eat right out of the pot every once in a while or to rinse out and reuse a glass. Or you could drink right out of the milk carton (but maybe don’t do this if you have roommates.) It’ll be less dishes to do and less hot water used.
Don’t Wash Your Hair Everyday
Studies have shown that it’s actually better for your hair not to wash it every day. When you wash your hair, you are washing away the natural oils your body produces and are replacing them with artificial, synthetic oils.
Most people can get away with washing their hair every 2-3 days – meaning that bottle of shampoo is now going to last two to three times as long. If you have oily hair and can’t possibly skip a day, try using a dry shampoo or baby powder between washes. Or if you’re really ambitious and/or frugal, you could always try the “no poo” approach and use only water or baking soda and vinegar instead of shampoo for a fraction of the cost.
Don’t Shower Everyday
On that same note, most people don’t have to shower everyday either. The hot water from showering actually dries out your skin, much like shampoo does to your hair. Most people compensate by lathering up with moisturizer, but your body will balance itself out if you shower less, meaning you can cross moisturizers and lotions off your future shopping lists.
Showering less is better for your health as well – and it’s no secret that health problems can be costly! Keeping those dead skin cells and oils on your skin acts a barrier preventing “bad” bacteria and chemicals from penetrating your skin. This will help your immune system and help reduce rashes and skin irritations.
If showering less isn’t something you’re willing to try, taking shorter showers will still help you save on your water bill and allow you to hit that snooze button one more time.
One of the most common pieces of financial advice given is that you that you need to work hard in order to improve your financial situation, but don’t overlook the simple, lazy things that you can be doing as well.
Staying home is a big one! If you are easily tempted (and I am), staying away from shopping malls, stores, etc. will definitely help you keep your money in the bank! I have another one: Saving Mr. Lincoln. What I mean is saving your $5 bills that you get when making a cash purchase. It’s easy and lazy – you don’t even think about it after awhile. You just put it aside (out of your purse or wallet) and deposit it in a savings account. I’ve been doing this for 2 years and have saved $3,000! Disclaimer: my husband does this, too, so there are 2 of us that have saved this $3,000! I wrote a monthly series on my blog for the first year about how we were doing and writing a monthly post helped because it made me “accountable”.
Carole recently posted…Sweetheart Strawberry Salad with Blushing Berry Dressing
That’s a great idea! Saving in $5 increments would add up quite quickly. I never spend cash, though, so not great for me. In Canada, we have two dollar coins, and we don’t tend to spend them, which makes it fun when we go empty out the change jar. I think last time it had around $200 in it!
Another one is about laundry – in fact, it’s interesting how much money typical Americans waste on cleaning products. There is a reason why there are 30 different types of counter top cleaners, and laundry detergents, at the typical grocery store.
For example, there is nothing wrong with wearing clothes more than once before a wash. You probably don’t have to clean your entire bathroom every other day (or, depending on its use, every week). Cleaning for the sake of cleaning just costs money and it provides very little benefit to people according to a wide variety of research.
Steve Adcock recently posted…Opinions wanted: How do you “live a little”
Staying home as simple as it may sound its literally the best thing for me! I find that when me an my husband do tend to go out to treat ourselves with dinner I often want to go “walk off the fullness” at a retail store by just “looking around”. 9/10 you know we don’t walk out of the store empty handed even if it is something small.
We skip showers on the weekend if we don’t workout. I’ll skip washing my hair on occasion, too, if I just went to and from work. We’re totally lazy, but we’ll cook a huge Crock Pot of food or make a huge batch of soup for the week, so that we don’t have to cook or eat out. We like this, too, cause it saves us calories.
John Schneider recently posted…4 Places to Find Money
I feel like I have mastered the art of staying home to save money! :). It’s becoming easier because I love where I live and I never mind being alone or with my family.
Robin recently posted…Bah Humbug? Hardly.
I’m such a homebody, so this is easy for me to do as well. Going out sometimes takes far too much effort!
Amanda @ My Life, I Guess recently posted…My Health is More Important Than $40
When Mr. Money Mustache mentioned not showering everyday there was a bit of an uproar. But honestly, if you drove to the office, worked, came home…you probably didn’t work up much of a sweat to take a shower. I think skipping fancy meals is a biggie…I serious don’t understand fancy dining at overpriced restaurants. I live in NYC and it boggles my mind what people pay for a meal.
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply recently posted…Living Rich Cheaply: Have Your Cake And Eat It Too!
Most of my friends (sheepishly) admitted to me that they don’t shower every day. I had no idea! Like you said, unless you work up a sweat, you can probably skip the shower a day or two each week.
Amanda @ My Life, I Guess recently posted…My Health is More Important Than $40
I usually take a shower in the morning to wake me up but maybe skipping a shower here and there would be a good idea as a way to save some money. Good idea!
Tawcan recently posted…Recent Buy
Oh, I love this! Any lazy way I can do anything is great. Lazy ways to save money? Even better! 😀
kay ~ lifestylevoices.com recently posted…Dish Detergent ~ Friend ⦠or Best Friend?
Huge win, right? Laziness ftw… actually!
My water bill runs maybe $40 for every 3 months, so I’m always surprised when I see advice about saving money on the water bill. I just don’t see it as a big win.
Brian @ Debt Discipline recently posted…A la carte Airlines
That is really low! When I rented in a house, ours was more like $50 a month.
I usually skip taking a shower when I feel I am still clean and I stay at home when no one is there to know. Haha!
Jayson @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted…The great housing ripoff
Haha, I won’t share your secret!
Anne recently posted…4 Lazy Ways to Save Money
Staying home has saved me so much money. I use to love window shopping and would go out on the weekends to see what was on the shelves, but learned the hard way that I was never really window shopping but plain old shopping. Learning that I was not strong enough to actually just window shop forced me to stay home more and keep my plastic in my pocket and my money in the bank.
Petrish @ Debt Free Martini recently posted…Financial Fitness Program
Nice insight into your own behaviour. It’s rare, but I definitely find that happening sometimes when I get really bored.
Anne recently posted…4 Lazy Ways to Save Money