Face it. Life is getting more expensive. Rent prices, gas prices, and food prices are all going up, and people need to start saving money now more than ever. If you find that you’re struggling, or if you just want to make sure that you don’t get to that point, it’s important to start looking into how you can save money now. Check out these ways to save money on a practically daily basis.

  1. Follow a 24-Hour Rule

One of the biggest ways that people lose money is by making big purchases or impulse purchases. Often, they end up with things they don’t even need and rarely use. Instead of making a big purchase (or any non-necessity purchase) as soon as you think of it, make yourself wait for 24 hours. Chances are, you’ll decide you don’t need to buy the item after all. Even if you still buy it, at least you’ll know you thought about it first and didn’t just spend it on impulse.

  1. Cut Back on Your Phone Bill

Chances are you’re spending $100 a month or more on phone services that you don’t even need. Do you really need unlimited calling when you don’t even like to be on the phone in the first place? Is unlimited data necessary when you are usually connected to WiFi? Even if you do want all of these services, you may not realize that there are more affordable options out there. Just take a look at Boost Mobile plans. If you don’t use your phone often, you can find a plan for less than $10 a month. Even if you want to maintain unlimited talk, text, and data, you can do so for only $50 a month with Boost.

  1. Take Your Lunch To Work

Eating lunch out costs anywhere from $5 to $20 a day, depending on what you like to eat. While that may not seem like much, it can add up to $1,300-$5,200 per year. Think of all the different ways you could spend that money. Save it for something else by taking your lunch to work. Making your own sandwiches and grabbing your own snacks is easy and ensures you always have what you want. Even if you only pack lunch three times a week, you’ll still be saving a substantial amount of money.

  1. Keep a Budget

Sit down and think about where you spend your money. In addition to your rent or mortgage and utility bills, remember to include your insurance payments, streaming services, subscription boxes, entertainment costs, and anything else that you regularly spend money on. Are there places where you could cut back your spending? Perhaps there’s a subscription box that leaves you underwhelmed o a streaming service that you never use. Cut out anything that you can, then create and keep a monthly spending budget.  

  1. Join Customer Loyalty Programs

When you go to the same store repeatedly, you could be earning rewards for it. Do you shop at the same grocery store every week? Its loyalty rewards program could offer you a percentage off of your groceries, free groceries, or even take a few cents per gallon off of your gas costs. The same can be said for gas stations themselves. Many have rewards programs that earn you free coffee, drinks, food, and even gas after you’ve spent so much money at them. 

Remember, you don’t need to implement every change at once. Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed. If it’s easier for you, implement one change at a time, and once you are used to it, move on to the next one. You’ll be saving money before you know it.