18 Ways to Save $15,000 in 2018

If one of your main goals for 2018 is to get your personal finances in order, then we have put together a great game plan to help you! Below are the first five steps/tips that we recommend you take:

• Set a goal – we recommend saving six months’ worth of your income
  • Related: Money Saving Challenges
• Develop a plan – the ideas below may help you reach your goal, but it’s important to do a financial review to determine where and how much you’re realistically able to save
• Make it difficult to overspend – carve out a day each week (for example, No-Spend Mondays) to avoid spending frivolously on things you don’t necessarily need to collect or consume (excluding crucial recurring expenditures like gas, bills, groceries, etc.).  Have this same day serve as a time to complete your financial review to help you avoid impulsive purchasing.
  • Related: No Spend Money Saving Challenge
• Make a list of helpful financial guidelines (ours are coming soon!)
• Track your spending using a site like Mint.  There are several websites and apps out there, but we’ve used Mint for many years and highly recommend it due to its simple approach to budgeting.

Now, if you are looking for ways to save even more money you are in the right place! Below is a list of 18 ideas for 2018 to help you save $15,000!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Check our disclosure policy for more details.

If you really want to step up your game, join our Detox Your Life Challenge! Also, join us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more tips!

18 Ways to Save $15,000 in 2018

1.     Max out your employer’s match on your 401(k) to earn free money and save on your current year tax bill

A single person making $40,000 annually and setting 6% of their pay into a 401(k) will save approximately $500 in taxes by utilizing the tax deferral and will receive $1,200 in “free money” assuming the employer matches 50% of the 6% contributed.  This means that your out-of-pocket contribution of about $1,900 per year is actually worth $3,600.

Speaking of taxes, here are 5 smart ways to use your tax refund.

$1,700 total saved annually ($1,200 earned + $500 saved) 

2.     Declutter your home and sell things you no longer need (or cash in on those impulse buys you made)

List items like furniture or other items of significant value on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.  If it’s something small and you’re not worried about shipping, list it on eBay and start racking up on cash to help you reach your savings goal.  Take clothes you wear less than once a month to your neighborhood consignment shop (we've had great luck with Plato's Closet) if they’re not worth anything on eBay.

A great starting point is this checklist of 10 things to get rid of for a clutter-free home. You can also take part in our 30-day minimalism challenge.

Our story coming soon on how we earned over $8,000 by decluttering and simplifying our home.

Easily earn up to $1,000 annually  

3.     Skip the weekly bar/pub visits

It’s okay if you want to engage in social activities a couple times a month for big celebrations (friends or family birthdays, closing a big deal at work or delivering a high-quality project/presentation to your boss), but it’s not necessary to hit up the bar or pub multiple times a month just to unwind after a long workweek.  Instead, go for a hike on the weekends and unwind with nature – several new studies are showing time in nature is beneficial for your mental and emotional well-being. Read about our hikes here.

Check out these 6 tips on how to save while dining out.

About $1,300 saved annually

4.     Reevaluate your gym membership options

Boutique gyms like your local CrossFit or Orangetheory are very taxing on your wallet.  Instead, try out one of our workout plans and shoot to spend no more than $40/month on a standard gym membership (Orangetheory unlimited and CrossFit are about $150/month on average). 

We just transferred to Workout Anytime after waiting to secure the best deal and paid $420 for two years total for the Friends & Family plan – that’s only $17.50/month for both of us!!!

We have a ton of free workouts on the website and also offer workout plans that cost less than the price of one session with a personal trainer!

About $1,300 saved annually

5.     Ditch the dish or cut the cable!

If you need more to watch than Netflix or Amazon Video, go with SlingTV or PlayStation Vue (if you have PlayStation).  According to our research, the average cable and satellite TV plans cost more than $120/month.  Compare that to SlingTV’s plans of $20-$40/month or PlayStation Vue’s plans of $40-$75/month and you can save big!

Related: How We Ditched Cable TV

SlingTV savings of $960 - $1,200 annually

PlayStation Vue savings of $540 - $960 annually

6.     Turn your free-time into cash

Why waste time watching Netflix when you can turn your free-time into easy cash by taking online surveys?  Check out https://www.frugalforless.com/best-survey-sites/  for the best survey offers.

Earn at least $1,000 annually by spending only two hours a week (you can use those two hours saved by not going out and buying drinks and come out at least $2,000 ahead!)

7.     Seriously, it’s time to kick Starbucks to the curb…and this is more than financial!

I buy some really great 2-pound bags of organic coffee beans at Costco (or 5-pound bags on Amazon) for only $9 when they’re on sale, which works out to only 24 cents for a strong 12-ounce cup of coffee.  24 cents!!!  Compare this to the average $3.25 spent daily on coffee from Starbucks and you spend about $1,200 annually versus $160 (incl. coffee grind and brew machine) for good, freshly ground organic coffee from home. And, no, don’t use a Keurig either!  Here are some reasons why.

About $1,000 saved annually

8.     Start bringing lunch from home

Quit dining out for lunch and eat at your desk – you’ll be more productive and save money.  You may even be able to leave earlier on Fridays thanks to the increased productivity. Plus, you can eat much healthier by making your own lunch!

We have a ton of recipes that you can make and take for lunch!

Average of $1,200 saved annually – assumes average cost $12 per lunch when dining out versus $4 from home – three times per week

• 2x per week savings = $832/year
• 3x per week savings = $1,248/year
• 4x per week savings = $1,664/year

9.     Limit (or avoid) impulse purchases at retail stores

Grocery and warehouse stores are laid out in a way to make you spend impulsively.  If you have a Costco membership then you know this concept all too well!  Whitney will carry something in her hands around the store to determine whether or not she really needs the item (psychologically, it makes perfect sense).  You can try this approach or simply challenge yourself to pull three things you don’t need from your grocery cart at checkout each week. 

About $500 saved annually

10.  Limit (or avoid) impulse purchases online

Speaking of impulse buying, shopping online is even more dangerous given how simple it now is to place an order with a couple clicks and have it at your door within 2 days.  If you’re considering making an online purchase that is more than $50, wait 48 hours before making the impulse buy.

If you have a serious problem with online shopping, remove your stored credit card information from your browser and delete your account. Chances are you will avoid making the impulse buy if you make it more difficult to make a purchase by adding barriers.

About $500 saved annually

11.  When dining out, have water instead of soda, tea or alcohol

A couple dining out twice a week should save about $500 annually

12.  Skip appetizers and desserts

Appetizers and desserts add up significantly over the course of dining out throughout the year and they’re completely unnecessary.  If you must have a dessert, always share – it’ll fatten up your wallet and slim your waistline!

A couple getting app’s and dessert once a week can save approximately $500 annually

13.  Take advantage of Amazon’s Subscribe & Save

Find $200+ worth of items you purchase on a monthly basis, such as personal care products, cleaning supplies, coffee, pet food, supplements, groceries, etc. and put them on Amazon’s subscribe and save to earn 15% off and save at least $30/month. Our list of what we buy on Subscribe & Save is coming soon!

Learn more about Subscribe & Save here.

At least $360 saved annually

14.  Simple vehicle maintenance translates to easy savings!

Inflate tires to proper PSI (or even 1-2 PSI higher than recommended), reduce your speed by 10mph, turn off the A/C whenever possible, roll your windows up and turn on the vent on the interstate and you’re on your way to saving big on your fuel bill.

At least $300 saved annually

15.  Evaluate your transportation options

Take advantage of carpooling with coworkers or do a ride share - www.erideshare.com and www.carpoolconnect.com

At least $500 saved annually

16.  Compare auto insurance rates.

Shop around for the best car insurance rates and save big!  Learn more here. Also, ask if there is a discount if you pay in full. We get a significant discount on our auto insurance by paying for a full year.

At least $750 saved annually  

17.  Replace frequently used light bulbs in your home with LED bulbs

Sure, LED bulbs are much more expensive than incandescent or even CFL bulbs, but the extended life of LED bulbs will more than offset incandescent bulbs if you use them for more than three years.  The savings in energy costs will really add up if you start to change a large number of the commonly used bulbs. You can find this at most home improvement stores or on Amazon.

You can experience up to $100 annual savings if you change out 10 of your most commonly used light bulbs  

18.  Ditch (or at least reduce!) bad habits (such as drinking and smoking)

If you are a drinker, keep track of how much you spend on buying drinks while dining out and also how much you spend when you pick up a bottle of wine or a six-pack at the grocery store. See these numbers can be really eye opening!

The average pack-a-day smoker spends over $1,800 per year, so kicking the habit can save you about $1,800 annually

What should you do with your savings?

1. Build up an emergency fund

2. Pay off credit card debt

3. Open a Roth IRA and pour $100 a month into S&P Index Mutual Fund (Vanguard)

4. Take a vacation – shoot to save at least $2,500 and take advantage of rewards credit cards if you are paying off all credit card balances each month

Detox Your Fitness: January

How often do you set New Year’s resolutions related to your health, fitness or weight loss goals, but consistently fail to achieve the results you want? Our experience with our readers and clients has shown us that fitness resolutions have less than a 5% success rate. Maybe it's because you've been approaching your workouts the same way each year. Maybe you set a goal to run a certain number of miles each month or buy the hardest workout plan or DVD and get injured or give up because it's too hard. The low success rate can be boiled down to a couple different reasons - failed resolutions range from either having hardly any plan at all or having too complex of a plan to follow through with.

RELATED: 5 Reasons Why You Need a Workout Plan

Wondering what all of this detox stuff is all about?

Take a look at the concept behind our Detox Your Life Challenge here. 

Let's take a simpler approach to fitness this time, shall we?

If you haven't already, you should check out our FREE 13 to Clean Challenge which basically gives you everything you need to hack your diet in 13 days. All you have to do is sign up here and you will instantly be redirected to the challenge! (Don't worry, if you have already entered your email address on our site you won't get duplicate emails!)

So, what will we be working on this month?

Last year we were fairly consistent with getting to the gym for a pretty high-intensity workout, but we weren’t great about stretching or doing yoga. So, our main focus for this month to help us detox our lives will be to do more yoga and stretching. Below are our goals:

• Lift Weights 4-5 days per week
• Cardio 2-3 days per week (at the end of our lifting workouts)
• Hike at least once a week
• Yoga at least once a week
• Stretching every day for 10 minutes after waking and 10 minutes after lifting

To follow a plan (remember why we fail!), I am starting the 12-Week Run Builder today and Scott is doing the 12-Week Transformation. Yes, men can do the She Sweats workouts and, no, he doesn't need to transform, but it's just a great workout overall!

We love them because we can just pull them up from our phones at the gym or take the workout that we printed at home! I'm thinking we might need to re-brand these so they aren't
"She Sweats" anymore. Men can use these to sweat too!

Below is what the workout looks like on the phone, then we just have to scroll down to the date we are on. You can see all of our workout plans here.

Looking for ideas for your own challenge?

Are you new to working out?

If so, you should focus on getting into the routine of working out. Start simple, this could be walking for 30 minutes per day and you can work your way up to getting to the gym for 5-6 days per week. Again, the 13 to Clean Challenge is a great place for you to start! Use this time to really focus on building good habits and learning different exercises and routines.

Have you been working out for a while, but need to detox your fitness routine?

It's very important to cross train. If you are a runner, you definitely need to start incorporating things like weight training, yoga, and different forms of cardio (stair climbing, biking, swimming, etc). If you are a yoga only person, try incorporating a day or two of weight training. The more well rounded you are in your fitness routine the better off you will be!

Try one (or a few!) of these:

• try a new workout routine for a week
• take a yoga class at least once a week
• run a 5K
• incorporate one of our fitness challenges per week

Post your challenge worksheets, ideas and moral support to social media (we're under @heandsheeatclean) using the hashtag #dylchallenge and leave a comment below...we’d love to hear from you!

Need to write down your goals with pen and paper?

Good, we do too! We have a simple printable for you! You can print it in color or black and white and then just fill in whatever notes or goals you need to jot down. Get it here.

Reminder: Make sure you are signed up for the Detox Your Life Challenge emails so that you know when a new challenge is released or we have something fun to give you like a new printable!

Check out these additional resources:

• 6 Tips to Get Over Your Fear of the Weight Room
• 5 Reasons Why You Need a Workout Plan
• 10 Tips to Stay Motivated for Your Workouts
• What to Eat Before & After a Workout
• Free Workouts
• Premium Workouts

Detox Your Life Challenge

New Year’s resolutions...Ben Franklin once said, “be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man,” and we couldn’t agree more!

But, ohhh, New Year’s resolutions...you know the typical ones - get in shape, be more organized, create (and stick to) a budget, yada, yada yada...let’s face it, we all start the year with the best intentions to improve a category of our life and, hopefully, we hold ourselves more accountable than last year because those previous resolutions only lasted a week or, at best, a month then life hits.  Seriously, we’ve all been there, right?!?!  

For this very reason, New Year’s resolutions have the ability to be very punitive and end up becoming our own worst enemies.  We set a general goal, never tackle it and get down on ourselves for the failure.  The problem is this - we set a goal without having a real, workable plan as to how to tackle that goal (Tony Robbins says it best here).  We tend to think that having the resolution will cause us to have an epiphany and maybe, just maybe, the perfect plan will fall in our lap.  Seems like common sense, but this perennial lapse in proper goal setting is exactly why we never follow through with our resolution(s).

So, this year we decided that we were tired of failure and wanted to come up with a new challenge for ourselves.  We spent 20-30 minutes and started writing down categories of our life that we wanted to improve and realized we had exactly 12 areas we wanted to improve.  We thought, what if we just separated each general life category into its own month and came up with specific goals and a plan for those areas within each month?  Think of it like New Month’s resolutions, but better!

Then, the idea for our first-ever “Detox Your Life Challenge” started to take shape.  

We’re not perfect (far from it, actually), but we felt as though all our readers could benefit from the same 12 life categories we decided on.  We have determined our own specific goals for each month/life category and will share those specifics as the months arrive.  We’d love it if you join us in tackling those goals because everyone will benefit from attaining the same goals and we can hold each other accountable!

So, how does this work?

We were very intentional about the design of this challenge.  Each month will rotate between self-centric and external categories.  For example, we focus on self-improvement in January with fitness and then move to external environment improvement in February with money/personal finance.  The idea here is that if you don’t meet your goals within a certain life category, you give your emotions a bit of a break the next month and get right back on track.  

We also love how measurable this challenge is...if you set (and reach) one specific goal each month, come year’s end, you will have improved 12 areas of your life.  If you set four specific goals each month, you’ll have improved 48 areas of your life!  So, our advice is to list as many specific goals as possible for each month...even if you set 10 monthly goals and reach 25% of them, you’ll have improved 30 areas of your life….WOW!

But wait, why is this called the "Detox Your Life Challenge”?  Aren’t detoxes bad for you?  Well, the answer is this - resolutions come about because you feel an area of your life is toxic or not being fulfilled.  When you boil it down, the lack of fulfillment is caused by a toxin - some tangible or intangible object that is getting in the way of living a fulfilled life.  The goal of the challenge is to remove those toxins to help improve your life!

Ready to get started? Great, we are too!

Here’s how the challenge will work:

1. Download the printable Detox Your Life Challenge calendar here.

2. Join our email list and we’ll deliver our challenge updates so you can follow along with us, get moral support and fresh ideas to your inbox along with the specifics for each month.  

3. Post your challenge worksheets, ideas and moral support to social media using the hashtag #dylchallenge and leave a comment below...we’d love to hear from you! We're on Instagram under @heandsheeatclean ---> tag us in your posts!

4. Join the facebook group “Detox Your Life Challenge” to share ideas and support others

5. Check back here each month as we share the new challenge and discuss our wins from the previous month!

Get a sneak peek at the monthly challenges below. Remember to check back for our goals and share yours too!

We'll come back here to update the links as we post for each month:

• January - Detox Your Fitness
• February - Detox Your Money
• March - Detox Your Nutrition
• April - Detox Your Home
• May - Detox Your Body
• June - Detox Your Digital Life
• July - Detox Your Brain
• August - Detox Your Relationships
• September - Detox Your Office/Workspace
• November - Detox Your Sleep
• December - Detox Your Time