Did you know that there are products that will save you money? Sometimes, they can save you thousands per year. Don’t believe me? Check out this list of smart things to buy to save money. I own nearly every single one and use them all the time. There are a couple that will even surprise you. What about giving these as gifts for the frugal people in your life? They will totally love you for them. They will work for Christmas gifts and birthday gifts, or any other holiday.
I’m a pretty frugal person so I generally like to keep my money in the bank. I evaluate every single purchase, asking myself questions like these,
- Do I really need this?
- Can I use something I already have instead?
- Is there somewhere I can borrow this?
- Can I find it used?
Many times, I can just go without. It also helps to give myself time to think it through. Impulse Buying is almost always a dangerous thing. Read some tips to Stop Impulse Buying here.
Most of the time we save money by NOT buying things – but there are times that saving money happens by making certain purchases. These purchases allow you to go about your days in a way that keeps more and more money in your pocket. That’s what this list of items is for. They are items that will help you save thousands of dollars, not just this year, but year after year.
This post contains affiliate links. This supports my family and allows me to keep providing you with great resources. And, you can trust that I only promote products I love or would use myself. Read my full disclosure for more details.
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1. Water Bottle
Most of us know this, but drinks are expensive. Somehow our culture has changed over the last number of years in a way that we are now required to have a drink present at all times. It’s actually kinda funny to think about. When you were growing up did your parents go everywhere with a drink in hand? Not mine. And, people weren’t dying from dehydration. Anyway, if you like to have a drink with you during the day, make sure you have an water bottle.
You can quit buying water bottles everywhere you go if you have this handy. Water is always best, but if you like sweet drinks … make some iced tea at home, sweeten it just how you like it and take it with you. Here are a couple to look at. We love the Contigo brand.
2. Coffee Maker and Supplies
You can make coffee at home for a fraction of what it would cost to buy it when you’re out. I have this coffee maker, which allows me to use real grounds to make a whole pot or a single cup. You can even make fun specialty drinks if that’s what you really like. Get these things to go with your coffee maker:
- Reusable Filter
- Milk Frother
- Tasty Syrups
- Whipping Cream
3. Coffee Travel Mug
Buying just one cup of specialty coffee per day will set you back $960 over the course of a year. WOW!!! That’s a lot of money, just for coffee. These are our favorites, and they really do keep the coffee hot for hours.
4. Instant Pot
You will be much more likely to cook meals at home if you have a convenient way to do it. My Instant Pot allows me to use it as a slow cooker and a pressure cooker. It does a whole lot more, but that’s how I usually use it. With easy meals that you can just dump in and forget until serving time, you’ll save hundreds of dollars each month on eating out.
5. MyFreezEasy
MyFreezEasy is a freezer meal planning service that takes all the planning work out of the freezer meal service. They provide you customizable menus, then the shopping list and step-by-step instructions to make 10 meals in about an hour. Once you have these meals prepared, you can put them in your slow cooker or Instant Pot each day and have a nice hot meal for dinner.
Remember, eating at home instead of eating out will save you hundreds of dollars each month. See my Review of MyFreezEasy Here.
6. Lunchbox and Supplies
Packing your lunch is an excellent way to save money each week. We always find it easiest to pack lunches right after we have dinner. If you wait until morning to do it, odds are you’ll regularly run out of time and end up getting fast food. Pack your lunch containers in the evening, then in the morning put everything in your insulated Lunch Tote. There are so many to choose from here.
Below are some things to help you with your packed lunch. Did you know Crock Pot made these little lunch warmers? You’ve got to check it out.
- Lunch-Size Crock Pot – Isn’t this thing adorable?
- Divided Bento Containers
- Glass Containers – They keep their seal longer
7. Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime will save you in many different ways, it doesn’t just save you on shipping. There are many items that I can get at Amazon for a better price.
The #1 Way Amazon saves me money, though? It keeps me out of the stores.
If I had to run to Target for a birthday present for someone, I’d walk out of there with $100 worth of things I probably shouldn’t have bought. But, when I shop at Amazon, I look for something in particular, put it in my cart, check-out and go back to my day. It just saved me $90 and at least an hour of my time.
Did you know that all kinds of free services come with Amazon Prime? I know you’ve been holding off on getting it because $100 doesn’t sound worth it, but with Prime you can get Prime Video and TV shows, Prime Music, Prime Reading benefits, Audible Channels, and Photo Storage. Take a look at all the benefits.
And, did you know that people on some government assistance programs can get Amazon Prime at a discount? Click on the image below to learn more:
8. Antenna or Roku
If you can ditch cable and get a great antenna (this one is a Best Seller), Amazon Fire Stick or Roku Streaming Stick, you’ll be saving over $1,000 per year. I saw what my mom is paying for her cable and it makes me sick. While all systems have their differences, the truth is, we get used to watching the shows that are available to us. When we first got rid of our satellite there were a few shows I missed, but now 7 years later, the Thousands of Dollars I’ve saved is worth way more than a few tv shows.
9. Tightwad Gazette
This is the best book EVER for teaching you how to be frugal in every little detail of your life. I learned so much from this book and scoured every single page for little treasures that I still apply today. It actually comes to my mind all … the … time … You really should get it.
10. Home Exercise Equipment
Staying healthy and active is good for us. That alone saves money on medical bills and medicine. Lots of people join exercise gyms to help them get and stay active. The problem is … they are very, very expensive and most people end up skipping the gym and wasting their money. These memberships cost over a thousand dollars each year. So, save yourself a lot of money and cancel your membership or don’t buy it to start with.
Home exercise equipment is a great alternative. Large pieces of home exercise equipment (think treadmill and exercise bike) are expensive so really they are only worth it if you’re someone who is already exercising regularly or paying the membership fees at a health club. I say this because so many people buy a treadmill and then just end up hanging their clothes on it. Not such a frugal idea. If you buy smaller pieces of equipment, they take up less space and are much less expensive. Here are some ideas for Frugal Home Exercise Equipment.
- Mini Trampoline
- Yoga DVD and Equipment
- Kettle Bell and Kettle Bell with
- Kettle Bell with
- Resistance Bands
11. Freezer
This really should be higher up on the list because it’s something I use every single day to save money. A freezer keeps me from shopping day after day and it allows me to buy things when they’re on sale for a great price. I like to eat from my freezer by using it to meal plan. Each week I open the freezer, pull out a couple things and plan my meal from that. Things I mostly use the freezer for:
- Meat purchased on sale or in bulk from Zaycon Fresh
- Bread
- Freezer Meals
- Frozen Fruit for smoothies
- Food about to spoil (I rescue things all the time by making smoothie packs or freezer meals)
You can make back the cost of a freezer like this very quickly, easily within a couple months when cooking for a family.
12. Hair Clippers
I started cutting my husband’s and my boys hair with clippers eons ago. It is so easy to do and with a one-time investment of about $25, every haircut after the first is practically free. There are even tons of youtube videos to teach you how to do it. Depending on the number of boys in your family, this product will save you hundreds of dollars every single year.
13. Texture
I love magazines … I even use them for research and inspiration for work. But, they can get expensive and make a lot of clutter. Why is it we can’t just look at a magazine, then throw it away? For some reason it needs to linger for months before it finally goes to recycling. My husband loves to get diy magazines and then holds them forever thinking he’ll need them one day. I finally found a solution to our magazine hoarding issues.
It’s called Texture. It’s an app that gives you access to hundreds of magazines for one monthly fee. One monthly fee gives you unlimited access to these magazines each month on up to 5 devices … popular magazines like People, Martha Stewart, Cosmopolitan, Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, Smithsonian, Bon Appetit, Consumer Reports, Entertainment Weekly, The Pioneer Woman, really there’s way more than is possible to list.
They even have an awesome trial so you can see if you like it.
Other Money-Saving Articles
- How to Make a Frugal Meal Plan
- Create a Grocery Price Book
- Why You Need a Freezer Meal Plan
- 15 Frugal Pantry Staples
- Tricky Ways to Stash Money When You Think You’re Broke
These are really just a few of the things we use in order to save thousands of dollars each year. As a family trying to live well on one income, we’ve gotta figure out how to stretch every single dollar and save money whenever we can.
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Do you have some other great products that help you save? I’d really love to hear about them.
