Life Hack: 06 Tips to Live on Next to Nothing

1. Cut Your Bills to Free Up More Money

Every time you go to the mailbox there’s another bill just demanding you pay it. Unfortunately your bills never go down; they just continue to rise. To add insult to injury, you see ads flaunting low prices for new cable customers, but you get absolutely nothing for being a loyal customer. Do you want to reverse this trend?

Let Trim Lower Your Expenses

Don’t put up with high prices for cable, internet or phone services any longer. With Trim, you can sit back and let someone else fight to lower your bills.

Trim’s experienced negotiators will work on cutting those bills. If they save you money, you will keep 66% of your first year savings and then 100% every year thereafter. You won’t be charged a cent unless Trim saves you money.

Please note that Trim takes their payment immediately. For example, if Trim saves you $10/month, they will request their 33% fee ($40) right away. But you keep 100% of the savings after that. 

2. Eat at Home and Save Some Bacon

Going out to eat always seems better in thought than in reality. You get okay food at a price that’s 5X what you would pay if you made it yourself. That’s because you have to pay the hostesses, servers, cooks, dishwashers, managers, electricity, rent, and so much more. When you eat at home, you buy your ingredients and that’s it. Avoid the frustration and the cost when you cook and eat at home.

Pro Tip: Look up your recipes on Google. The top search results have the most 5 star reviews (they’re the best recipes on the internet). 9/10 recipes you cook from the top of google will blow your taste buds away. 

$5 Meal Plan Offers Delicious Choices and Dishes up Savings

If cooking at home is new for you, it can seem like a bit of a challenge. But $5 Meal Plan makes cooking at home fun and easy. Your taste buds will be introduced to new dishes, like balsamic chicken wraps or avocado egg breakfast sandwich.

The recipes spell out what you need, how to prepare it, how to cook it, and what you can do ahead of time. Regain precious time when you no longer have to worry about what to cook. Discover new dishes and never eat a boring meal again.

3. A Budget Makes Your Goal of Financial Freedom Easier

With a budget, you can live on less than you earn. That’s all it takes to pay down debt and save for emergencies. If you don’t have a budget to plan how to handle the money you save and receive from cash-back rewards, it will just get wasted. Create a budget so you have a clear understanding of how much money you have, how much money you spend on bills, and what you have to save. A budget will reduce your financial stress and make reaching your financial goals easier.

Free Workshop – Join our free Simplify Money Workshop

The *only* way to save money is to spend less than you earn. That means you need to decrease your expenses or increase your income.

We want to help you do both.

Join our FREE Simplify Money Workshop to learn the fundamentals of growing wealth. Because when you can spend less than you earn, your money has no choice but to grow. You will build your savings and pay down debt. 

What’s more? We’ve got a bunch of free money-hacks to share with you:

• Hacks to lower your monthly bills
• Hacks to spend less on debt
• Hacks to start investing
• Hacks to increase your income by $20/month (with no extra effort)

This workshop has everything you need to accomplish the cardinal rule of personal finance: keep your income over your expenses.

4. Stop Paying Interest on Credit Cards. Period.

If I asked you to send me $25 a month for the fun of it, would you? Of course not! But, the sad reality is most of us do exactly this when we pay interest to credit card companies every month. Remedy this! Stop taking on more credit card debt and pay off your balances as quickly as possible. Do this to stop losing money to interest.

Cut Interest Expenses to Zero

There is a special credit card just for this very purpose. A balance transfer credit card that will give you a holiday from paying interest (0% APR) from 12 to 18 months (actual rates will depend on your credit score). You can transfer what you owe to this special credit card and enjoy zero interest for a period.

5. Collect Free Money at Every Opportunity (There’s More Than You Think)

Money might not grow on trees, but there are so many apps and services that are begging to give you free money it’s mind-boggling. Brands and companies will stuff your pockets with free money just for shopping in their stores and buying their products. You do this Every. Single. Day. You might as well get paid for it. If you don’t know about these apps and services you are missing out on some easy cash. Here are some of our favorite cash back apps:.

• Ibotta: If you shop without the No. 1 grocery app, you are throwing money away. Download the free app, select a grocery store, link your loyalty card, then choose the ingredients you need to cook those mouth-watering dishes from your $5 Meal Plan. It’s that simple. If you link your loyalty card, your cash-back rewards are automatic. If you don’t, just snap a pic of the receipt. Boom. You’re done. Download the free Ibotta app now and claim your $20 welcome bonus.

• Coin Out: After you download Ibotta, do the same with Coin Out. Market research firms will reward you when you snap a photo of your receipt from any retailer. You’re already doing it for Ibotta, so make a little more cash when you download the free Coin Out app.

• Capital One Shopping: This happens to be my absolute favorite app to earn free gift cards because I love to shop online. Get the free Capital One Shopping browser extension, and it will alert you to loyalty credits opportunities (loyalty credits are redeemable for free gift cards to Amazon, Walmart.com, and thousands of other online retailers). Capital One Shopping also searches the web for valid coupon codes when you check out online, and it works hard to ensure to find lower prices when you shop Amazon. Get the Capital One Shopping browser today (you’ll thank me).

• Dosh: If you want to put cash-back rewards on autopilot, then Dosh is the app you want. Link your credit and debit cards, and you automatically earn cash-back rewards at participating retailers. There is nothing else to do. It truly is that easy. So, download the free Dosh app and watch the cash dash in.

• Rakuten: How does up to 40% cash back sound to you? Install the free Rakuten browser extension, and let it work for you night and day finding cash-back opportunities. When you shop online, it will automatically alert you to cash-back and coupon-saving opportunities. When the cash-back notification pops up, be sure to activate it. Get the free Rakuten browser extension so you will always be alerted to cash-back offers when you shop online. 
• Trim: Don’t pay more than you have to for cell, cable or internet services. Trim expert negotiators will work to reduce your bills. Sign up for the Trim service, and remember, you pay nothing unless you save money.

6. Conserve Energy and use Energy-Efficient Appliances

OK, raise your hand if your parents ever said, “Turn the lights off when you leave the room.” Leaving a light on might not seem like much, but over weeks and months it really adds up to a lot of wasteful spending on energy (not good for the environment either). Play a part in reducing your electricity costs with a Hive Smart Thermostat (works with Alexa and Google Home), switching to energy efficient light bulbs and energy efficient appliances. But, there are other ways to save on electricity, too.

Compare Electricity Rates in Your Area to Reduce Energy Costs

Electricityrates.com compares energy prices in your area to help you lower your current electric bill.

Three things make now a great time to compare your rates to make sure your electric company is not charging you too much: 1) low oil prices, 2) spending more time at home and using more electricity, and 3) and potential price volatility with your current provider.