Easy Ways to Save Money 
So…I love fitness, obviously, and you might wonder what finding easy ways to save money has to do with health and fitness. Welp, I am a big believer in saving money whenever and wherever possible so you can splurge on the things you love and enjoy. That is my philosophy with food also. I don’t waste bad calories on things I don’t absolutely love! You will never find me drinking a coke or eating croutons in my salad. Totally not worth it to me! I’m saving myself for my mom’s homemade red velvet cake! HECK YEAH! So, I treat spending money the exact same way. I don’t want a sad looking piggy bank and I swore a long time ago that I would NOT live paycheck to paycheck. So, I vowed to be conscience of my spending without depriving myself too crazy much. I didn’t want to end up on the TV show “Hoarders” or “Extreme Couponers”, but I was leaning more towards envisioning an appearance on “The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”. Ha!
Why I Devoted Myself to Finding Ways to Really Save Money
My parents instilled responsibility in me at a very young age. I remember figuring up a yard work pitch consisting of raking a half an acre of land at 11 years old to earn money for both my brother and I to go to Six Flags with our youth group. You see, if I wanted something, I had to earn it. GASP! SHOCK! AWE! Now, that would probably appear to be child abuse! Ha! It is hard to watch how spoiled the younger generations are in this day and age. “Work ethic” seems like a four letter word. I am sooo incredibly thankful that I was taught to work for what I wanted. It made me truly evaluate how badly I wanted things and set me up for long term success in life.
Easiest Ways to Save Money
I am going to give you some unconventional tips that are easy ways to save money. I know most people have already heard to eat at home vs eating out or to pack your kid’s school lunch or cancel your cable. But, I wanted to give you a few outside of the box tips that I live by that are seemingly easy ways to save money.
1. If you want something, don’t buy it. WHAT? 
That’s right. Leave the store. If you are still thinking about it in a few days, THEN you can consider buying it. This will guarantee you aren’t making an impulse purchase and that you truly really want it. Impulse purchases are bad!
2. Always buy generic. A lot of times, the same factories make the name brand product as the generic brand. Don’t fall for this! There are some exceptions to this rule, one of which is toilet paper. You do need to evaluate quality. If you buy cheaper toilet paper, but end up using twice as much, it isn’t a better deal.
3. Always take your smart phone shopping. Before I make a purchase of significant value, I will check ebay.com and amazon.com for a cheaper price. 95% of the time, the physical store is charging more.
4. Before I make a purchase online, I will google for coupon codes. Ex: retailmenot.com is a great site.
5. Before I buy anything over $50 at a large chain (Home Depot, Lowes, Dicks sporting goods, etc), I will search ebay.com for a gift card. You can normally save around 20-50% on the purchase of the gift card. The higher value of the gift card, the more you will save!
6. I unplug everything. I’m not 100% sure of how much I’m saving, but it sure feels good doing it! Especially the washing machine and dryer. Those plugs just look expensive! Ha!
7. If I buy anything in bulk online, I will message the seller and ask for a discount on shipping or on the products. You will be amazed how much you can save simply by asking.
8. Buy refills! Hand soap and windex come to mind immediately. Anything that has a refill available will cost less.
9. Buy in bulk when available. Now, I’m not referring to stock piling your pantry with things you don’t use or need simply because you have a coupon. If you don’t eat it or need it, don’t buy it. If you can buy something you use regularly in bulk, compare the price per ounce, and if it’s good, buy it. Just make sure that you don’t use more than you normally would simply because you know you have more. Case in point: razors.
10. Restaurant.com and Groupon.com. If you are eating out, getting a massage, etc. (aka splurging), then search both of these sites beforehand. You can normally get a coupon code for restaurant.com ON TOP of the savings on their website (refer to step #4). But, no matter what you do, before you make a purchase, google the company that you are purchasing the gift certificate for. A LOT of companies are opening only to run a groupon special. This company can be shady, unprofessional, with no reputation and will most likely close after the groupon is over. I like to make sure the company has a website (or a facebook page that wasn’t created last week), reviews and a price list to see if you are actually getting a deal. If not, don’t buy it. Odds are it won’t be a reputable place.
Digging Deep, Jessica Bowser Nelson
P.S. I initially became a Beachbody coach to save money. We all get 25% off the products! Want to join Click Here.