Did you know that there are products that will save you money? These products can save you anywhere from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars. Combined, they can be life-changing for your family’s budget. Check out this list of smart products to buy that will save you money. These are all products we use in our home and have made a huge impact on our finances.
Being a mom of four special needs children, I am always looking for ways to save money. I would say that I am pretty frugal and thrifty, though I am sure there are things I haven’t thought of yet either!
The hardest part of saving money for us is not having a decent amount of money, to begin with, living paycheck to paycheck for years. All the tips for managing money all seemed to start with way more income than I had. When the girls were little, more money just wasn’t a thing. So, finding ways to create money in our budget was the only way to go.
Products that Will Save you Money
When it came to purchases, there are a few key questions I always asked myself. These are great for anyone looking to save money:
- Do we need this, or is this a want?
- Do we have something else that does the same job already?
- Can we borrow this for someone for a short time?
- Can it be purchased used for a better deal?
Most of the time, we save money by NOT buying things. Sometimes, saving money happens by making better purchases. These purchases allow you to go about your days in a way that keeps more and more money in your pocket. They are items that will help you save thousands of dollars, not just this year, but year after year.
Take Your Lunch To Work
On our list of products that will save you money, packing your lunch is high on the list. The best time to pack a lunch is right after dinner (while you’re still in the kitchen). A lot of the time, I will run out of time if I wait until the morning to make lunches for everyone. You can use leftovers to make an awesome meal or pack other items you prefer for lunch. Doing this can save you thousands a year!
Here are some items that make taking your lunch to work easier:
- Insulated Lunch Box (for adults)
- Lunch-Size Crock-Pot
- Divided Bento Containers
- Reusable Glass or Plastic Containers.
Reusable Water Bottle
Most of us know this, but drinks are expensive. Staying hydrated is essential to go health, but constantly buying bottles of water or soda wastes a ton of money.
While water bottles are geared for water, they can hold a ton of other cold drinks. Try making lemonade, sweet tea, or flavored water in pitchers at home. Then place them in your water bottle to take to work or on the go. According to how much you purchase now, this one-time purchase can save you from $100-$1,000 a year on average.
Coffee Maker & Supplies
Are you a coffee fanatic, especially of a certain chain? I’m guilty of loving a few specific drinks from there. At anywhere from $3-6 per drink, you can imagine how fast this adds up. Many die-hard fans go every day of the workweek. That equals anywhere from $15-$30 a week, which is $780 -$1560 yearly!
Coffee (even the fancy ones) can be made at home for a fraction of that cost. I have this Keurig coffee maker, which allows us to make one cup at a time. We use a reusable filter as well, which reduces a ton a waste!
If you prefer cold coffee, I’d recommend this coffee pot instead. That way, you can brew a large batch to put in the refrigerator while still having the single-cup option.
Many of the popular coffee drinks have copycat recipes online for free. Starbucks has even released a line creamer with their top flavors as well!
Here are some of the items you need for making those designer drinks at home
Instant Pot (with slow cooker option)
When you get home, the last thing you likely want to do is slave away in the kitchen. Having a quick way to prepare a nice meal is the way to go. I love my Instant Pot. You can drop a freezer meal right in and have an amazing meal in 20-30 minutes with little effort.
The other great option is to use its slow cooker option. This option makes it a two in one tool, saving you a little more money (and space!). Having an Instant Pot can save you up to a few thousand dollars a year, according to how much you dine out.
If you are nervous about using your pressure cooker, or just don’t know how to make the best use of it, you are in luck! This class teaches you how to use your instant pot and a bunch of great recipes to use with it as well!
MyFreezerEasy
MyFreezEasy is a freezer meal planning service that takes all the planning work out of the freezer meal service. They provide customizable menus for you, shopping list, and step-by-step instructions to make ten 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. Not only does this help you save money (buying in bulk, homemade vs. takeout food), it also saves you a ton of time!
Roku, Firestick, or antennas
Cable services can get extremely pricey and we often do not use anywhere near the number of channels in our packages. By using an antenna, Amazon Fire Stick, Chrome Cast, or Roku, you’ll easily save over $1,000 per year.
There are many free apps on Roku & Firesticks to watch. If you have Amazon Prime, you can watch hundreds of networks shows, and Amazon originals free with your membership. You can also use programs like Netflix, Apple Tv, and Hulu for even more shows for the whole family.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is a great product that will save you money in so many ways! While it does save you money on shipping, there are a ton of other ways too!
First, it keeps you from buying extra items. We’ve all fallen victim to finding extra items at Target and spending way more than expected!
Check out some of these great benefits to save you a ton of money every year!
- FREE Two-Day Delivery, One-Day Delivery, & even Same-Day Delivery!
- FREE Ultrafast Grocery Delivery (in select cities).
- No-Rush FREE Shipping: Don’t need your Prime order right away? Select No-Rush Shipping and earn rewards for future purchases.
- Prime Video: Stream thousands of movies and TV shows, including exclusive Amazon Originals. Learn more about Prime Video.
- Prime Music: Stream more than 2 million songs, plus thousands of playlists and stations.
- Twitch Prime: Get free game content every month and a Twitch Channel Subscription.
- Alexa Voice Deals: Prime members can shop with Alexa and receive an additional discount on select deals.
- Amazon Family: Receive up to 20% off diapers and 15% off eligible products from your baby registry.
- Prime Reading: Unlimited access on any device to more than a thousand eBooks, popular magazines, comics, books with Audible narration, and more.
- Amazon First Reads: Read one of next month’s new releases now for free.
- Share Your Prime Benefits: Link your account with one other adult to share shipping, streaming access to movies and TV shows, Prime Reading, and more for free.
- Amazon Photos: Free unlimited photo storage for you and five others.
If you’re not a member of Amazon Prime already, you’ll want to join right now to snag free 2-day shipping and so much more. Click the link right HERE and get your free 30-day trial.
Amazon Discount?!
AND, DID YOU KNOW THAT PEOPLE ON SOME GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS CAN GET AMAZON PRIME AT A DISCOUNT? OR THAT STUDENTS GET A DISCOUNT TOO?! CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO LEARN MORE:
Instacart
If Prime Pantry isn’t available to you, no worries! Instacart partners with grocery stores in different cities to spare busy shoppers a trip to the store.
Here’s how it works: You create an account online through the Instacart app and place an order at a nearby participating grocer. An Instacart shopper shops for you and delivers your food right to your door. There are also discounts for shopping during non-peak hours, referring friends, and free delivery on your first order. Check out Instacart here.
Having someone shop for you does eliminate those impulse buys, but it also helps save money in other ways. You can shop for sales and use coupons to get the ultimate deals on your groceries. Plus, there are often coupons for Instacart on Retail Me Not. Checking here before your order can help possible score you free delivery or $10 off an order coupon.
Deep Freezer
Have you ever seen an amazing deal on meat, but could only buy a few pieces because there isn’t room in your freezer? Deep freezers are great products that will save you money for many years to come. Owning a deep freezer allows you to purchase items in bulk and on sale.
When you are using meal plans, having a place to store larger amounts of prepared meals goes a long way to save you time as well. So, what all can you place in a deep freezer? Check it out:
- Freezer Meals
- Meat
- Bread
- Milk & Fruit Juice
- Fruit & Veggies (catch fresh blueberries on sale? Buy extra and put them in a freezer bag to save for smoothies and baked goods)
- Cheese
- Homemade Pancakes, Waffles, and French Toast
- Baked Goods
- Flour & Sugar
You can make back the cost of a freezer like this very quickly, easily within a couple of months when cooking for a family. We use a very large deep freezer that my Dad gifted to use over a decade ago. It works amazing. He also bought a deep freezer for my grandfather over thirty years ago, and it is still working today and was passed on to other family members! It is a great investment that will last a long time.
Get a Library Cards
Library cards are an amazing community resource that is completely free. You can borrow not only books but so much more! Our local library system offers the following items as a part of just being a free library member:
- Books (also think cookbooks!)
- Magazines (all the latest and previous issues)
- Movies
- Video Games (for the newest systems even!)
- Puzzles
- Free Internet Access
- Cake Pans (all sorts of sizes, shapes, characters, and more)
- Book Club kits
- Free Clubs & Classes
- Free Coupon Exchange Group (get the coupons you need to save more money!)
- Exhibits, Meet the Author Events, Trivia Nights
- Free E-Library & Hoopla Access
- Printing Service (.10 per page)
If you use even a fraction of these services, it could save thousands of dollars per year! Another great option if the library isn’t close to you is to use an online service such as Kindle Unlimited to borrow e-books. This way you also don’t have to worry about forgetting to return them! You can try one month of Kindle Unlimited free here.
Ditch the gym
Staying healthy and active is key to maintaining good health, both physical and mental. Just the reduction in possible hospital bills and medication will help you save a ton of money yearly.
To do this though, many people wind up purchasing memberships to the gym. These memberships can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year. If you are someone who uses the large equipment regularly, these memberships may be beneficial. However, most of us don’t use our memberships anywhere near enough to be worth the cost.
If you do prefer a larger piece of equipment (and have the room), you want to pick something that has multiple functions and preferably buy on sale or used. Many folks will buy these pieces of equipment and then never use them. When they realize this, they often sell them very gently used (sometimes never used!) at a steep discount.
On the other hand, you can work out without the big equipment. There are a ton of more frugal ways to work out. Here are some ideas for home exercise products that will save you money.
- Resistance bands
- Weights
- Kettlebells
- Tube Foam Roller
- Jump rope
- Yoga mat
- Medicine ball
- Mini Trampoline
- Fitness sliders
Hair Clippers
When I first cut my hair short, I began to realize just how expensive routine maintenance of short hair is! For my girls, I have been trimming their hair since they were little bitty. There are even tools you can buy to help you cut and trim long hair with ease.
For my husband and son, I realized we needed to start doing their hair at home, as well. Our three oldest are girls, so I learned just how pricey boy’s haircuts were when my son turned around 18 months.
They wanted $25 to trim his little head and that’s not including a tip! Plus, he needs his hair shaped back up at least every six weeks. That’s $250 per year in just haircuts for one person! We have a family of six, so your talking $1500 a year!
If you are worried about how to cut either long or short hair, there are a ton of youtube videos to teach you. Here’s what you need to cut hair at home and save big.
- Clippers (shorter hair)
- Hair Scissors (long or short hair)
- Comb (long or short hair)
- Hair Cut Guides (Longer Hair)
- Hair Cut Cape (for easier cleanup!)
Programmable Thermostat
No matter which type of service you use (gas or electric), everyone has a thermostat. In many homes, there is a large amount of the day when no one is home. During this time, though, the heat or air is running as if you were home! That equals up in a ton of wasted energy and money!
Programmable thermostats are great products that will save you money because you set different temperatures for different times of the day or week. That way, your home can be warmer when you’re home and awake and cooler when you’re away or asleep.
Some are extra clever and can set the temperature lower when they don’t sense you around. With free services like Amazon Alexa, you can even use to adjust temperatures when you’re out of the house. These same services also work with your home security system as well!
The less energy used in your home, the more you’ll save. It’s estimated that between $100 and $200 or more can be saved annually, but can be much more based on your house size.
LED Light Bulbs
Surprisingly, LED light bulbs are great little products that will save you money. The light bulbs of generations past used so much energy and were always hot to the touch!
Now, there are LED light bulbs that are so much more energy-efficient. Not only will these light bulbs save you around 9% a year on your electric bill, but they also save on out of pocket costs as well. Each light bulb can last up to 10 years without ever being changed!
A Drying Rack
While I haven’t met too many people who love laundry, it is something that we all must do. Our dryers take quite a bit of energy, especially if you have a large family.
An online energy use calculator shows that if you use your dryer for an hour a day, on average, and it uses 3,000 watts at $0.15 per kilowatt, you’ll be forking over about $160 per year just for your dryer. Since we typically run two to three loads of laundry a day sometimes, it get’s really expensive for our large family.
A drying rack is a perfect solution to help reduce those laundry related costs. Even if you don’t want to hang out your undies, a clothesline is great for towels and blankets. Both of which are heavy and take up a lot more energy to dry.
Dryer balls
While dryer sheets can add up over time, avoiding static and wrinkles is also a must. Dryer balls are a great solution that saves money and reduces your environmental impact. These little balls simple spheres are often made of wool and can be used for 1000 loads or more.
Another benefit to dryer balls is that dryer sheets normally have several chemicals in them, the balls typically do not. They offer the extra benefit of shortening the drying time, which helps save energy and money.
Low-flow showerheads
A low-flow showerhead can significantly reduce the amount of water you use each time you shower. Surprisingly, you won’t notice much difference at all in the quality of your shower.
A conventional shower head that delivers, say, 3 gallons of water per minute for 10 minutes per day would use 10,950 gallons, while a low-flow head that delivers 1.5 gallons per minute would use half — just 5,475 gallons.
Sink Water Aerators
The average water bill is about $70 per month in the US. While this includes all water usage, adding different ways to reduce usage will go a long way.
Sink water aerators work like the low-flow showerheads, by reducing the amount of water used. Adding this device can help save you upwards of $100 per year.
Rechargeable Batteries
Many devices these days use batteries. If you have children, you probably have even more battery-powered items in your home. While rechargeable batteries cost a little more than regular alkaline ones, long term, you will save quite a bit. Rechargeable batteries are great products that will save you money.
Second-hand items
My entire childhood, we rarely shopped for new items. I learned from an early age how to thrift shop. I was able to wear name brand clothing for less than Walmart prices. Now, my kids enjoy the hunt for great items and couldn’t imagine paying full price for anything either!
Many items that you use can be bought second hand (I wouldn’t recommend secondhand underwear though). Bikes, toys, clothes, kitchen appliances, and more can all be bought second hand.
For children’s clothing, you can often find brand new clothes while shopping at the thrift store. These new items are due to children outgrowing items bought or gifted to them, before being able to wear them. Being a little thrifty can save you anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars every single year!
OTHER MONEY-SAVING ARTICLES
- UTILITY BILLS 101: SAVE MONEY ON UTILITIES BY MAXIMIZING YOUR RESOURCES
- 11+ WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON HOUSEHOLD BILLS AND MONTHLY OUTGOINGS
- BUDGETING TIPS TO HELP YOUR FAMILY SAVE MONEY
- THE SECRET TO SAVING MONEY AT TARGET – 8 MONEY SAVING TIPS
- DO LOADS OF LAUNDRY WITHOUT SPENDING LOADS OF CASH
- HOW TO AFFORD A LARGE FAMILY ON A VERY SMALL BUDGET
Products that will Save you Money
These are just a few of the things we use to save thousands of dollars each year. As a large family who often lived on one income, we’ve learned how to stretch every single dollar and save money whenever we can.
DON’T FORGET TO GET YOUR FREE 30-DAY TRIAL OF AMAZON PRIME SO YOU CAN DO ALL YOUR SHOPPING WITH FREE 2-DAY SHIPPING, PLUS GREAT BENEFITS LIKE AMAZON MUSIC, FREE KINDLE BOOKS, FREE AUDIBLE CHANNELS, AND SO MUCH MORE.
Do you have some other great products that will save you money? Let us know in the comments below!
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