You all heard someone say to save for a rainy day. Yet for some people it can be hard to put money away in saving. Those who are a little better off are more likely to be able to save money; but a majority of people finds it a little difficult to save.

There are 99 great ways to save. In these times, it pays to be frugal with your money. What products can you replicate at home for less? What is wisely bought secondhand? How can you squeeze $2 out of every $1 in grocery spending?

A smart shopper would looks for bargains when shopping. They even clipped coupons and look for ads. They will make a list and stick to it. You never grocery shop on an empty stomach either; otherwise you may buy what you don’t need. You even plan your menu for the week and plan on having leftovers as well. It’s cheaper to eat from home than go out and eat. I’m not saying you shouldn’t treat yourself once in a while though. If you set up a budget, you can once in a while treat yourself. Some may say to buy store brand products because they are cheaper. The truth is: they are not always cheaper. What they cut in cost, they also cut in flavor or things may not be as good as the original product. Cheap is cheap for a reason! It’s also cheaper to buy in bulk.

Don’t get me wrong, once in awhile I like to go to the coffee shop for a good cup of java. I mean who doesn’t.

It’s best to know something about cars before going to the mechanic. Some mechanic will try to take advantage of you and charge you more than what it actually would cost. They are more likely to take advantage of a woman if she doesn’t know much about cars.

When it comes to energy cost, there are some things I was taught while growing up. You must shut off lights you don’t need. Whenever my dad would see a light on in the kitchen, he would say, “do you need the light on?” If he sees water dripping from the faucet, he would say, “shut it off tightly. So to this day, I don’t have lights on in my home that I’m not using. If I’m watching tv, I usually watch it in the dark to save money on electric bill. This is because of the way I was raised.

Before we got the woodstove in our home growing up, we kept the heat down to around 68- 70 degrees and wears extra layers of clothes. Luckily, growing up computers weren’t around; otherwise my step-dad would had a cow because he would see them as a waste of money and electricity.

When it comes to your phones, look for a good phones plan to save you money. Before there was cell phones, there was landline. Back then, it was cheaper to call long distance in the evening or on the weekend.

How many people shop online? I have to admit since the Pandemic, I did a lot of shopping online. As you get older, it’s easier to shop online and have it delivered. Now there is door dash to have your food or coffee delivered as well.

When I was younger, a person didn’t need cable to watch tv. Now with all the junk in the air, you have to get cable to watch tv. Yet you can watch tv the old fashion way by installing an antenna and just get the basic channels.

Now days things are not made to last forever-they are made to buy. How to make things last is the key to saving money. You can double bag your bread and toss it in the freezer. Then take out a slice or 2 and put it in the toaster on the lightest setting to defrost. If you can sew, you can save money on buying new clothes, because things happen like zippers break or tears in the clothes. It’s nothing wrong with boys taking home economic in high school. It teaches you the basic to help you save money. Yet, it seems they don’t teach the basic in home economics anymore. Just like, it doesn’t hurt girls to learn the basic in auto mechanic.

It’s alright to get free stuff. Not everything is free though.

When it comes for me to get a haircut, I don’t go to a beauty salon because it’s higher. Guys don’t need to spend a fortune on a haircut. I go to a barber college for my haircut.

It’s cheaper to buy from a thrift store clothes and furniture.

Want to save money on healthcare, eat healthier, stick to a diet and exercise. You don’t have to go to a gym to exercise, you can do it cheaper at home. The reason healthcare is so expensive is because of the junk we put into our body. Process food is cheaper than good healthy organic food. In the long run, you’ll pay for it with the high cost of medical care. Doctors and Pharmaceutical wouldn’t want you to know this though. They rather we eat unhealthy, that way we will be in needs of medical treatments.

Just like eating and buying good healthy foods such as organic without all the preservatives, is more expensive than junk food. The reason because there isn’t much of a demand for it as it should be. It’s called supply and demand. It’s better and cheaper to use home remedies than go to the doctors for medical treatments.

It’s not easy to save money for the poor working folks out there. Everything is so damn high. Even our taxes our high. A person have to work 2-3 jobs to make a living to pay their bills. They are living paycheck to paycheck. It’s hard to put money aside in saving, when you are just making enough to get buy. You can set up a budget but sometimes that’s hard to accomplish. It’s hard to save money for retirement. And you cannot depend on Social Security alone to make it. You need other source of retirement plan to subside your social security income. There are people who are just living on Social Security and it’s not easy for them. If you are lucky enough to get a job that offer a 401K, I advise you to take advantage of it.

When I happened to inherited money after my folks had passed away, I was advised to put some of my inheritance money into investments for retirement. My financial advisor advised me, when the time comes for me to retire, roll my 401K into my investments and live off the interest.

A person have to be careful when you do retire and happened to need round the clock care, because nursing home care will eats up your retirement money very quickly. I heard that Captain and Tennill ended up getting a divorce when the Captain was in need of nursing home care, to save some of their money. If it can happened to them, it can happen to anyone. We don’t just die, we could end up in a nursing home before we die. After my mother had a stroke and before she passed away, us kids suggested that her and dad get a divorce; otherwise the high cost of the nursing home could take the farm. Our family wasn’t rich financially but we had assets.

With the high cost of living, a person have to be very careful otherwise you could lose any money you have put away for retirement.

Just like when it rains it pours. Have you ever noticed that things seems to happened at once to drains your saving? If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.

Like I saw a when Biden was President, “Johnny Cash and Bob Hope are gone-so there’s no cash and no hope.”

If you can save money to put aside for a rainy day or for your retirement, I advise you to do so. It’s not easy for the average person to do so. I’m glad that I had a retirement plan from Concordia that I was able to roll over into my job now; but there was a time, it just sat collecting interest because no one told me that I could roll it over when I was at Kmart. Just like, I’m thankful for the advised I got when I came into an inheritance to put money aside in an investment.

Don’t get me wrong, things are tough right now for me and the situation I’m in. I hope that this will help you. I hope that you don’t find yourself in the same boat as I’m in right now.