If you need budget hacks, this is the right place for you from Beyond Finance

22 Budget Hacks to Help You Stop Spending Extra Money

So, how many times have you been searching for budget hacks online while thinking, “When will this stop?” Money doesn’t last as long as it used to, and your bank account seems to empty much faster these days.

Inflation is hurting us all. National worry is increasing everywhere. And the struggle is real. But how can you fight every company on the planet raising their prices, but your company isn’t handing out bonus checks every month? That’s where budget hacks help the most.

As a company dedicated to moving people beyond debt and giving them back the life they deserve, we’d encourage you to bookmark this post. Take notes and tell your friends.

Here are 22 budget hacks (for 2022) to help you stop spending extra money:

Budget hacks are important wherever you can get them. So, you're welcome from Beyond Finance!
Write down these 22 budget hacks from Beyond Finance wherever you can. You’ll need them!

1 Prioritize your bills

What bills are most important? Your shelter, cars, Internet, and they fall off a cliff from there. Order them, so you need to make difficult decisions about what to buy and cancel when things get tight. Stick to it and see how easy it is to take scissors to your “extra” expenses.

2 Budgets must be alive

Many people create a household budget by making a beautiful spreadsheet with color codes and everything. Yet, the file stays closed and lost on that desktop of yours. Make your budget a living document, so you must visit it weekly (at least). That way, it’s always on your mind.

3 Use cash

It’s simple enough, but it’s about tangibility. If you’re out for the weekend and enjoying your time shopping, so is your fun time when your cash is gone. If you live on plastic, that boundary can be pushed…and pushed. Even budgeting is all about the Benjamins.

4 Order your groceries online

Somehow, 48 extra things hop into your basket at the grocery store. Try ordering online and watch what happens. If the price is too much, it’s simple to remove something from your cart to fit your budget. At the grocery store, your calculator stays an afterthought.

5 Never shop without a list

We’ve already shown how grocery store lists aren’t foolproof, but they can help. It would help if you learned to commit to not buying a thing unless it’s on a list. If you can’t check it, you can’t buy it. You’d be shocked how much you save.

6 Stop making resolutions

Have you ever noticed those plans for New Year’s rarely come to pass? It’s because you know they are symbolic of the holiday. They aren’t something you intend to keep. If that were the case, you would weigh 98 pounds, work out twice a day, and never touch fast food again.

7 Hit the pause button

Impulses can be stopped. Regardless of the store you visit or the things on your list, there will always be something tempting you. Look at it but walk around before that “needed” item ends up in your cart. It’s incredible how practical you become when you think about something.

8 Separate your savings

Another thing that requires dedication is placing the money you want to use for vacations, big-ticket items, or even an emergency fund into a savings account. Here’s the catch—your savings account is not your checking account. Don’t mix funds. Don’t touch the savings. You can do it.

9 Mold those memberships

Do you use all those monthly items that eat up small amounts of change so often that you don’t even notice? If you took one day at the end of the month to see how many memberships you have, it might surprise you to go on a canceling spree.

10 Research then reason

How often to research an item before you buy it? It doesn’t have to be a car or anything from Williams-Sonoma for you to look it up online. Do that for anything above a certain threshold. For example, if you need over something $100, find reviews, thoughts, and price comparisons.

11 Fill the cookie jar

You will get a pocket full of change when you start using cash. Now, you know that you’re not carrying change with you, so find a jar, a drawer, a piggy bank. Fill it to the brim, take all that change to the bank or the grocery store, and be amazed at the dollars you can make.

12 Hot to trot

Do you enjoy scalding hot showers or baths? You know? The kind of water is so steamy that you prune up like someone 50 years your senior. If you take the water just a couple of degrees, you could save up to $50 a month.

13 Put the kids to work

If they are of working age, look at your arms as a slot machine lever, it’s time to set the kids down and talk shop. Do they have a car? Consider them paying for insurance and gas. Do they have a significant other? Maybe they should pay for that date to the movies. It’s time, parents.

14 Shop Generic

Have you ever been used to shopping the big brands and then, on a whim, purchasing the “off-brand?” Could you tell the difference? That’s the thing—many of those generic products are made with the same materials. So, buy generic and save some money.

15 Delete your credit card numbers online

Fast food is tempting because it lives up to its name—it is fast. Think about this: How many websites have your credit card number saved? Now, what about this? How fast can you put something in a cart and buy it without thinking? Now, delete the credit card numbers.

16 Keep Receipts

Time for us to sound like your mom but try it. Keep the receipts as a track record of what you have spent, and just in case you reconsider that $70 Champion hoodie you just “needed” to buy for your collection. You have the receipt, so get your money back.

17 Buy in Bulk—Maybe

Just because you shop at one of those warehouses doesn’t always mean you will save money. Like, do you believe eight 24-ounce shampoo bottles are a good investment? Do your math and see what happens. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

18 Go to a warehouse for drugs

If your insurance isn’t that great, but your trips to the allergy doctor are, you need to reconsider where you buy your pharmaceutical needs. Did you know you can go to Sam’s Club or Costco as your pharmacy without being a member? It’s true, and the prices are so competitive.

19 Coupons

Yes, this shopping word causes some families to break out in a rash and regret going to a grocery store. You may not want to keep the accordion folder in the junk drawer next to the orange-handled scissors, but you will be better off for it. This should help too.

20 Can you cook

Fast food is convenient, greasy, and often can be a source of stress relief. However, it’s also a bank account vacuum cleaner. Look up some recipes, buy groceries, and watch some Food Network. Cooking from scratch is always cheaper—and you’ll eat the leftovers.

21 Automate bill pay

It can be difficult to keep up with every bill you need to pay. Sometimes, you could miss a bill, and before you know it, you get a call from the credit card company looking for their money. Then, for your troubles, they charged you some fees. Automate those things and rest easy.

22 Never shop hungry or mad

Shopping is magical because it can be cathartic. You feel good buying something, whether you can afford it or not. If you go grocery shopping while hungry, guess what? You buy more TV dinners than you think. If you go to the mall angry, you will have more bags than you wanted.