Some of the best money saving hacks are unconventional, but they really help.
There are life and money saving hacks for almost everything, from organizing your office to building a better mousetrap. But some of the craziest ideas revolve around saving money. Some of these strange ideas are very good because they actually work! You will have to decide if they are worth the trouble, though.
Reuse the Wax Paper Butter Wrappers
When done with a stick of butter, save the wrapping paper in the fridge. You can reuse it later because it still has a small amount of butter on it. Then the next time you cook in a pan and need to add butter or oil to it, wipe the last bit of butter off the wax paper onto the pan. You can apply this concept to other items, such as cutting up a tube of toothpaste or bottle of oil to get every last bit of the product before throwing away the container.
Buy Coupons
We all know about using coupons to save money, but buying them? Yes, in some cases, you can come out ahead by buying certain coupons. The savings from these coupons go further when used for items that are a part of other discounts or promotions, such as a buy-one-get-one sale.
Use the Bathroom Outside the Home
If time and your body allow, use the bathroom when out of the house as much as possible. This will save on water and toilet paper. Just make sure you can hold it until you get to your intended destination!
Open a New Financial Account
Many banks and brokerages provide new customers with hundreds of dollars in cash if they open a new account. To get the most benefit, you’ll need to deposit a significant amount of money when opening the account and you may need to do other things, like set up direct deposit with it. But if you have a large chunk of cash sitting around, you can turn it into easy money by simply moving it from one institution to another.
Free Envelopes
The next time you get a bill or junk mail, save the envelope that comes it. In most cases, the envelope will already have an address on it, so you can’t use it for mailing. But you can still use it to hold important papers, cash or other things that require an envelope. And for the limited instances when you get a blank envelope but it has a clear window, you can still use it. Just wrap whatever you’re sending in a white sheet of paper to protect the privacy of whatever is inside.
Student Dentistry
If you don’t have dental insurance and need basic x-rays, oral exams and teeth cleaning services, look into any nearby community colleges, universities or trade schools that have dental hygienist or dental programs. If they do, you may be able to score extremely cheap, basic dental care from dental students who are in the process of learning. Don’t worry, they’re under the supervision of a real dentist and most of the time, it’s the dentist that will do any of the serious dental work, such as cleaning the teeth.
Free or Almost Free Haircuts
Along the same lines as getting low-cost dental care, if there are any cosmetology or local beauty salon programs nearby, you can probably get free or low-cost haircuts from their students. Even if there’s no formal training program, if you make friends with a student, they may be willing to cut your hair for free so they can practice what they’re learning in class.
It can take time and practice to make money saving hacks work for you. If you need a bit of wiggle room, a title pawn can help. Call or visit your nearest Title Tree store to find out whether you qualify.