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How To Save Money With Little Income – Let me show you how to save money on minimum wage because without these strategies it will be almost impossible.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that saving money is easy when you’re making minimum wage.
How To Save Money With Little Income
I have over two decades of experience helping others – and myself – save money in less than stellar circumstances.
How To Save Money Fast On A Low Income
Is it possible to live on minimum wage (save money when you are earning minimum wage)?
Likely an example of the minimum wage budget put up by McDonald’s, and how the internet basically laughed at it.
I like that McDonald’s included $100 savings/month in their budget, showing that saving money – even on minimum wage – is huge.
To do (like have a lot of good strategies in place, like living with a roommate who pays half the bills)? yes
How To Survive On A Low Income
Since this is an article about saving money on minimum wage, I’ll dive right into it. But rest assured that following these strategies below will help you survive on minimum wage as well.
That’s why I’m dedicating this article to my best tips for saving money when you’re on a small income.
These are government, bank and non-profit sponsored programs that match your savings. This means, you can put some money aside and really start building an emergency fund and other savings.
You can click on my article on the subject for more information, and here’s a summary of the types of programs you’ll find:
Are You Keeping Too Much Money In The Bank?
Finding hundreds of dollars you can put into savings this year could be as simple as looking at your employer’s health insurance plan.
These are incentive-based programs so you can take healthy action throughout the year. Insurance companies are willing to pay to do this because it generally lowers costs as a company.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that at my husband’s last employer, we could EACH earn $450 by recording our weekly exercise for the year to go with the free annual physicals we already had (the doctor’s office just had to fill out a form). and other simple actions.
And we guess? We pocketed that $900 at the end of the year in the form of a check from the health insurance company.
Tips To Save Money With Low Income
Ask your employer, talk to HR, or log into your health insurance plan online to see if yours offers something similar.
Some programs may offer a discount on your health insurance premiums (which you would take that money and put into savings), while others give you cold, hard, cash.
Well, if you have GI Bill benefits with college assistance (like the post-9/11 GI Bill), definitely look into getting that degree.
That’s because it will eventually help you gain the skills to get out of a minimum-wage job, but you’ll likely be eligible for a housing grant.
How Can You Actually Make $1000 A Day?
When my husband went back to college and used his GI Bill to get his degree several years ago, we were pleasantly surprised with a large monthly housing allowance (over $1,000 per month) that came with it.
You’ll use your grocery receipts and other receipts throughout the week and scan them for free cash and gift cards.
I use three different apps (YES – you can enter the same receipt in all three for much more profit than just one!).
They are all the same in terms of sending receipts – just take a picture. BOOM.
How To Save Money When You Have A Low Income
Check out how much money I’ve made using this app since I joined last October (4.5 months ago) – $133.41!!
(psst: none of this money earned is from referring others – this is the actual earnings from using the app itself).
With this app, you look through the offers and choose which one to buy anyway. Then you add those deals to your account, and at the end of your grocery shopping trip, you scan your receipt to cash out.
What I love about this app is that you can BUY cash. So I can withdraw that money to my PayPal account or directly to my bank account whenever I want. You also have the option of paying with a gift card.
Finance Series 2: How To Save £10,000 On A Low Income By Annette Galloway
I joined these guys last month, and so far, I’ve gotten enough to get a $5 Amazon gift card!
What I like about this app is that you can use any receipt to earn points (apps like ibotta only accept earnings from certain stores).
While you have to cash out with gift cards in this app, it’s possible to do a MasterCard/Visa (so you’d take that gift card and spend it on something you’re buying, like groceries, and then the money you took out). you would spend on groceries and put it into your savings).
Simply take a picture of the receipt from anywhere, and you earn 100 points for each receipt card you complete.
Frugal Living Tips To Save A Ton Of Money
I’ve got a great article on national and local emergency financial resources that you’ll definitely want to check out because some of the programs aren’t for emergencies, but to help low-income families and individuals.
Working for minimum wage means it will be nearly impossible for you to make ends meet, let alone make a living AND save money.
For example, my aunt lived in Washington D.C. in an upscale neighborhood for most of her adult life. He did it by renting 3-5 rooms in the house. When a roommate moved, he would interview them and replace them with another. He has met some wonderful people over the years this way!
In most cases, sharing a ride or commuting with someone else or buying a bus pass/metro pass will be much cheaper than owning a car.
How Can You Make Your Money Work Harder For You?
When you own a car (even a car), it’s not just the car payment you have to make every month. You will also need:
Tip: Honest about leaving the car? Ok…keep it, but earn money by sharing it with others. 8. Use your free preventive appointments
There’s a fine line here, but to avoid trips to your doctor’s office and co-pays, try to make the most of the free preventative appointments they get throughout the year.
PSA: Whatever you do, don’t neglect doctor’s appointments when you have symptoms and think something might be wrong; this will cost you much more down the road, but it could cost you your health and even your life. This isn’t just about saving money! 9. Buy non-expired and salvaged foods
Save More On A Small Salary
When I was a teenager, my stepmom found this thrift store where we used to get incredible deals on foods that weren’t pretty enough for a regular grocery store.
Check out your local discount and thrift stores for some sweet deals. 2, 4 etc. it will help you get under the average household food bill.
Would it be weird to say that I probably get 50% of my clothes from thrift stores?
It’s a habit I picked up in my early 20s, and still haven’t changed in my late 30s, you know what?
How To Save Money On Low Income
You’ll never know how many cool outfits you can collect from the hidden store if you don’t try them out. And, dare I say it, try to enjoy it!
Pssst: You’ll definitely want to grab this free printable clothing style guide for tips on how to style your clothes better, and thrift store finds. 11. Create all your entertainment from the library
I’m serious here. If you’re struggling to save money, you don’t have the funds to pay for entertainment anyway.
And if you live near the university? Ask if you can get a free membership to their college library; we offered this to “citizens” at the college library where I worked (yes, I worked for minimum wage in a library for four years during college! great job).
Save Money On A Low Income: 9 Effective Ways For You
I’ve given you my top 11 tips for saving money on minimum wage. Not all will work for your situation; so you should choose the ones you are willing to try and see what happens. Don’t forget to return, and choose new ones to reduce your expenses even more so that you can finally put some money into savings. And one last tip? Don’t forget to transfer money from your checking account to your savings account… because that’s what these tips are for you to review and implement.
Amanda L. Grossman is an author and certified Financial Education teacher, Plutus Foundation grantee, and founder of Frugal Confessions. For the past 13 years, his money work has helped people learn how to save and manage money. Appeared in the Wall Street Journal,
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