Saving money.  It’s a necessity to get ahead, if you feel that your income engine is tapped at the moment.  Further, time.  Time is precious and it may be foolish to spend countless hours to save a dollar here or there.  The road to financial freedom can be aided by saving hard, earned dollars.

Therefore, I want to show you The Guide.  The Guide to save AT LEAST $500 on YOUR current expenses, right now.  In fact, The Guide will be be able to allow you to save THOUSANDS in a year, if you want and let it.

Are you ready to save money?  Let’s get ready to put money back into your pocket!

#1: Switch Your Phone Provider – Google Fi

This one should not come as a surprise!  Your phone provider is one BIG culprit and you have literally the ability to save at least $500 per year by changing your plan, TODAY.  I switched to Google Fi in 2017 and have never looked back.  I could not be any happier.

In fact, here is a snapshot of my bill and how much I pay for unlimited text, calling; but the caveat is I don’t use any data, since I am ALWAYS on wifi (Work, Home, Friends/Family, etc.):

I know you may be thinking, how is that possible?  First, Google Fi caps you at how much data you can even spend money on, which is 6GB for $60 and anything beyond that is free.  Therefore, if you are truly wanting an unlimited plan, your maximum is going to be approximately $85.00, as your line cost $20 + taxes & fees.

However, I believe most of us are surrounded by free wifi or wifi that you pay for at home.  Therefore, when I switched from one of the big telecom companies, paying approximately $65 per month for a few GB of data (not unlimited), I did not experience any negatives from moving to Google Fi.

In fact, I surprisingly have BETTER quality and BETTER connection versus the big red provider I was previously at.  There was a certain spot in Cleveland and in Pennsylvania where my calls would drop.  However, not with Google Fi, clear and no drops.  In addition, I had a Google Nexus 5X and was able to use my unlocked phone on their network.  How is that possible?

Google Fi automatically switches between networks depending on signal strength and speed. It automatically connects to Wi-Fi hotspots with encryption through an automatic VPN. The networks they use are Spring, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Three.  Therefore, it pings/hops on the strongest provider, depending on where you are located.

It gets better, I believe you can even bring your smartphone to the plan, as well.  No additional phone needed.

I went from $65 per month to ~$24 per month for a $41 savings amount.  In one year, that is approximately $492.00 in savings by making ONE switch!

What are you waiting for?  Check out and see – Google Fi

#2: Re-Finance your Student Loan – Earnest

Tackling your debt can be a great place to save $500 instantly.  Heck, you can save even MORE and that is the beauty of it.  The country knows there is a bubble that is expanding at astronomical rates and that bubble that is ballooning is the Student Loan crisis we are facing.

The average interest rate on a student loan, currently, is approximately 6%.  Conservatively, we’ll see that the average student loan is $20,000; even though the true average is $30,000 – which would make these results from below even BETTER.  Earnest, which you’ll see why I talk and promote their product, easily can offer you a lower rate if you refinance with them and their platform is easy to use with great communication with their personnel. 

Below is a snapshot of a $20,000 student loan at 6%.  The monthly payment is $387 with total interest that you’ll pay equating to $3,194.

What if you went to Earnest, reviewed their product, went through the simple re-finance steps?

Well, first a fun story.  In May of 2018, I re-financed my brother’s student loan from a blistering > 10% rate, to a low ~5% interest rate, by going through Earnest (rates have since dropped and he could have gotten 4.50% if we did it this year)!  This is going to save him a TON of money in interest over the life of the loan and also allowed his brother to reduce his monthly payment!  Further, you can earn $200 just by signing up & re-financing your loan from using the aforementioned link.

Now, in YOUR current situation of $20,000 and re-financing to a fixed 4.51% rate, see the chart below.  First, your payment goes down by $14.00 per month.  From a monthly payment decrease ALONE you save $168.00.  Now, the big picture is over the 5 year LIFE of the student loan.  You end up saving a staggering $816.00 in the 5 year time period!

Therefore, I HIGHLY recommend re-financing your student loans if you are at a 5.50% or greater rate with decent credit.  If you go through Earnest, you also receive a BONUS $200.00 that you can IMMEDIATELY apply to your student loan, thus increasing the amount you SAVE over the life of that loan!

Re-Finance that student loan, save money at Earnest… your $200 bonus awaits, my friend.

#3: Switch Auto & Home Insurance Carriers

This is an oldie BUT goodie!  I do this almost every year – I check into my insurance costs and carrier and review to see if there is any potential savings to be had.  My steps are usually:

A.) Ask for a discount by my current carrier, to keep the price down and to show loyalty/give them a first chance.

B.) If they cannot, I go and receive quotes from 2-3 other providers.  If Less than what I currently pay, I share that with my current agent to see if they can match the price somehow.

C.) If they cannot, I simply switch.  It’s usually a 1-3 day process of switching everything smoothly and it can be even quicker if you have a great agent.  When I switched my house and auto, it took approximately 2 days to complete.  They say proof is in the pudding and here is how we saved over $700!!

My Wife & I Combined Prior to Switching, spending a blistering $2,067:

After-Switching to All State, we saved $728 for the year!

The biggest part of the savings was the auto for her and the home.  That alone was roughly ~$600 of the total savings, easily.  Same coverage on all assets, which is a house and two vehicles.  Gosh.. I wish we only had one car : )

#4: Sign-Up for Reward Programs – iBotta, Rakuten & Bumped!

Alright, there are so many ways to save money.  That includes saving money on what you are currently spending YOUR money on.  We’ll start with iBotta.

iBotta Summary:

We have both been using this app for years and have earned back hundreds of dollars!  This application on your phone gives you cash back for when you go grocery shopping!  Even scanning them a receipt gives you money back.  It’s so easy to use.

See Our Review: LINK.

If you are buying any form of alcoholic beverage, you should be using iBotta, I’ll start it off with that.  Usually you receive $1-$4 for each 6pack to 24 pack you purchase!  However, the app is also amazing for cereal, milk, yogurt, cleaning products, snacks, etc..  To date, I have earned almost $300 (see below).  My wife and I each have an account, so sometimes we use hers versus mine, depending on what offers we each get.

I would say you can earn back, easily, $100 per year through the application, for being a light shopper.  All we have to say is, “You Gotta, iBotta!”.

Rakuten (formerly eBates) Summary:

You have seen the commercials, the advertisements, and the name nearly says it all.   We have each used Rakuten for a long, long time and have earned hundreds of dollars cash-back.  This website is simple to use and adds just a few seconds to your shopping experience.

I personally have earned back $497.71!  This is real cash in the pocket, see my snip below.  I earn cash back when I order groceries for pick-up at Walmart.  In addition, cash back comes my way for booking hotel rooms for travel.  Whenever I have a house project, I earn cash back for buying items at Home Depot.  I even earn cash back for buying DISCOUNTED GIFT CARDS at Raise!  It’s amazing.  If you are not going to Rakuten before making a purchase, you are leaving money on the table.

Sign Up for Rakuten, save money on shopping online!

When you are shopping online, make sure you stop by Rakuten first to see what Cash Back percentage you can earn by accessing the website through their portal.  Nearly EVERY store is on this website.  Chances are, you are missing out on EASY cash back if you don’t stop by Rakuten before checkout!

I would say you can earn back approximately $100 back per year by using this site, which is what I’ve been pacing with my wife and I.  She has her own account, so below is just mine.

BUMPED SUMMARY:

This wonderful application is ahead of its time.  Similar to an Rakuten or a cash-back site, you get STOCK BACK for FREE, for buying the products and services you use on a daily/monthly/yearly basis!

Example – that monthly Verizon bill – your credit card that is linked to pay that, and is also linked with Bumped App, once the monthly service is paid – will give you a % back to your Bumped account in stock!  Further, this has NO IMPACT on your normal cash back you receive from your credit/debit card.  This is to create brand loyalty and is a no-brainer way to start building up shares in an investment account!

I have earned back $9.13 in a few months of using this amazing application.  There is no kick-back to me or affiliate program, but I am STRONGLY encouraging you to sign up, because this works automatically without YOU having to do anything/any thinking!  I would estimate, you could easily do $20 per year using the Bumped App, not a ton of cash but def. something.

See Our Review: LINK.

Total Estimated Savings = $220 from the three applications above.  What else is in store to save money, starting today?

#5: Start Investing the Savings

Here comes the fun part.  Say you did everything above and actually saved $1,800 in that first year.  This is how I calculated $1,800:

Now, what if you invested the $1,808 savings per year, every year, for the next 15 years into the stock market, at an average return rate of 7 years?  You can even use the free and free to trade application – Robinhood to get started (Plus, you get a free stock if you sign up):

See our Robinhood Review and click here to sign up & earn your free share!

$48,398 baby!  This is just from saving money, by doing EASY things above!  Further, that $48,398 spits out almost $1,700 in dividends per year, at a 3.50% dividend yield rank.

Heck, just to see the fun calculator, let’s do 25 years:

Folks, we hit OVER $120,000 from doing these SIMPLE tasks above!  Do I have your attention yet?  This $121,817 would also produce $4,263 in dividends per year, at a 3.50% rate.

Honorable Mention: Lower your utility Bills

We are always fans of making small changes in your house to help save on your energy bills. Did you know that most states allow you to select your electicity and gas suppliers? We both watch our rates like a hawk and make sure that we are selecting the lowest cost energy providers.

Further, there are plenty of small things you can do every day. A few other great suggestions include turning down your furnace at night, unplugging appliances when you aren’t using them, and powering down your computer every night! Each impact is small, but they definitely add up!

Saving today conclusion

The proof is in the pudding.  I am here to help educate the communicate on your ability and power to save money.  It’s amazing, putting away $150 per month or $1,800 per year can produce well over a hundred thousand dollars in 25 years.  Think about what it would do for another 10 years?  Think if you doubled the money you put away?  The money and results are STAGGERING.

See – Financial Freedom Products We Use Everyday

Share your stories below, your successes and failures, as well as other recommendations for the community.  We look forward to questions, as well, and don’t hesitate to e-mail us if you want to talk off-line here, about receiving help in saving you money.  One dollar saved, one step closer to financial freedom baby!

-Lanny