New Years Day.
It is the time of year when we reflect upon the past year and make resolutions to be better versions of ourselves.
It’s a time to start anew.
For most people, the financial hangover from Christmas shopping leaves a desire to start saving more money. In addition, all of the new things you acquire during the holidays typically produces a need to reduce the amount of stuff that you have.
At least, for me it does.
So I took some time to think of some ideas of how I have or would like to change my life to have more money and less things.
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Here are 100 ideas to inspire your own New Years Resolutions.
Saving Money
1. Get a cheaper cell phone plan. There are so many great options out there now. You can keep your phone and your number but pay less than half the price.
2. Cut cable. Have you seen Disney+? Its amazing! Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Netflix round out the list, making cable a thing of the past.
3. Avoid upgrades. Stick with your current car, house and everything in them.
4. Put saving on autopilot by setting up auto-deductions.
5. Drive slower. This saves on gas and break pads.
6. Reduce your alcohol intake. Alcohol costs a lot of money.
7. Choose generics. They taste just as good as the name brand stuff – I promise.
8. Reduce your grocery bill. Try out your local Aldi. It is like a Trader Joes for the price conscious.
9. Become the barber for the men and boys in your life. Watch YouTube videos to learn how to give a good cut,
10. Cook whole chickens and use the bones for stock.
11. Get new quotes on insurance. The experts say that you should do this every year to get the best rates.
12. Replace some of your meats with beans. Beans are much cheaper than meats.
13. Go on spending freezes. Skip the grocery store one week per month.
14. Fast for 12 hours a day. Lose weight and save money at the same time.
15. Buy a deep freezer to enable yourself to buy in bulk or stock up on amazing deals throughout the year.
16. Start to budget. Mint or YNAB are great tools for this.
17. Stick to your budget. Only spend what you have – an easy way to do this is to switch to using cash only.
18. Never throw away left overs. At our house, we call leftover night, “Tour of the World,” night. Same thing, but feels fancier.
19. Buy raw ingredients instead of prepackaged goods. Every pre-made item that you buy includes a labor and packaging fee in the price. You can make it yourself for pennies on the dollar.
20. Use eggs as a main protein source. It is one of the cheapest protein sources you can find.
21. Try a no spend week, month, year or category.
22. Terminate subscriptions. Remove iPads from your cell phone plans.
23. Pack a lunch. No exceptions.
24. Plan your day, every day. This helps to reduce the number of surprise times that you have to eat out or pick up a convenience item.
25. Check the thrift store first when buying things.
26. Get rid of the Keurig. K-Cups are really pricey.
27. Do your own home repairs. YouTube it.
28. Buy large portions of meat and cut it into the pieces you want. A cheap pork loin can be a roast, stew meat, sausage or chops depending on how you cut it.
29. Make your own furniture. Tables, benches, shelves and ottomans are easy to make. Reupholster your chairs with fabric and a staple gun.
30. Upcycle old items into something new.
32. Ride your bike or walk if you’re able instead of driving.
32. Use your library for movies and books.
33. Play with your kids instead of buying them toys.
Frugal Living
34. Use less dishes. For example, use one cup per person, per day in your home. This saves money on dishwashing costs – cleaners and water.
35. Do less laundry. Your jeans can be worn multiple times before you wash them. Same with sweaters.
36. Learn a new skill to replace something that your currently spend money on. Try one per month.
37. Make you own detergents. Laundry detergent and dishwashing tabs are really easy to make.
38. Go outside with your pet or kids every day. It’s the best fun, free activity you have at your fingertips.
39. Check out the Diva cup for your monthly feminine needs.
40. Make your own yogurt. Eat it for breakfast, snack or desserts, or use it as a base for sauces.
41. Acquire or buy hand me downs for your kids clothes.
42. Switch to safety razors.
43. Use regular soap to wash and shave with. Try it, chances are you don’t actually need that special facial cleanser or shave gel.
44. Hang your clothes to dry if your neighborhood allows it.
45. Compost your garbage.
46. Plant a garden. Compost is a great soil for your garden.
47. Unplug electronics when they are not in use.
48. Replace your paper towels and napkins with cloth alternatives. Old T-shirt’s are great for cleaning!
49. Turn your thermostat down a degree or two in the winter, and a degree or two up in the summer.
50. Use vinegar for cleaning.
51. Use wool balls to reduce static in your laundry instead of purchasing dryer sheets.
52. Fix broken things instead of buying new.
53. Drive less. Set aside one day a week for errands and do them all at once.
54. Make your own bread.
55. Adjust your hours. Wake up earlier and go to bed earlier. This uses less electricity to power your waking hours.
56. Use candles for special tech free nights with your family. Your kids will think it’s the coolest thing ever.
57. Use essential oils to make soaps, diaper rash creams and lotions.
58. Drive a smaller car. Bigger cars cost more monthly and use more gas.
59. Raise chickens for eggs.
60. Take colder, shorter showers.
61. Turn the temperature down on your water heater.
62. Skip the gym membership and workout in your own home. Work hard around the house doing manual labor. This is great, God-given exercise.
63. Carpool.
64. Make your own drinks. Tea, lemonade, or even hard apple cider are easy to make at home.
65. Grow your own spices.
66. Buy or grow fruits and veggies when they are in season and cheap, and then can or dehydrate them for the winter months.
Minimalism
67. Use what you have.
68. Give more. This may seem counterintuitive to saving money, but the more you give, the less you value material things. This makes you more content and satisfied with what you have.
69. Sell stuff you don’t need. I have had great experiences with Facebook marketplace. You don’t have to sell everything at fire sale prices, but rather you can showcase great things to sell that you just no longer need.
70. Avoid the bigger is better mindset when shopping for a house or car.
71. For each thing you buy, get rid of something.
72. Get rid of and/or stop buying gadgets. You don’t need them. No exceptions.
73. Get rid of 50 things from each room in your house. Or however many work for you. Set a number and get on it!
74. Create a minimalist wardrobe where your clothes can be mixed and matched to make stunning outfits for every occasion.
75. Get rid of half your shoes.
76. Go through one room a month and declutter everything you don’t want and won’t miss.
77. When you run out of rooms, go through again and get rid of all the things you thought you needed the first time around, but haven’t used.
78. Get rid of junk mail before it even comes into the house.
79. Get rid of duplicates.
80. Get rid of multiple items with similar functions.
81. Apply the one year test. If you haven’t used it in one year, sell or donate it.
82. Make a home for each item in your house. If it doesn’t have a home, you don’t need it.
83. Use up what you have before buying new.
84. Throw away old cosmetics that you will never use.
85. Go through your filing cabinet and pitch old papers you don’t need.
86. Do random decluttering challenges in your home. For example, the other day, I refused to leave my room until I gathered 50 things to get rid of.
87. Use multi-purposes glasses like a clear glass mug that can be used for hot or cold.
88. Reduce your kids toys. Get rid of things they don’t play with, or multiples of the same things (ex. Your son doesn’t need 45 trucks and cars. 5 may suffice).
89. Scan old pictures into your computer and throw away those old books.
90. Put DVDs and games in cd binders and throw away the cases.
91. Ignore obscure ingredients in recipes. Typically, you don’t need them.
92. Get rid of old electronics and old cords.
93. Buy toys that require imagination and can have multiple uses. For example, Legos and play dough can be people, animals, trucks, and houses, eliminating the need for all of those separate things.
94. Get rid of books that you haven’t read and won’t read. If you change your mind someday, you can rent them.
95. Declutter your car. Vacuum it once a week to keep it clean and clutter free.
96. Make a decluttering schedule. One surface a day, one drawer a week, or one closet a month. Whatever works for you.
97. Take your loose change into the bank and deposit it.
98. Cancel magazine subscriptions and throw away your old magazines. Read them at the library if you really miss them.
99. Get rid of old purses and wallets. You are not using them for a reason.
100. Make a plan and work it!
Hopefully this list of 100 ideas will help inspire you to start saving money, living frugally and becoming minimalistic.
Now, it’s time to take these ideas and turn them into your own New Years Resolutions.
My personal resolutions are to save money by making things instead of buying them, to use reusable items instead of single use items whenever possible, and to declutter one room per month in my house.
Leave a comment below and let me know what your resolutions are!
Save this post for when you need inspiration!
