Spring is finally here! While it still looks (and feels) like winter here in NYC, the beautiful weather will show its face soon, and we will all be inspired to spend money. Iced coffee here, new off-the-shoulder blouse there…
But why does Spring have to be the season to spend money? Below are five hacks that will help you save money this Spring. Who knows, maybe the money you’ll save will help you plan a dream vacation, or even better, maybe it will help you jumpstart your startup up idea:
1. Make an effort to either eat at home, or bring food from home Monday-Friday. That way you can enjoy your weekends by splurging at your favorite brunch and dinner spots. However don’t go too overboard on the weekends; if you go out for brunch, try to eat at home for dinner.
2. Be repetitive with your weekday meals. Have a protein shake, oatmeal, or cereal every morning and consider meal prepping a delicious salad for lunch. For dinner, consider a crock pot meal that will last for half the week, or consider making a large pasta dish. I personally love this creamy tomato and spinach pasta from Budget Bytes. If you double it, dinner will be set for most of the week.
3. Don’t buy coffee every day. I know it’ll be hard; but at $2-$4 a pop, the weekly cost really adds up. I’m a daily coffee drinker, so I have started to experiment making lattes at home using a moka pot and a French Press to froth my milk. I’m saving about $20/week doing so, which translates into $80 a month. That’s some legit cash money!
4. Sell your clothes. Instead of buying a new spring wardrobe, consider going through your closet to see what you no longer wear. Once you have a pile, but it into a bag and head on over to your local buy/sell/trade store.
Whatever you’re able to sell will be the cash you can use to buy new items to revamp your wardrobe. I really like going to Crossroads Trading Co. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn since they usually take more of my items for cash than both Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange. You can also try your luck using Poshmark.
5. That cheap gym membership may be calling your name; but consider using a Couch to 5k app instead. After all, the sidewalk doesn’t charge you to run on it.
What do you do when you’re trying to save money? Let us know in the comments below!
I love the couch to 5k app idea! Thx!
Of course! I used the Couch to 5k app from Active. There are a few of them out there, but that specific app was my favorite. I started it at the end of July and was able to run a full 5k without stopping by early November.