Hello, 2017! Let’s welcome the New Year and discuss 17 ways to save time, money and energy!
Save time, money, energy. These are all what everyone wants to accomplish. Perhaps you would like to achieve all three. The following are suggestions on how you can make your life easier by getting more done in less time, by spending less, or with less energy!
1. Create a daily to-do list. When you know what you need to do, you will get it done faster. A great trick is to write down the three most important items of the day. Once those are complete, you can continue onto other, less pressing tasks.
2. Ask for help. There no need for you to do all the household chores alone! Seek assistance from other members of your family. If you live alone, hiring out the housekeeping or landscaping can free up your time for other important tasks.
3. Eat at home. Cooking at home will not only save money versus stopping to grab fast food, it will also save you time. No longer will you have to wait in a busy drive-thru or wait for your party to be called in a restaurant. Plus, eating healthier will boost your energy.
4. Brew your own coffee. Again, another time and money saver. You won’t have to stop through Starbucks or the local gas station on your morning commute. Make your coffee as you get ready, fill your favorite insulated travel mug, and off you go.
5. Coupon wisely. When you have a tiny piece of paper that saves you money, you may be driven to go to the store just to use it. However, if it’s not something you normally buy, skip it! It’s important that your couponing efforts be used only for your regular purchases to save time and money.
6. Start a carpool with other moms. Rather than dropping your children off or picking them up every single day, save time by organizing a carpool. If you get four other moms in, you will only have to drive out to the school one day a week!
7. Plan outfits for the week. Take time on Sunday afternoons to select your clothing for the entire week. Doing it all at once prevents time wasted wondering what you are going to wear. And it is a great way to save precious time when you happen to be running late.
8. Shop from a list. Avoid impulse buys that drain your wallet by sticking to your list as you shop. While grocery store shopping is mandatory about once a week, avoid clothing or shoe stores unless you have a specific need. Simply going to browse may waste your time and money!
9. Take your lunch. Packing a lunch for work prevents you from wasting time grabbing a quick meal out somewhere. Plus, it’s much cheaper to make your own lunches. You could create lunches for 3-4 days with the money you’d spend on one meal at a restaurant.
10. Consolidate your errands. When you need to run into town for shopping, to pay bills, or pick up the kids, do it all at once. This reduces the amount of time you spend out driving. It also decreases the amount of gas you need for your vehicle each week.
11. Skip a shower. What?! Yes, I dare said to skip a shower. Only do this on days you don’t need to go anywhere. You can use dry shampoo to manage your hair on shower-free days. Skipping a few showers a month saves time and money.
12. Make phone calls. Texing and instant messaging has become a way of life. However, it can take much more time to have a single conversation via text rather than calling the other person. When you need to find out something quick, pick up the phone and call rather than typing your fingers to the bone.
13. Set phone alerts and reminders. Since most people have a smart phone, it’s easy to remind yourself or important appointments or tasks. Set an alarm on your phone to get the laundry out of the dryer, so you aren’t wasting time and energy tumbling them 2-3 times before you finally remember to fold them.
14. Wash dishes right away. Letting your dirty dishes pile in your sink requires more time and effort from you later. However, if you take care of them after each meal, you will spend less time in front of the sink.
15. Check traffic each morning. Always know what’s ahead of you by checking your commute. You can use Google Maps or a similar traffic app on your smart phone. A tardy can be avoided by being prepared for roadwork or accidents. It’s also a good idea to check the weather, so you can plan your day accordingly.
16. Turn off app notifications. Though most mobile apps are helpful, that constant ding or message can have you spend too much time on your phone. Turn off notifications for Facebook and other social media. That way, you can focus on what you need to get done.
17. Set up automatic payments. Your bank likely offers a bill pay feature that will help you set up payments to automatically be drafted each month. This saves you the hassle of having to mail a check or go by an office to pay a bill. Plus, it will prevent any late fees or missed payments, which would cost you even more!
Hopefully, these tips will allow you to save money, time, energy in your life. The idea is working smarter, not harder. Doing less and getting more results!
A former school teacher, Jocelyn Brown created Hip Mama’s Place in 2007. Her motto for this blog is: get inspired, create and share! Jocelyn loves sharing about food and recipes, crafts, DIY projects and her random travels with her family. She also loves all things social media, but her latest obsession is Instagram.
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Great advice. I already employ some of these into my everyday and find it so helpful. Turning off notifications prevents me from wasting time and it saves data. I always make a to-do list. It feels great crossing things off. I also try to plan out some of my meals.
Brewing our own coffee has truly CHANGED our finances. It’s crazy how much you can save if you do things on you own! xx Adaleta Avdic
Awesome tips to save – a lovely long list at that. Love the tips on carpooling and turning off app notifications. Those are the much needed ones for me!
Definitely agree with the notifications, mine always seem to ping just as I am getting in bed and that is never a good recipe for a full nights sleep! I have to admit these last 6 months we have been really bad at cooking at home and it is costing us a fortune! This year my aim is to get back into home cooking and becoming healthier as a family whilst saving money
I’ve been very good with cooking my food and making coffee at home last year. Indeed what a difference this little move makes for your savings health and productivity!
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This is all such great advice. I know that as a mom I tend to hit that point where I am just spent when it comes to time and energy.
Brew your own coffee – yes! I used to spend so.much.money on coffee. Now I just brew a pot in the morning and if I want something fancy I will buy one of those special creamers 🙂
Great tips! It’s nice to be able to move efficiently throughout the day. That means more time for your family and yourself and less time fixing and preparing stuff. If you follow these, life will be easier!
Honestly, I can do so much better at all of these things! I am truly a waster and it bothers me!
It would be nice if we lived life a little more efficiently. I think these steps will surely help with that! Thanks for these lovely tips, I’m going to show these to my daughters.
The coffee one and eat at home are huge for us. We spend so much money on food outside the home that it’s a bit ridiculous.
I totally need to brew my own coffee more. I’m oh so guilty of running out to pick up a cup like every day. Haha!
I’m all for being more efficient. I do everything on your list already – it’ll all about living smarter vs harder. 🙂 I saw a few interesting articles in your related posts section that I plan on checking out later.
This list is great except for skipping showers. That does NOT work for my hair, it is way too fine. Even dry shampoo can tame that!! But I totally agree with everything else! Especially a specific to do list!
These are all great tips! I have a to do list every day for my blog – it just makes my life easier. I need to start making one for my life. (household chores, etc) Asking help from family members to clean, this one is so hard for me. I have OCD, and when it’s not done exactly the way I like it, I stress. I need to work on that this year!
So many great tips here! My plan for the month is to eat at home and see how much money I can save!
I don’t know where I would be without my todo lists. I love them and couldn’t survive without them. IT keeps me on task and helps me get everything in my busy life done.
We are working hard to save money this year. We are trying really hard to eat at home and also pack lunches-it saves a lot!
I struggle with number 4 so much! I’m always buying Starbucks and I really need to cute back on it.
These are such great tips. I already do many of them but will sure add some more. I never stopped to think that saving money could also save me time!
Started doing all of this since last year except for automatic payments. Thanks for the tips! 🙂
Great ideas to make life easier! I love creating lists. I have a to-do list as well as lists for any packing or shopping I have to do. Always!
I have learned a lot of these things through the years myself. It takes a lot to manage my time, but I have learned that it can be done if I manage correctly.
Wow these are some great tips! I’ve had to adopt some of these too, and it will definitely help me keep it together for my new year’s resolution! Thanks!
I do a lot of these already, so it sounds like I’m already saving my time, money, and energy pretty well!
I definitely needed this post, I spent the last 4 months of 2016 running myself ragged, and it showed in so many ways! Thank you for sharing these great tips!
Your last four are things I’ve all started doing in the last two months. They’ve made a huge difference in my daily life. Traffic especially!
These are great tips! Among these, my favorite is asking for help especially on those days where I’m already exhausted from all the tasks that I had to do.
Belle | One Awesome Momma
I do all of these except the autopays I have this obsession with paying everything with cash.
A must for me this year is to take my own lunch out with me – it’s so money friendly. My friend does it and I always feel bad paying for lunch every single day, such a waste of money! Some fab tips here.
Ever since we hooked up our Alexa to get our shopping list, my impulse buys are so much LESS. I hardly come out of the store with anything extra… unless it’s Target!
This is a great compliation of ideas. I am all about #16 as I think it is the biggest energy and time sapper there is these days.