Finances, Mental Health, and How to Save Money
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” While this is true in many ways, not having money can cause stress - sometimes lots of stress.
We can’t truly and fully talk about mental health without addressing all aspects of a person’s wellbeing, which includes environment, systems in which they work and live, and finances.
This is why I feel it is important to address financial stress, and what better time to do that than after one of the most financially demanding holidays.
If you celebrate any of the December holidays, you may be feeling financial strain right now. You might have spent money on gifts, food to share at parties, gas or transportation tickets to visit loved ones, etc. There are many ways that we tend to spend more money around this time of year.
And this year it isn’t just the holidays that have added extra financial strain.
Inflation has been astronomical for the past year or so. Prices have gone up on many different foods, products, and rent. The cheapest 12 pack of eggs at my local grocery store is currently $4.99, and an 18 pack of eggs is currently $7.39! For reference, in August of this year, the average cost of a 12 pack of eggs in my state (Wisconsin) was $1.25.*
For some, this might be the first time that you have experienced financial strain due to the rising prices and costs of living. For those who were already feeling the strain, you might be feeling it even stronger than before.
Financial strain can bring stress, anxiety, and depression. It can also lead to burnout when you feel pressure to work excessively in order to cover your bills.
I believe it’s also important to talk about and share ways to take control over your finances. Supply chain issues, potential railroad worker strikes, wars, and general instability. There are many factors that impact our economy that make it uncertain and out of our control. Using money saving strategies is one way of doing what you can to take control of your finances.
In the spirit of sharing and saving, I will share some tips on how to save money in this blog post. I am a resourceful, money-savvy person. Some, like my husband who is not a saver, might call me frugal at times. Although, as he and I have talked about, I’m willing to spend money when it’s necessary, I do not like spending more money than needed when there is a cheaper, equivalent (or nearly equivalent) in quality option available. Therefore, I am a huge fan and user of coupons, apps, and other money saving options.
Money Mindset
Before I share those tips with you, I also wanted to share how my money mindset became what it is today. We all have unique money mindsets that are usually heavily influenced by our upbringing.
I believe my money mindset was greatly influenced by my grandparents who were born during the Great Depression. As long as I can remember, my grandma kept shelves stocked with supplies in their closets and basement - paper towels, cereal, soup, crackers, cookies, cleaning supplies, etc. - you name it.
After talking to others, I learned that many other grandparents who grew up during that time had their own ways of saving and stocking up on supplies. I haven’t had a specific conversation with my grandma about this (although I should), but I believe she did this because there was a time when her family didn’t have and couldn’t get the supplies they needed.
The Great Depression was traumatic for so many reasons, and this was one of them. Even though my grandparents were children during that time and in the aftermath of it, the fear of not having what they needed stuck with them throughout their lives. This was likely passed down from their parents, and although not the same fear, this mindset was passed down to my mom, my aunt, me, and my cousin.
For me and my mom, this mindset looks more like saving money when we can. When there is the option to save, I’ll take it. I don’t stock up on supplies like my grandparents did, but there is a small section on the shelving in my basement for extra supplies that I buy when there is a sale or when it is cheaper to buy the larger pack of items.
It can be helpful to take time to reflect on your unique money mindset because it can inform your spending habits. Personally, I believe my money mindset informs my spending habits in helpful ways by saving money. Even still, being with my husband has helped me loosen up a bit when it makes sense to spend a little more, which has been helpful, too. So much of life is about balance, isn’t it?
Here are some questions to help you reflect on yours:
What is your money mindset?
What did spending look like in your family while you were growing up?
Is there any history of poverty in your family?
What do your spending habits look like now? Do you use coupons? Do you pay attention to sales?
Do you experience anxiety or stress around spending or saving money?
What do you like about your money mindset? What could improve / be more helpful?
Ask the same questions about the money mindsets of your parents, grandparents, or other primary caregivers. It might be a helpful and interesting to have a conversation with them about this topic.
Money Saving Suggestions
Now, onto the suggestions for saving money - probably what you came here for, right? These are apps that I use to help save money on groceries, household items, gas, and more.
Cash Back
Ibotta is a cash back app that can be used with grocery and household items. There are other apps that are similar, but I have found Ibotta to be the easiest to use. You are able to search through the cash back offers that are available for each store and choose to add the offers you will use. Each offer provides the opportunity to earn a set amount of cash back for that item (for example $0.50 cash back when you buy a Kellogg’s box of cereal). After you shop, you will take a picture of your receipt to record which offers you redeemed during that shopping trip. When you reach at least $20 in cash back, you can withdrawn your earnings to a gift card or straight to your bank account.
Rakuten is another easy to use cash back app. I like this one because it is set up on my computer to automatically pop up when I am using a site that offers cash back. For example, when I go to the Target website, a pop up from Rakuten shows up to let me know that I can activate 1% cash back on my order.
Amazon Shopper Panel
Amazon Shopper Panel is another easy to use cash back app. This one is specific to Amazon and is an easy way to get $10 or more to use on Amazon each month. To use this app, you’ll take pictures of 10 receipts each month. That’s it, that’s all you need to do. 10 receipts from any store equals $10, which will be automatically added to your Amazon account at the start of the following month.
There is also the opportunity to earn more through surveys. The app randomly offers short surveys (really short, sometimes two questions) that reward you with an additional $0.25 - $1.00 per survey completed. For the surveys, you’ll want to check the app periodically throughout the month. I’ve earned an extra $2.25 this month through responding to the surveys.
Digital Coupons
Many groceries and other stores have digital coupons available on their phone apps or websites. For example, I use Target Circle, Pick n Save website, and Woodmans app. If you shop at a different store, try searching Google or your app store to look for one to use at your store of choice. Most of these require a free login. With Target, you can earn additional savings through opening a Target debit or credit card, and I believe I recently saw that Pick n Save also offers a store credit card with possible additional savings.
I also use Honey, which automatically applies promo codes to your order at check out. It works as an extension added to your internet browser, like Rakuten. The promo codes will not always work on your order, but again, this eliminates the task of you searching for your own promo codes by applying them automatically for you.
Gas Savings
Although gas prices have, thankfully, come down from the near $5 prices earlier this year, it’s still helpful to save money on gas. One way to save is through the Gas Buddy card and app. There is a free and paid version. I use the free version, which typically saves you about $0.05 - $0.06 per gallon and helps you find the cheapest gas in your area. The paid version allows you to save more on each gallon of gas. Not every gas station participates, but many do and the app shows you a list of only the participating stations, how much gas costs at each station, and how much you will save per gallon.
When you sign up, you will receive a Gas Buddy card in the mail. You will register this card and create a pin to use with it. It is used like a debit card, so you will need to attach it to your bank account. When you go to get gas, you will first search for the gas station in the app, activate the offer, and use your Gas Buddy card at the pump.
Another way to save money on gas is through the gas points at Pick n Save. Now, honestly, I do not shop at Pick n Save often. I typically only shop there when I’m in a rush (it’s the closest to my house) or when there’s a good sale (shocking, right??). However, the gas points are helpful. All you need to do to earn them is sign up at picknsave.com. You need to sign up there to be able to access and use digital coupon and sales also. After you sign up, you will also need to enter your phone number (the one that you used to sign up) every time you check out. This will make sure that any sales or coupons you selected are applied to your order and that your gas points are added to your card.
I am a firm believer that every cent counts, which checks out with my money saving mindset. Although each of these may not provide a huge savings individually, they can add up to a significant savings collectively. With inflation and an uncertain economy, all of us (aside from those like Elon Musk and the Kardashians) can likely benefit from saving what and when we can. These suggestions, including Ibotta, Rakuten, Amazon Shopper Panel, Honey, grocery store apps and websites, and Gas Buddy, are so easy to use. Why not take advantage of them to save some of your well earned casheesh? I hope these suggestions help you save some of your money moving forward.
*https://www.zippia.com/advice/dozen-eggs-cost-each-state/