Unconventional Ways I Save Money

 

I’ve never been a conventional sort of person, and even when I tried to be it never worked. Fortunately I decided to embrace this trait, with the huge benefit that it saves me a lot of money! In this post I’ll give you some specific tips and share with you the providers I use for these services. Most everything listed is free aside from the phone plan, which is very nearly free. I have no affiliation with these companies other than as a customer.

PHONE PLAN

In my ideal world I would not own a phone, just a laptop, as you can make phone calls for free from your computer as long as you have an internet connection. But since laptops are much more bulky than phones, and for personal safety reasons, I do have an unlocked budget smartphone with a phone plan from Hello Mobile. For $5 per month (which includes taxes and fees) I get unlimited calls and texts and 500 MB of data. The plan also includes unlimited international calling to select countries.

Now some of you might say that 500 MB of data won’t work for you, but I think for most people it would, and here’s why. How often are you someplace where there isn’t WiFi available and you absolutely have to use your data? For me that’s not very often. I have WiFi at home, there’s free WiFi at most of the places I visit (stores, public library, medical facilities), and when I’m out and about I generally don’t need to use the internet except for shopping rewards, and the stores I’m shopping at provide free WiFi. As a result, I don’t come anywhere close to using my data allotment each month.

For those of you using your phone as a GPS, I would suggest that you’d probably save a lot of money by downsizing your data plan and buying an inexpensive GPS that you can plug into your car. If your personal situation is the exception, Hello Mobile offers a variety of budget friendly plans, including unlimited data for $25 a month.

Bonus Tip: Keep your phone in airplane mode to conserve data usage.

HAIR CARE

I’m one of those uncommon females that detests beauty services. From a young age I’ve disliked going to the hairdresser, between the time and money it costs along with having a stranger intrude on my personal space. Not my idea of a fun time. So when I learned that I could cut my own hair, which I previously thought could only be done if you had very short hair, I was ecstatic! I’ve been successfully trimming my long hairstyle since at least 2010.

I learned this hack from reading a financial blog. After reading the blog post and watching some YouTube videos, I gave it a try and haven’t paid for a haircut since. My hair is long and straight, and I don’t layer it, which turns out is the easiest style to maintain yourself. I give myself a haircut every 3-4 months. I also save money by not coloring my hair, getting perms, or using other treatments. I use an inexpensive shampoo (currently Suave brand) and that’s it. If my hair ever feels like it needs some softness, I spray it with a mixture of vinegar and water (using the same bottle I use for cleaning the house) and let it air dry. Don’t worry, the vinegar smell evaporates. Easy and inexpensive.

BOOKS AND MEDIA

I love books and have since I was a child. I volunteered at a library starting in elementary school, and my first real paid job was at that same library at age 14. I’ve worked at libraries and bookstores on and off throughout my life. In my twenties I used to own quite a few books, including some first editions and rare, antiquarian books. Eventually I discovered two things: books are heavy and cumbersome when you move a lot, as I did at that time in my life; and what I really enjoyed the most about books was the content and knowledge they provided, not owning them. 

To be fair to my younger self, the internet was just a baby when I was in my twenties, so information wasn’t as readily available as it is today. Now that we have seemingly endless information within easy grasp, hoarding tomes is not necessary. For many years I’ve owned zero physical books, though I do have a few digital ones, most of them free.

I also follow a few select TV shows at a time yet haven’t owned a TV or had a cable subscription in over 10 years. I’ve never paid for a streaming subscription either, though I use free trials on occasion. So how do I enjoy books, TV, movies, and music without spending any money?

Libraries

My main source for entertainment is my local library. All you need is a library card to access physical and digital versions of books, audiobooks, movies, TV shows, magazines, music, newspapers, and more. The variety and selection will depend on your local library system. Once you have a library card you don’t even need to visit the library if you use their digital options. Many offer free subscriptions to hoopla (my personal favorite), Libby App (formerly Overdrive), Kanopy, plus more.

eBooks

Open Library is completely free to use, just create an account and start reading. They also offer audio versions of their collection if you don’t mind listening to a computer voice reading to you. For those who enjoy reading classics, Project Gutenberg is an excellent option. If you prefer listening to books, check out LibriVox. The only downside is the books are read by volunteers, so the quality widely varies.

TV Shows and Movies

If you’re watching a current TV series, often the show’s network has a website and/or app that allows you to watch the show for free for a limited time. Usually the show is available to watch the day after it airs on live TV and for several weeks or months afterward. Pluto TV and Tubi TV offer free access to live and on demand TV. Is there something you gotta watch but can’t find it anywhere other than via a paid subscription? Sign up for a free trial and watch it before the trial period ends. Or find a friend that has the subscription, plan a movie night together, and offer to bring the snacks!

Music and Radio

When I want to listen to music, YouTube Music or just plain YouTube is my go to. I’ve used them for many years, though I did prefer the now-defunct Google Music to its replacement. Although I don’t use them, there are free versions of Spotify and Pandora that provide music and podcasts. If you’re looking for a radio experience, try iHeartRadio or your local radio station’s website for free podcasts, music, and talk radio.

YouTube

I’ve listed YouTube as its own category because it has an assortment of everything, from its breadth of YouTuber-created content, music videos, some audiobooks, as well as older TV shows and movies. Personally I watch and enjoy YouTube content more than TV shows and movies combined. It’s a great source of learning as well as entertainment.

This is by no means a complete listing of all available options, just ones that either I use or are widely accessible. Are there any unusual or non-mainstream ways you save money? What free or nearly-free things do you do? Please share with us in the comments.