How To Save Money Fast On A Low Income Using 17 Proven Tips

Are you currently struggling financially and are wondering how to save money fast on a low income? You are definitely not alone. Plenty of people are in your exact same situation. Luckily, there are many ways to save money on a tight budget so that you can become financially stable.

Knowing how to save money fast on a low income can really make your life a lot easier!

As someone who learned how to save money fast on a low income at a young age, I know how much it can change your life.

You are going to learn the top tips for saving money fast while having a low income.

That way, you can reduce any financial stress you’re dealing with, work towards your reasons for saving money and become more financially stable!

This post is all about how to save money fast on a low income so that you can work towards having a better future financially.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please view the full disclosure for more information.

How To Save Money Fast On A Low Income

Before getting to the good stuff, don’t forget to pin this post so you have an easier time coming back to it at a later time.

What Is Considered Low Income?

This will greatly depend on where you live as well as the number of people in the household.

I currently reside in California, which is considered one of the most expensive states to live in.

Since most people are familiar with Los Angeles, we will use LA as our example.

According to HACLA, the income for 1 person has $29,150 listed as extremely low income, $48,550 listed as very low income, and $77,700 listed as low income.

All it takes is doing a quick search on Google to find out what is considered low income in the state that you live in.

How To Save $1,000 ASAP?

In all honesty, it can seem almost impossible to save $1,000 when you don’t make a lot of money.

However, using the correct money saving techniques and healthy money habits can make saving this amount of money very possible!

As you continue to read, you will discover some of the most genius saving money tips out there to help you save $1,000 ASAP.

The more you continue to use these tips, the easier it will be for you to increase the amount of money you save every month.

How Can I Save Money If My Income Is Low?

Down below are 17 of the best ways to save money fast when having a low income!

1. Make Your Own Coffee

If you’re an avid coffee drinker, then you know how expensive it can be getting coffee on the go.

Especially if you’re getting some a couple of times throughout the week!

One of the easiest ways to save money is by simply making coffee at home.

All you need is a coffee maker that is easy to use as well as sugar and sweetener packets to get started.

Another money saving alternative is to purchase instant coffee packets. All you do is empty out the packet into a cup, add boiling water, stir, and drink away!

Regardless of which route you choose, you will see instant savings.

2. Skip Snacks At The Gas Station

Whenever you go inside a gas station to pay for gas, avoid buying any and all snacks.

It’s very easy to get carried away with all the snacks that are readily available.

Especially when you’re waiting in line for your turn to pay.

If you’re not careful, you can end up spending an additional $10, $20, even $30 with how pricey snacks are nowadays!

When you can, pay for your gas directly at the pump. If you do have to go inside, try not to wander around.

Instead, go straight to the counter to pay and leave right after so you don’t deal with any temptations.

3. View Saving Like A Bill

Everyone has some sort of bills they need to pay at the end of every month to avoid late fees.

Because you want to avoid any sort of late fees, you make paying all your bills on time a priority.

This is exactly why you should treat saving money like a bill! By treating it like a bill, you ensure that you will always save a certain amount of money at the end of every month.

As you continue to make saving a top priority, you will begin to see your savings account greatly increase!

Two really good ways to go about this is by participating in a saving money challenge or through using saving money apps.

4. Stop Impulse Buying

For those that don’t know, impulse buying is basically purchasing an item spontaneously without any hesitation.

Because you don’t think too much before making the purchase, you can oftentimes regret buying certain items later down the line.

Causing you to waste money that you could have instead saved.

Social media and email marketing are two main factors that can cause you to make multiple impulse purchases.

To avoid this, limit the amount of time you spend scrolling through social media apps.

You can also unsubscribe from any companies that send you emails trying to tempt you to buy their products.

5. Decrease Energy Usage

The more energy you use, the higher your monthly electric bill will be.

This is why lowering your energy usage is one of the best tips for living on a tight budget!

If you’re wanting to start saving money today, check out 21 Brilliant Ways To Save Money On Your Electric Bill.

In that post, you will learn about some factors that run your electric bill up the most.

As well as many ways to counteract them so that you can easily save money!

The tips you will be learning are great to use all year around, but are especially helpful once summer comes around.

This is because your energy bill usually skyrockets during the summer.

6. Get A Work From Home Job

When searching, 250 money saving tips, you might not find getting a work from home job on that list.

Which is what makes this tip one of the many clever ways to save money.

Does working from home save money? I currently have a work from home job so trust me when I say, it absolutely does!

The many ways you can save money working remotely include things like:

Save on gas as well as car maintenance costs.
Reduce money spent on clothing as you won’t have to dress up.
Lower money spent on food, especially if you eat out during your lunch break constantly.
Save on to-go coffee as you will be able to make some in the comfort of your own home.
Prolong having to spend money on haircuts.
Avoid dealing with cell phone data costs as you will be able to connect to your Wi-Fi at all times.
They say that time is money, so you will also save on this by not having to commute to and from work.

Because of all these ways you will be saving money, try getting a work from home job.

After seeing just how much you can save, you will no longer wonder, is it worth getting a remote job?

7. Budget

I probably sound like a broken record by now, but for a very good reason.

Knowing how to make a monthly budget and save money on a small income will forever be one of the most realistic ways to save money!

I already have a post going over the importance of budgeting and helpful budgeting tips that will make your budget actually work.

As well as a simple budget guide every beginner should know about so that you can start budgeting with ease.

So the only thing I do want to mention is that creating and sticking to a budget can really set you up for financial success!

8. Avoid Single-Use Products

Using single-use products causes you to spend a lot of unnecessary money that you don’t need to be spending.

This is because you have to constantly keep repurchasing these types of products.

Not only do they waste money, but they are also bad for the environment.

For these reasons, it is SO WORTH it to switch over to reusable products!

Though certain reusable products may seem pricey at first, they are definitely an investment you will benefit from.

Because of the amount of times you can reuse these products, you will save money for the many years to come.

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9. Accept Living Below Your Means

You work hard for your money so you should be able to spend it however you want, right?

Though there is some truth to this, you should still know how to manage money wisely.

If you don’t, it is very easy for you to go out and spend all your money to the point that you have very little money in your savings.

When an unexpected emergency comes up, you can find yourself not being prepared and facing a lot of financial stress.

Which is why it is in good habit to do your best to live below your means!

In fact, this is one of the many good habits of the very wealthy that actually works.

By living below your means, you are able to pay all your bills on time, have money to put into your savings, and still have money left over to spend on yourself.

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10. Consider Moving Back In With Your Parents

With the prices of rent and homes constantly increasing, moving back in with your parents isn’t a bad idea to consider.

Seriously though, it is CRAZY just how hard it is nowadays to keep up with the price of rent alone! And forget about it when it comes to buying a new home.

By moving back in with your parents, you can easily save hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars every month!

Not only will you save money on rent, but you can also save money in other areas such as childcare.

If your parents are willing to, they can help watch your children while you’re out working. That way, you don’t have to spend money on expensive daycare services.

This will allow you to focus more on saving, rather than spending.

11. Be Careful With Food Spending

Yet another absolute necessity that has been increasing in price are groceries.

Back in the day, $20 could get you so many food items. However, that is definitely not the case in today’s time!

Groceries have become so expensive that many people struggle when it comes time to go shopping.

The best way to go about this is to be very aware of how much you are spending and on what. Make sure to also limit the amount of trips you take to the grocery store every week.

As well as always have a list on hand that you can stick to in order to keep you on track.

If you can, try limiting your trips to at least once a week and only buy what you absolutely need.

12. Meal Prep Food

You might have heard about meal prepping food to have something to eat during lunch. But it is also helpful to get in the habit of meal prepping your dinners.

When getting off a long day of work, the chances of you picking up something to eat on the way home are probably very high.

Because let’s face it, who wants to come home, prep food, cook food, and then clean dishes right after?

Especially when you are exhausted and all you want to do is eat and relax right after.

This is why meal prepping your dinners can be of much help!

By having food ready to eat when you get home, you reduce the amount of money spent on takeout food.

13. Split Up Take Out Meals

When eating out at a restaurant, you often get served enough food to last you at least two meals.

Though it can be tempting trying to finish all your food in one sitting, split it up!

This tip especially comes in handy when you have to work the very next day.

You can just take your leftovers from the day before and take it to work so that you have something to eat for lunch.

Doing so will make sure you are getting the most out of your money.

14. Find Free Entertainment

So many forms of free entertainment exist so that you don’t have to spend money in order to keep busy.

If you have a smartphone, which you most likely do, browse the App Store.

There, you can find plenty of free games worth downloading that will entertain you for hours upon hours!

You can also find apps that allow you to read books for free.

There are also other ways to have fun without spending money and that don’t involve your phone. Such as going on a hike, decluttering drawers and cabinets, or even watching the sunset!

Another option that is free and can save you money, while helping you make money at the same time, is having a garage sale.

15. Cut Cable TV

Not sure if cable tv is even a thing nowadays but if you have it, cancel it!

In all honesty, cable tv is just so expensive and unnecessary at this point.

This is because there are so many streaming services that let you watch tv shows and movies for free or at a very low-cost.

You have free options like Tubi, Pluto TV, and Plex. You may have to deal with ads, but this is still better than paying over a hundred dollars a month for cable tv.

There are also other great options where you pay a small monthly subscription fee to get access to ad free shows and movies. Such as Hulu, Netflix, and Paramount+.

16. Buy Second Hand

Purchasing brand new items of all sorts gets really expensive, real fast.

What you can do instead is go to thrift stores and buy second hand. There are plenty of thrift stores that sell items in either very good condition or like-new!

This is how you will be able to buy whatever it is that you need at a fraction of the cost of brand new items.

From clothes, shoes, school supplies, home decor, and even toys for your kids, you are bound to find plenty of affordable items.

So if you’ve been wondering, how can I save money with a low income? Buying second hand is the way to do so!

17. Sign Up For Assistance Programs

There are plenty of assistance programs available for you to sign up for when being on a low income.

Here in California, available programs include CalFresh, CalWORKS, Medi-Cal, and many more.

All of these assistance programs can help you get back on your feet, especially during those tough times!

I know that asking for help can be difficult for some people. However, you should NEVER be afraid or ashamed to seek assistance when it seems like nothing else is working.

If you want more information on these programs or want to apply, you can do so on the BenefitsCal website.

This post was all about how to save money fast on a low income to help see an increase in your savings account.

Being on a low income shouldn’t stop you from finding ways to save money.

Though it may seem difficult, there are plenty of money saving techniques to help you learn how to save money fast on a low income.

Whether you’ve been wondering how to save money from salary or how to save money on minimum wage, you now know how.

That being said, you can now work towards saving money fast using these tips so that you can have a brighter future!

If you found even the tiniest bit of information from this post helpful, just know that it was made simply for you.

How To Save Money Fast On A Low Income Using 17 Proven Tips