In today’s world, it’s more important than ever to prepare for your financial future.

And one of the easiest ways to add to your nest-egg is to simply cut expenses and save more of your hard earned money.

We often forget some of the golden rules to saving that our parents taught us. Here’s a quick list of things you can do to save on bills in 2021. No matter your circumstance, there’s something here that everyone can use like cutting down your mortgage bill, save on utilities, get more for your money at the grocery store, and even get samples of popular products.

1. Quit Smoking

This might make some people upset to hear, but it’s time to quit smoking. Not only is it hazardous to your health, but it’s costing you and your family a fortune. Smoking one pack per day costs over $2,000 per year!

There are plenty of techniques to quit smoking, but it all comes down to your dedication to cut the habit. Come up with a plan and have family and friends keep you accountable!

2. Cancel Unused Subscriptions

It’s easier than ever to rack up monthly subscription bills since many products and services nowadays offer monthly plans. But the problem with those is that you sign up and forget. Or you get “cancel remorse” and keep subscriptions that you really don’t use.

Go through your bank and credit card statements and review your subscriptions immediately!

3. Make A Grocery List

You ever go to the grocery store when you’re hungry and find yourself checking out with way more than you intended? We call this “Hunger Shopping” and it’s quite dangerous to your wallet!

Before going to get groceries, make a list of groceries that you need for the upcoming week. That way, you only buy what you’re intending to use and the amount that will get thrown away from being expired is kept to a minimal.

4. Buy in Bulk

One of the easiest things you can do to instantly start saving money is to buy in bulk! Retailers often give a MUCH better deal on products such as paper towel, toilet paper, detergent, etc if you buy in bulk.

This might seem like an obvious one, but we often forget how much money we waste by not buying in bulk.

5. Use This Debt Payoff Plan

Here’s what credit card companies don’t want you to know…and what thousands of consumers are quickly learning about paying off their debt:

If you owe more than $15,000 in credit card debt, this proven debt relief program may reduce the amount you owe. Consumers could resolve their debts with absolutely no loan required and pay it off at a rapid pace. If you’ve struggled to pay your credit card debt, act now before your debt balloons further.

6. Take Full Advantage Of These Tax Deductions

Owning a home can be very lucrative. Seriously, owning a home can not only give you a cheaper monthly payment than renting but in many cases, the tax benefits make the decision a no-brainer.

Here are a few of the larger deductions that you need to be sure to take:

Interest you pay on your mortgage: If you own a home and don’t have a mortgage greater than $750,000, you can deduct the interest you pay on the loan. This is one of the biggest benefits to owning a home versus renting–as you could get massive deductions at tax time. The limit used to be $1 million, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) reduced the limit and made some clarifications on deducting interest from a home equity line of credit.

Property taxes: Another awesome benefit to owning a home is the ability to deduct your property taxes. Before TCJA, the rules were a little more flexible and you were able to deduct the entirety of your property taxes. Now things have a changed a bit. Under the new law, you can deduct up to $10,000. The deduction for state and local income taxes was combined with the deduction for state and local property taxes, too.

Tax incentives for energy-efficient upgrades: While most of the tax incentives for making energy-efficient upgrades to your home have gone away, there are still a couple worth noting. You can still claim tax deductions on solar energy–both for electric and water heating equipment, through 2021. The longer you wait, though, the less money you’ll get back. Here’s the percentage of equipment you can deduct, based on time of installation:

Between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019 – 30% of the expenditures are eligible for the credit
Between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020 – 26%
Between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021 – 22%

7. Use Government Rebates To Get Solar Panels And Slash Your Energy Bills

Warning: Do not pay your next energy bill until you read this…

This is the 1 simple truth your power company doesn’t want you to know. There is a new policy in 2021 that qualifies homeowners who live in specific zip codes to be eligible for $1,000’s of Government funding to install solar panels. Has your power company told you that? Of course not. They hope homeowners don’t learn about this brilliant way to reduce your energy bill tremendously!

When homeowners check whether they qualify many are shocked that subsidies and rebates can cover a lot of the costs associated with installation so it greatly reduces the amount you’ll have to pay. Many may qualify for $0 down! Soon, you could be on your way to significantly reducing your electric bill in a matter of weeks.

Smart homeowners are setting out to do their own research and determine whether this new program lives up to its reputations. Over and over again, many are reporting back on their findings, with the most exciting part being that they are now able to save $1,000s a year on their own energy bill.Estimate Your New Power Bill >>

8. Want a Patio? Consider Concrete Over Pavers

Building a patio can add great value to your home, as well as creating enjoyable outdoor living space for you and your family. But patios can come at a great cost.

When we decided to add a patio to our home, we looked at the different surface options carefully. Although many landscapers would recommend pavers over concrete because of their durability over time, we decided that the cost savings was more important to us. We personally love the clean look of concrete as well.

Now one thing to remember with concrete is that it WILL crack eventually. But if you have a good concrete crew, it should be prepped right where the cracks are minimal. So we expect to see cracks, but are hopeful that it will be minimal.

9. Keep Flies Away from Your Porch and Patio

Don’t pay for expensive pest exterminators just yet… this little-known bug hack could save you hundreds of dollars every year.

There’s been a lot of viral videos around this unique method to repelling annoying bugs. And we’ve done some research to see just how effective it is.

Irish Spring is known for its classic “invigorating” scent, and there are plenty of success stories on the internet from people using it to banish flies and even rodents around their home. You can get a mesh or nylon bag, place the bar of soap inside and hang it on your patio or porch. Most pests, including larger animals like rabbits and deer, hate the smell of strong soap, so this trick should keep your social gatherings and garden pest-free all summer.

Many people claim that it must be the original green bar. It’s worth a try to see if it works for you!

10. Quit Buying Expensive Coffee

Yes, we all love a tasty Starbucks latte every now and then. But buying coffee from your favorite barista everyday adds up quick!

Let’s do the math… $5 per latte 5 days a week is $25 a week. That’s $100 per month just for coffee!

If you brew your own coffee at home, the cost is around 30 cents a cup. Now if you’re all about convenience, consider a Keurig Coffeemaker. The cost per cup will go up to around 60 cents but it’s still MUCH cheaper than buying from a coffee shop and is super convenient.