In this post I’m going to show 12+ products that save you money. These items can reveal how you can save over $5,000 dollars a year by buying a few things and putting them to good use.
If you are just starting to create a budget, then these items will be a great way for you to cut some of your day to day cost, while still getting the thrill of buying something new on Amazon.
Here are over 10 products that save you money so you can master your budget.
Table of Contents
Buy a Thermos and Bring Your Coffee
If you are like me and need a gallon of coffee to get through your day, then you can really amp up your savings by bringing a thermos from home. The savings from bring your own brew are HUGE.
If you have 3 coffees a day (including the morning one) you could save upwards of $1,000 a year. Grab yourself a good coffee mug (I use Contigo) and watch the savings pile up. It’s my first go to product that save you money.
Or if you are really fussy about the temperature of your coffee you can always splurge and get one of these smart cups by Ember.
You get to set the temperature from your AppleWatch or Smartphone.
Annual savings: $1,000 a year.
Create a Work Outfit
One of the big issues with work is the costume (as my kids call it) aka work clothing that you wear every day.
Instead of buying a different outfit for every day of the week, buy the same outfit. That way you cut down on your choices and decisions in the morning.
By wearing the same thing every day you save yourself time, money, and brain power. Hey if it was good enough for Steve Jobs and these other successful people it’s probably ok for you too!
Yearly savings: Clothing budget $600 ( assuming you buy one new work outfit a month for around $50).
Pack Your Own Lunch
More of the “bring it from home” theme.
A bag lunch will always beat buying your lunch at work. Don’t like making your own lunch? Come up with a standard lunch that you can make quickly and effortlessly every night. Or better yet, use last nights leftovers. Or pre-make your whole week on Sunday when you have more time. Average savings $5 a day, $1,300 a year.
Here’s some lunch kits that go beyond the ol’ brown bag.
Yearly savings: $1,300
Smartphone Case
If you have ever dropped your smartphone only to pick it up and find a smashed screen you know that replacing them isn’t cheap.
Do yourself, and your phone, a huge favor and buy a great phone case. I always use Lifeproof because they have a lifetime warranty. The best part about this is if something goes on the case, you just order a replacement for free.
Check out these Lifeproof cases for your smartphone.
Savings: $100 for multiple new screens
Water Bottle
Did you know that the average American spends over $100 a year on bottled water? That’s crazy. Grab yourself a great on the go water container and start pocketing that extra cash.
Yearly savings: $400 per household of 4
Self Filtering Water Bottle
If you are concerned about making sure you have filtered water then you can buy a Lifestraw bottle instead, they come with a built in filter so you know your water is top notch wherever you go.
Rechargeable Batteries and Charger
The best advice anyone gave me when I became a parent was, “Get a lot of rechargeable batteries.” It’s a good piece of advice.
From remotes, to toys to any wireless device we are a world that runs on batteries. This can really get expensive. Rechargeable batteries are good way to helpthe environment and save money, based on this article you could save $77.70 a year by making the switch.
Annual savings: $77
Infrared Thermometer
These are becoming a big deal. If you are worried that your house has some places where cold air is getting in this little device can be great to find them. When you know that there is a place where you are losing heat you can use this to find that spot and deal with it accordingly.
Whether it’s adding caulking, more insulation or a new window. This device is exactly what you need to detect heat loss.
Yearly savings: Depends on your house
Led Lightbulbs
LED light bulbs use a fraction of the electricity that a standard light bulb uses. Better yet they last forever! We’re talking 20 years. So that’s a huge savings. I break down the cost savings of an LED lightbulb in another post, I figured i would save $13 per bulb, per year. That means with around 20 lights I should save $260 a year.
Check out all the LED lights you can get here.
Related: Are LED Bulbs Worth it?
Yearly savings: $260
Drying Rack for Clothes
After your furnace, the dryer is another place where you use a lot of power. This is an easy fix. Buy a drying rack and air dry your clothes. This one is under $20 and you can easily recoup that cost in the first few months.
According to this site 45 minute load costs around $0.49 to run. That means if you had 10 loads a week you would save $4.90 week!
Yearly savings: roughly $250
Food Saver
If you grow your own food (which is another great way to save money, or hunt your own meat, then you need a Food Saver. This device sucks out the air and vacuum seals it so that the contents stay fresh.
This might not be a big thing, but when you start buying your meat in bulk, like everyone does at Costco, then you can get some really good saving.
Because it’s heartbreaking to take our your steaks only to find they are freezer burnt.
You can pick up a Food Saver here. Depending how much you use it will depend on the savings.
Yearly savings: Varies
Programmable Thermostat
Heating and cooling is one of the biggest energy drains on your electricity or gas bill. Get a programmable thermostat so that you can set the temperature lower when you aren’t around and have the heat kick back in just as you get how every day from work. It’s estimated that this can save you $100 to $200 a year.
Take your pick, you can get a more basic one, or go full throttle on the smart home and get this Nest Smart Thermostat. Either way the savings will add up quickly.
Annual savings: $100
Amazon Prime
This will seem counter intuitive, at least it did for me, but when you If you are a regular shopper on Amazon, you can benefit from their Amazon Prime program.
Being an Amazon Prime member has a lot of benefits. It allows you to get free 2-day shipping, plus access to their Prime Video streaming service (like Netflix or Hulu).
You also get their music streaming service (so you don’t need Apple Music or Spotify).
They also give you unlimited photo storage, which is starting to be a big thing for us, and early access to their Prime Day deals.
Give Amazon Prime a try with their 30 day Free Trial, if you like it continue with it all for a price of $7.99 a month.
Yearly savings: Apple Music $50 Year, Photo Storage $10 month, $120 year, and 2-day shipping. Total: $170.
Get a Top Notch Blender
I’ve been making smoothies for our family for years. I’ve also gone through about 5 blenders in as many years. It’s tiresome. The reason is never the blender motor, it’s the blade casing. So we finally splurged and bought a Blendtec blender. IT’S AMAZING!
There are setting for making smoothies, desserts, soups and it’s all preset. But the best part is the 5-year warranty and that the blade casing is a one-piece unit. It’s so nice to use. Plus it takes 10 seconds to clean, pop a cup of water and a drop of detergent in it and run it for 10 seconds and you’re good to go
And in case you were wondering these motors are so fast that the blades are dull. It’s the motor that does all the work. They have rethought the blender and after 200 uses, it’s not slowing down at all!
This is the one we got. I absolutely love it!
A smoothie at $3 for 4 people every day, means we’re likely saving $8 a day just from that ($12 for smoothies, less the $4 of fruit that we use). So let’s aim low and say $2500 a year in savings
Savings from not buying Smoothies: $2,500, less the blender $2,000
How do these products that save you money add up?
While some of these items will improve your life, all of them have the ability to save you tons of money over the years. Just in case you are wondering here’s how the savings added up to over $5,000.
Here they are again:
- Coffee Thermos or Travel Mug: $1,000
- Work Outfit: $600
- Pack a Lunch: $1,300
- Smartphone case: $100
- Water Bottle: $100
- Rechargeable Batteries: $77
- Infrared Thermometer: Depends
- LED Lightbubs: $260
- Dryer Rack: $250
- Food Saver: Depends
- Programmable Thermostat: $100
- Blender for Smoothies: $2,000
- Amazon Prime: $170 (Start your free 30-day trial here)
Like these ideas? Share these savings with others!
