Any expert will tell you that in order to save money, you have to develop strong habits and be consistent in your efforts over time. That’s definitely true. But sometimes, you just want a quick win and a little extra spending money. And since someone already won the $1.6 billion Mega Millions lottery jackpot, that option is off the table (at least for now).
That’s why we reached out to experts to get their best money-saving tips that don’t require more than an hour of your time. Here are their 10 best ideas.
1. Roll Over Your Old 401(k)
“Employees should consider rolling over an old 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan into an IRA, which typically takes a matter of minutes. Though the money in the old plan will continue to grow tax-deferred, investors can end up paying much higher fees in an employer-sponsored retirement plan such as a 401(k) due to expensive fund options and plan administration costs. Those fees eat directly into an individual’s potential return. The savings can be significant if you switch to an IRA — even close to 1 percent in some cases. Over time, that can really add up.” ― Kristin McFarland, a wealth advisor and certified financial planner at Darrow Wealth Management in Boston.
2. Switch Banks
“If you aren’t earning at least 1 percent on your savings, you’re leaving money on the table. By simply switching from a traditional brick-and-mortar bank to a high-yield savings account, you can make your money work harder for you and earn on your savings effortlessly. It takes just a few seconds to compare interest rates between financial institutions to find the best option for you; opening a high-yield online savings account can be done in a matter of minutes.” ― Andrea Woroch, consumer savings expert
3. Negotiate With Your Internet Provider
“Call your internet provider and negotiate your bill. Let them know your budget has changed and you are shopping around. Providers usually have some sort of special promotion going on that they’ll offer you. For example, my provider once offered a huge discount for college students and gave us our internet for half price during the school year. Spending 10 minutes on the phone saved us around $300-$400.” ― Jaime Gibbs, a faith and finance blogger at Like a Bubbling Brook
4. Complete A Health Assessment
“Many people don’t realize that their health insurance provider offers the option to complete a health assessment, which means they miss out on hundreds of dollars each year. Ours has typically been a simple online survey that takes about 20 minutes to complete. In exchange (no matter what the results), we get $150 in gift cards for every insured person over 18.” ― Val Breit, owner of personal finance blog The Common Cents Club
5. Sign Up For Auto-Pay
“If you follow a reasonable budget, setting your bills to auto-pay is a great way to save time and money. Start by looking at your monthly mandatory expenses and find a company that incentivizes customers to sign up for automatic billing. Usually, they’ll offer a reduced interest rate or discounts on future transactions, depending on what type of bill it is. If you’re going to have to pay a bill eventually, why not get a discount for doing it automatically? Common places to find discounts can include student loans, car loans or utilities such as your electric bill. And the biggest perk? You don’t have to worry about remembering to pay the bill in full each month ― it’s all taken care of.” ― Ben Huber, owner of Dollar Sprout
6. Rethink Your Health Insurance
“Re-evaluate your health insurance options at work since now is enrollment time. What did you sign up for in the past that you now don’t need? For example, I knew someone who had health insurance and cancer insurance. The cancer insurance, which she did not need, was $100 a month. She removed it for instant savings.” ― Ja’Net Adams, speaker, author and creator of Debt Sucks University
7. Skim Your Bank Statements
“Spend 30 to 60 minutes one evening and review your past two to three months of bank statements. You might find your bank is charging you monthly maintenance fees that can be avoided and save you a couple hundred dollars a year. One way to avoid monthly fees is to enroll in direct deposit or, if you can, keep at least $1,000 in your checking account.” ― Jason Reposa, CEO and co-founder of MyBankTracker
8. Listen To A Personal Finance Podcast
“There are many out there, which can be from a few minutes long to almost an hour. These types of podcasts will greatly impact your knowledge and help you to learn how to save money at no cost to you. And you also aren’t spending hours to learn, either. It’s something I do each week and has helped me make smarter money choices.” ― Todd Kunsman, founder of Invested Wallet
9. Switch To A Prepaid Cellphone Plan
“Call your cellphone provider and ask about their prepaid pricing plans. With a few minutes on the phone, you can save $15 or more per month ($180+ per year), plus increase your data limit. After switching to prepaid, we saved $15 a month and increased our data from 3GB shared to 10GB each (20GB total).” ― Evan and Nikayla, the bloggers behind Budgeting Couple
10. Set It And Forget It
“Using an app like Acorns can take less than 10 minutes to set up and will continuously save (and actually invest) money every time you make a purchase. Acorns works by rounding up each transaction to the nearest dollar and investing the difference for you automatically. It’s a simple and quick way to get a method of saving and investing money every single day in place.” ― Dustyn Ferguson, blogger at Dime Will Tell
Responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.