20 Painless Things You Can Do To Save Money Immediately

Don't look now, but you might be wasting around $4000 a year.

Whether it's your non-programmable thermostat (costing you an extra $245/year), opting for Starbucks over home-made coffee (an extra $770/year), or even your bottled water (300x more expensive than tap), odds are you're spending WAY more money than you need to.

That's why we've assembled a list of 20 ways to save money, immediately. And even more, they're all easy. No starving yourself, cutting down to one car and going off the grid. Just 20 investments you can make now, to save big in the near future.

We hope you find these products as awesome as we do. Just an FYI: We are a participant in the Amazon affiliate program, and may receive a share of sales from links on this page. Prices on Amazon fluctuate so anything mentioned below might change as soon we publish it!
We hope you find these products as perfectly money-saving as we do. Just an FYI: 22Words may receive a share of sales from links on this page.

1: Filtered Tap Water Costs 1/300th As Much As Bottled Water

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Savings: 300x what you spend on bottled water. Bottled water costs, effectively, more than 300 times what you pay for tap. And most if it's just filtered tap water anyway. Investing in one of the standard Brita pitchers will get you on the path towards savings. And if you can't live without a bottle of water on the go, Brita also makes water bottles with built-in filters. That taste? It's not just freshly filtered water. That, my friends, is the taste of savings. Find the Brita Pitcher on AmazonFind the Brita water bottle on Amazon

2: Get A Good Home Coffee Maker And Save More Than $600/Year

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Savings: $600+/year Starbucks may be the highlight of your morning, but it's costing you around $775 more every year than coffee made at home. And coffee at home doesn't have to be boring—there's a host of great at-home solutions that'll make the perfect portion of coffee at a perfectly low price. Like Amazon's top-selling cold brew maker, the Takeya, the classic French Press, or the surprisingly affordable Bialetti.

3: A Programmable Thermostat Like The Nest Will Save Hundreds Each Year

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Savings: $249/year after first year The Nest Programmable Thermostat is the top of the heap, but it doesn't come cheap at $249. But when you really calculate the savings it can offer, its price becomes a lot more affordable. With normal use, the Nest will already pay for itself by the second year of use. After that, it's all gravy. Savings gravy. Which is the best kinda gravy. Find it on Amazon

4: Cancel Your Cable And Grab A Roku Streaming Stick

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Savings: $50+/month Joining the cable-cutting revolution is easy with top-ranking streaming devices like the Roku Stick coming in at a wallet-friendly $40. It's a figure that looks even more attractive when you consider that the average cable bill in the US is now $103. Sure, part of that is internet, but the one-time investment in a streaming device, and a subscription to Netflix (or, if you're an Amazon Prime member—and here's why you should be—Amazon Prime streaming) will save you on average $50/month. Find the Roku Stick on Amazon

5: Replace Your Paper Towels With These Dirt-Cheap Reusable Towels

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Savings: $84/year Assuming you only average around $8 in paper towel purchases every month, you stand to save substantial cash by grabbing a semi-annual pack of these reusable cloth towels. They come in packs of 50, and at $15 a pack purchased twice a year, you're saving over $80 every year. Find a pack on Amazon

6: Ditch The Dryer And Get With This Dirt Cheap Drying Rack

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Savings: $100/year A dryer-less existence isn't for everyone, but it makes financial sense for the frugal consumer. The average household dryer consumes around $100/year in electricity alone, and that's not taking into account the cost of dryer sheets, maintenance, and the unit itself. Air-drying enthusiasts swear by the top-selling Amazon drying rack, touting its quality construction, expansive drying real estate, and tiny footprint when collapsed. Check it out on Amazon

7: Switch From Traditional Batteries To These

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Savings: Pays for itself after four uses Eneloop technology has, however quietly, changed the rechargeable battery game from shrug-worthy to drool-worthy. If you're the type of person who drools over battery life, which I do. A pack of 12 Eneloops will run you $28, with charger. That's an up-front cost of $2.33 per battery, roughly 4X the cost of the average $0.67 AA battery. You break even after four charges, and after that it's all saved money. Now, if you're the type whose only battery use is their TV remote, these don't make as much sense. But if you're a heavy battery user, you can't afford to ignore these. Check out the Eneloops on Amazon

8: These $13 Dryer Balls Replace Dryer Sheets And Fabric Softener

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Savings: Break-even after one year Unless you've got a serious addiction to your dryer, odds are you're not consuming more than $13-$20 worth of dryer sheets each year. However, after that year, these dryer balls have paid for themselves. And benefits don't stop there: fans of these dryer balls tout their wrinkle-busting, static-reducing properties, along with their ability to shorten drying cycles, which'll save you even more cash. Check out these felted wool dryer balls on Amazon.

9: Start Using These Produce Preservation Products

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Savings: $600/year The average American household wastes around $640 in groceries a year, and between the stale bread and expired mayo, you can bet most of that's in produce. That's what makes these gadgets so necessary. The popular Bluapple absorbs ethylene gas, substantially extending the life of your produce. And any number of herb savers (like our $10 favorite) offer continuous hydration to your delicate and expensive herbs, keeping them alive and well until you pluck, dice, and eat them,. Check out the Bluapple on Amazon.Find our favorite Herb Saver here.

10: Start Cooking With The Ultra-Popular Instant Pot

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Savings: Depends on use At $99, the Instant Pot isn't an instant splurge for many of us. But for those who cook a lot at home, if offers many money-saving benefits, from allowing you to use fried, far-cheaper ingredients, to the energy-saving nature of its ridiculously speedy cook time (7 minutes to perfectly-done chicken breast), to the time that you'll save with a set-it-and-forget-it dinner strategy. Go ahead, you know you've had your eye on the Instant Pot. And as long as you use it with frugality in mind, it'll pay for itself in months. Check out the Instant Pot on Amazon

11: Switch To Reusable K-Cups

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Savings: $150/year If you're married to your Keurig, at least allow yourself the chance to save substantial cash with these reusable K-cups. It won't take long to recoup your original $10 investment, and you can fill them with the perfect coffee (and/or most on-sale coffee) of your choice. Find a set of six on Amazon for $10

12: Forgo The Knife Block And Invest In The Only Four Knives You Need

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Savings: $200, depending on knife set How many of the knives in your knife block do you actually use? According to professional chefs, you really only need four knives: a chef's knife, a paring knife, a serrated bread knife, and (if you're so inclined), a santuko knife. And Victorinox makes some of the best (and most affordable) of each model. Find the Victorinox chef's knife on AmazonFind the Victornox paring knife on AmazonFind the Victorinox bread knife on AmazonFind the Victorinox santuko knife on Amazon

13: Switch Over To LED Light Bulbs

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Savings: at least $270 over lifespan LED light bulbs are the future, and fortunately, that future means big cost savings over traditional incandescent bulbs, when you take a lifetime view of each technology. And LED's only getting cheaper, with a set of six Amazon Basics LED bulbs coming in at a very reasonable $18. Find LED light bulbs on Amazon

14: Start Cooking With A Cast Iron Skillet And Never Stop

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Savings: A lifetime of skillet costs The advantages to cooking with cast iron are well-established, so we won't go into them here. But the fact is, for $20 you can buy the last cast iron skillet you'll ever need. And it's even pre-seasoned for you. Find the Lodge cast iron skillet on Amazon

15: Start Timing Your Showers To Save Hundreds

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Savings: $1/shower Between the cost of water, and the cost of heating it, the average 10-minute shower costs $2. Make that a 5-minute shower, and cost drops to $1. It won't be easy, but this timer'll help.Find the shower time on Amazon

16: Start Using Reusable Snack Bags And Ditch The Ziplocs

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Savings: $117/year Assuming you use around three Ziploc bags a day ($0.12/bag on average), you stand to save $117.40 each year by switching to these highly-rated reusable snack bags. They're washable, durable, and they don't come in an annoying box that always seems to jam your drawers open (don't ask me how I know this). Find a set of reusable snack bags on Amazon for $14

17: Use A Smart Power Strip And Cut Your Electric Bills

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Savings: $135/first year, $165 each year thereafter Vampire power (the power used by dormant machines that are always plugged in, like your printer) costs households $165 each year—a massive waste of money you can avoid by investing in a simple $35 smart power strip, which turns power on to vampiric devices on an as-needed basis. Find the smart power strip on Amazon

18: Switch To An Unlocked Phone And Save Big Every Month

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Savings: Depends on user Whether or not it's explicitly acknowledged, your carrier builds the cost of your phone into your monthly contracts. A small up-front investment in an unlocked phone like this $230 Moto G Plus will save you hundreds of dollars over the lifespan of the phone. And while you may not be rocking the sexiest phone on the block, you'll have a lot more disposable income at hand to make up for it.

19: Invest In A Vacuum Sealer And Chest Freezer And Take Advantage Of All The Sales

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Savings: dependent on your shopping abilities You can eat well and still save big, once you master the art of buying prime ingredients in bulk, on sale, and preserving them properly until it's time to feast. And the best way to do this? Vacuum-seal meats, and store them in a roomy and reliable chest freezer. You can grab a top-ranked vacuum sealer for $60 on Amazon, and the top-selling chest freezer for a mere $162 delivered to your door.

20: Switch To A VOIP Phone System And Drop Your Overpriced Land Line

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Savings: $164/first year, $324/each year thereafter If you insist on the security and reliability of a land line, you can save hundreds every year by switching your old phone to a VOIP phone system. VOIP technology uses the internet for phone calls, resulting in clearer calls and extremely lowered monthly costs. The Ooma home phone system will set you back $160 for a receiver and two handsets, but one you put it—and it's mere $3/month service charge—up against the average $30/month landline, the system pays for itself in the sixth month of use. And after that, it's $27 saved, every single month,. Find the Ooma VOIP system on Amazon 160 up-front