this image is not available

Media Platforms Design Team

Recently, in one day, I spent $35 on clothes for my daughter online, $15 on parking, $15 for the dog-walker, $45 on last-minute grocery shopping, and $57 on toiletries. How did $167 leave my wallet in 24 hours? Granted, some expenses were necessary (the toiletries were a good deal, and I was out of toilet paper). But if I'd paid more attention, I could have knocked 10% off the dog-walker's fees by booking a block of walks in advance. And if I'd picked up my kid's clothes at the store near our home versus ordering online, I'd have saved the $5 for shipping. Here, new habits to adopt so more money will stay where it belongs: in the bank.

1. Plan Grocery Trips and Meals

Consider this unappetizing stat: Americans waste 25% of their food and beverages every year, says a recent report from the Natural Resources Defense Council — that's an estimated $1,365 to $2,275 a year for a family of four. To remedy that, improve your meal planning. Foodonthetable.com, a site that helps you organize your grocery shopping, has a Meal Plan app (iOS/Android) that lets you search for easy recipes; then, using sale info from grocers, it creates a shopping list that takes advantage of local deals. It's $15 total for the first three months, then $9.95 a month (if it helps you buy 10% less food each month, that's $61 saved for the average American family). And look for more money-saving recipes from our Kitchen Magician at goodhousekeeping.com/recipes.

Next, work those coupons; Pushpins (iOS/Android) is a free coupon app that allows bar code scanning in-store; coupons are linked to your loyalty card and redeemed at the register. Another techy move I love: Ditch those plastic tags on your key ring and consolidate loyalty cards on your phone with the free CardStar app (iOS/Android). Thank you from those of us waiting behind you in line!

More From Good Housekeeping

preview for Good Housekeeping US Section: Life

2. Shop Around for the Best Bank

Comparison-shopping isn't only for groceries. Banking is a service you pay for, and therefore you may be able to save on the related charges. Compare fees and interest rates; you may be in for a shock. A few weeks' worth of ATM fees can buy you half a tank of gas in some areas — the average surcharge to use a nonnetwork machine in Denver, for example, is nearly $3. And since many banks charge maintenance fees, you may also be paying your bank too much money to hold your money! Search for free options at bankrate.com or use mycreditunion.gov to find credit unions (these typically have lower fees) near you.

Also, while interest rates on savings accounts are close to zero, at press time the online bank Ally (ally.com) was offering 0.84% with no fees or minimums. And American Express (americanexpress.com/personalsavings) will pay 0.85% on an interest-earning savings account. If you have $10,000 in a savings account, that will earn you $432 over the next five years in interest — certainly much better than nothing!

Next:

this image is not available

Media Platforms Design Team

3. Think Local

If you're shelling out big bucks for lawn care, babysitting, and other everyday expenses, here's some good news: I've found incredible savings by using local message boards. For example, my daughter's school doesn't have any afterschool programs, which means I spend a lot on babysitters. My neighbor, whose daughter is in the same class as mine, negotiated a group-discounted plan for acting and dance classes, then advertised it on our school's message board. Now I'm slated to save $350 over three months (when compared to babysitting costs for the same hours), and my daughter will get to enjoy prepping for her audition for So You Think You Can Dance 10 years from now.

AOL offers patch.com in more than 900 communities; it serves as a community-news and local-listings site that's updated constantly. On my local message-board site, I found a new dog-walker who doesn't charge an additional $5 every time I book at the last minute (which is often). If I save that way twice a month, it will total $120 a year. Woof!

4. Automate More

If you could lie in bed for an extra hour while someone else paid the bills, ordered your toiletries, shopped for the dog food, and even delivered the goods, all for less moolah, why wouldn't you? This habit is about saving not only money, but also time — and sanity. Though much of our "wasted" time is personal time (say, during weekends), consider its value. I like to use my babysitter's rate, $15 an hour, for myself. Not spending two or more hours (and the cost of gas!) driving to and from the grocery store saves over $30.

I've definitely saved big by using the Web; sites with competitive prices such as soap.com,
wag.com,
yoyo.com, and amazon.com let you sign up for regular deliveries. As for shipping costs, craft your order to meet the minimum required for free shipping. No luck? Even if my grocery delivery costs $5, saving two hours means I "save" $25 worth of my time, not to mention avoiding the stress. The value of never running out of toilet paper again? Priceless.

Save Smarter!

On the subject of keeping more of your money, let me remind you that an emergency fund is absolutely vital lest you be laid off, need a major home repair, incur medical expenses — you know the drill. Not sure how much you should have in an emergency fund? Use the Employee Benefit Research Institute's site, choosetosave.org. If you don't already have some dough stashed away, open a no-cost savings account (look on bankrate.com) and schedule automatic transfers from your checking account or wherever your income gets deposited.

Tip: It's a good idea to keep this savings account separate from any others you may have; that'll mean less temptation to spend it!