Last updated July 2026
For several years now, American consumers’ finances have been squeezed by surging housing costs, climbing grocery bills, and costs for insurance, utilities, and childcare that have increased faster than wages.
While families struggle to keep up, companies manipulate us to spend money with fake sales, worthless warranties, and search results flooded with ads. Many brands intentionally downgrade the quality of their products and services.
For 50 years, Consumers’ Checkbook’s research has found that most families spend more than necessary. Not because they’re careless, but because the system is designed to make overpaying easy and comparison shopping hard.
Here are 20 ways to save money.
Mindset
1 Buy less stuff. From just-dropped Nike sneakers to Apple’s latest smartphone, Americans are conditioned to spring for the newest, most hyped products. It’s not entirely our fault. Retailers and brands spend billions of dollars studying our psychology, and they’ve become incredibly adept at getting us to keep spending. The dopamine hit from a new purchase is real but short-lived and leaves many consumers in long-term debt. Before clicking “buy” or heading to the mall, ask yourself (or family): “Do I actually need this?” Waiting a day or two often provides clarity.
2Shop around for the best price and don’t get fooled by fake sales. Over the last 50 years our researchers have collected more than a million prices from every sort of retailer. We typically find enormous store-to-store price differences for the exact same products. For appliances, electronics, furniture, and anything that costs more than a few hundred dollars, spend just 10 to 20 minutes comparing prices before you buy—it usually pays off. Many retailers will also price-match a competitor’s lower price if you simply ask.
Don’t let a “sale” price short-circuit your comparison shopping. Last year, Checkbook’s researchers spent six months tracking prices at 25 major retailers and found that 21 advertised “sale” prices more than half the time—meaning the “discount” is usually just the regular price. A crossed-out “original price” is mostly theater. The only question worth asking is whether the actual price you’re paying is competitive with what other stores are charging right now.
3 Buy used or get it for free. For furniture, kids’ gear, tools, bikes, sports equipment, books, and clothing, used is usually good enough and often costs far less. Sustainability expert Ashlee Piper stopped buying anything new for nearly two years, paid off $22,000 in debt in the process, and found she had more time and less clutter. Her practical advice: before buying anything, ask whether something you already own can serve the same purpose. When you do need something, look at secondhand options first. Try Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay, and thrift stores, but don’t overlook gifting networks like the Buy Nothing Project and Freecycle.org.
4 Avoid purchases that sound sensible but aren’t. Extended warranties for appliances and electronics…air-duct cleaning work…home warranties…credit monitoring services…trip protection plans. Our research has identified dozens of products, services, and add-ons widely marketed as smart buys that are almost always bad deals. We’ve catalogued 65 of these purchases that are dressed up as responsible adulting but mostly benefit the companies selling them, not you.
5 Don’t upgrade your phone until you must. Every year, Apple, Samsung, and others announce new phone models as if the one glued to your palm has suddenly become obsolete. It hasn’t. The improvements from one generation to the next have become incremental—a slightly better camera, a marginally faster processor. Many of the latest flagship phones cost $1,000 or more, and a two- or three-year-old model does nearly everything the new one does. Skipping even one upgrade cycle saves you hundreds and lets you avoid trading in a perfectly good device at a fraction of its value.
6 Keep your car longer. The most expensive moment in car ownership isn’t a repair bill—it’s buying a new vehicle. The average new car now sells for more than $50,000, and dealers have increasingly pushed buyers into longer loans to make monthly payments feel manageable. More than one in five new car loans in recent years have been for 84 months or longer. The problem: a longer loan means paying far more in interest and staying “underwater,” owing more than the car is worth, for years longer. In the third quarter of 2024, more than a quarter of new vehicle trade-ins were underwater, with borrowers owing an average of nearly $6,500 more than their cars were worth. Every extra year you drive a paid-off car is thousands of dollars saved on payments, depreciation, and insurance.
Finances
7 Try to pay bills on time, stay out of high-interest debt, and seek help if you need it. A growing number of Americans are finding it difficult to pay their bills, fueling widespread financial stress, anxiety, and in some cases, despair. Nearly half of all credit card holders carry balances from month to month, with many paying more than 25 percent interest.
“Debt is no longer a background concern, but a daily struggle for many families,” said Bruce McClary, a vice president at the nonprofit National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). “People are having to make some really tough decisions: Should they buy certain types of groceries or get their medication? Should they pay one bill on time and let another one slide?”
Digging out from credit card debt might seem impossible. But with hard work, discipline, and guidance from a certified credit counselor, it can be done. Credit counselors can also help with medical debt, student loans, and even problems paying rent. There are also specialized programs designed for service members, veterans, and their families. To find a counselor, visit NFCC.org or call 800-388-2227.
Avoid for-profit “debt relief” and “debt settlement” companies, which often leave clients’ finances worse off.
8 If you carry credit card balances, the card you use matters a lot. Airline miles cards, hotel cards, and other rewards cards typically carry interest rates of 25 to 30 percent. If you’re not paying your balance in full every month, any rewards points you earn are costing you far more than they’re worth. A $500 flight “earned” by spending $50,000 while paying 28 percent interest on a $5,000 balance isn’t a deal, and the trip isn’t free. If you carry a balance, get a no-frills card with a low interest rate.
If you have high-interest credit card debt, a personal loan may be a better deal—banks and credit unions typically charge interest rates well below those attached to credit card debt. Consolidating a $10,000 credit card balance into a personal loan at 10 percent interest will save you hundreds of dollars each year and give you a reasonable payoff date.
Insurance & Benefits
9 Shop around every year or two for car and home insurance. Insurers count on inertia. Loyalty is not rewarded—long-term customers often pay more than new ones as companies quietly raise rates. (They know most people won’t bother to switch.) Our research shows that most policyholders can save more than $500 a year by switching to a lower-priced auto and/or home insurance company; some save $1,500 or more.
10 Choose your health insurance plan carefully each year. Most people pick a health insurance plan and stick with it year after year. But plans’ premiums, cost-sharing structures, and coverages change, as do your healthcare needs. You may be paying significantly more out of pocket with a company or plan option that was the best fit for you three years ago.
During the next open-enrollment period, do an audit of your needs and your choices. Take stock of how you used your coverage this past year: Which providers did you see? Did you use any out-of-network care, or pay for that flexibility without ever needing it? The goal is to match what you’re paying for with what you actually use.
The savings can be significant. Checkbook’s Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees compares every FEHB plan on estimated yearly costs, including premiums and likely out-of-pocket expenses. Last year, we found that federal employees and retirees who switch from BCBS Standard to BCBS Basic, for example, would give up out-of-network coverage but keep access to the same in-network BCBS doctors and save roughly $1,000 per year.
11 Maximize your employer benefits. FSAs, HSAs, 401k matching, free counseling through EAPs, tuition reimbursement, legal plans… Most employees leave real money on the table every year by not paying close attention during open enrollment. Many health insurers also offer gym membership deals or fee reimbursements if you meet attendance thresholds. A 401(k) match alone, if you’re not capturing it fully, is leaving free money behind.
Healthcare & Drugs
12 Shop around for prescription drugs. Most people assume their insurance is getting them the best prices at the pharmacy. Often it isn’t. Drug prices vary wildly among pharmacies, sometimes by a factor of 10 or more for the same medication. Paying out of pocket with a discount service like GoodRx or Cost Plus Drugs can be significantly cheaper than your insurance copay. Also, always ask your doctor whether a generic is available and suitable to treat your condition; most are chemically identical to name-brand drugs and cost a fraction of the price.
13 Take care of your health. The best way to reduce healthcare costs? Take preventive measures: Annual physicals, well-woman visits, mammograms, flu shots, colonoscopies, blood-pressure monitoring. Most health insurance plans minimize out-of-pocket costs for these types of services. To save even more, select in-network providers and double-check all your medical bills for errors—patients frequently report being overbilled for preventive care that should cost nothing. The cost of reactive healthcare dwarfs almost anything else on this list.
Food
14 Switch to a lower-cost grocery store. Food prices continue to skyrocket, but our evaluations of grocery store prices find that most shoppers can save by taking advantage of low-cost supermarket options. Compared to most conventional chains, discounters like ALDI, Lidl, Walmart, and Wegmans offer big savings: For a family that spends $300 per week at the supermarket, a 15 percent price difference totals savings of $2,340 per year; a 10 percent price difference totals $1,560 a year—with minimal difference in what they eat.
15 Cook more; break up with delivery services. Even cooking simple meals at home a few more times a week can save a typical household $150 to $200 a month compared with eating at restaurants. When you do splurge on takeout, pick up your own food; delivery apps are brutally expensive once you add fees, tips, and menu markups.
Home & Services
16 Get multiple bids on home repairs and improvements. When it comes to home repairs and improvements, the price you pay has almost nothing to do with the quality of work you’ll receive—and everything to do with whether you shopped around. Our undercover shoppers collected bids on several roofing jobs and found the differences staggering. For each of three different jobs, the lowest bid we received was thousands of dollars lower than the highest. And in each case, some of the lowest bids came from top-rated companies. We see this pattern consistently across roofing, HVAC, plumbing, painting, and all other home service categories. For any significant job, get at least three to five fixed-price bids, and be especially wary of companies that pressure you to sign the same day.
17 Audit your subscriptions. The average American now spends more than $1,000 a year on subscriptions. Most households pay for several things they’ve forgotten about. Companies offer free trials and low introductory rates precisely because they know most people won’t cancel when the rate goes up. Set aside 30 minutes, go through your credit card and bank statements, and axe anything you haven’t actively used in the past month.
Free Resources
18 Use your library. Most people pay for services their library card already covers for free: Books and audiobooks through the Libby app, streaming movies through Kanopy, logins for paywalled websites, and discounts on museum passes. Before paying for a streaming service, an audiobook subscription, or a digital magazine, check what your library already offers. Once you join, you can access most libraries’ free digital services from home using your own device.
19 Take advantage of free government and nonprofit resources. Many local governments offer programs residents don’t know about: Recreation centers, youth sports leagues, and in some areas, subsidized broadband. Free tax preparation is available to many Americans through IRS Free File and VITA sites.
Protect Yourself
20 Don’t get scammed. American consumers lose tens of billions of dollars to fraud every year, and the schemes keep getting more sophisticated. But the basic ways to protect yourself still work: Never send money via wire transfer or gift cards in response to an urgent request, no matter how convincing the story. Never give remote access to your computer to an unsolicited caller. Verify any urgent financial request—even one that appears to come from a family member—by calling them back on a number you already have. Monitor your credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport.com and place a free security freeze on your accounts with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to prevent new accounts from being opened in your name.