Today, on this last post of the Challenge, I decided to write down some of the ways I’m saving money in 2015. Alone, each doesn’t seem like much. Together, they add up to a rough estimate of about $25,000 of savings in 2015 — a relatively high number.

Remember, these are tips that work for me. The key has been to take my lifestyle, then fit these tips into them — not try to force 153 changes in spending on day 1. Sure, I’ve changed my behaviour, but it’s been a slow process. If you’re just starting to save money, I encourage you to take your current behaviour and set small milestones…like optimizing what you’re currently doing, before you decide to change your entire financial behaviour.

 1. Whenever possible, I buy airfare for family and friends so I can earn significant amounts of points (usually they reimburse me).

2. Any time I purchase something over $100 (roughly), or any time I travel, I review the deals offered by my credit card company, insurer, workplace. In particular, when you’re travelling, the deal doesn’t end when you get to the check-in.

3. This seems like a minor point, but if you don’t have all your account information in one place, it’s a huge barrier to finding deals and among them. Personally, I hate having to search around for all my account logins.

4. Any time I buy something online, I take 20 seconds to search for a coupon, which usually saves me 10%-25% off.

5. I call all major service providers (cable, mobile phone, insurance, etc) and negotiate them down. They don’t like this! If you’re not comfortable with this, find a friend who might want to do this for you.

6. When I buy major purchases like mobiles, cars, or even coats, I buy the best and hold it for the long term. That sounds obvious, but most people who buy really nice stuff like to buy nice stuff all the time, meaning they never keep something for the long term. 

7. I work on entrepreneurial side projects that are fun and may someday be profitable. 8. I perform regular maintenance on my car. Extremely regular, with extreme documentation, so that when I sell the car, I’ll be able to show how strict I am with documentation for big purchases.

9. I just set up automatic withdrawal to my savings account. This is the simplest and most effective technique of all. If you set up $100/month to your savings account, you will save $100/month