40 Money-Saving Hacks To Boost Your Savings, According to Frugal Living YouTuber Kate Kaden

Frugal living YouTuber Kate Kaden recently provided her loyal viewers with a gargantuan list of life hacks that can save you money throughout the year — lots and lots of money, in fact. Her money-saving hacks come in all sizes.

Some of the hacks are small and simple, like canceling your unused subscriptions and buying in bulk. Others are a little less obvious, like creating a burner email account to give to businesses so you don’t receive tempting shopping emails in your primary email account.

Are you in need of some saving hacks? Do you find yourself spending too much and breaking your monthly budget far too often? Check out these money-saving hacks and hold on to your money.

If you are an impulse spender and find yourself swamped with email ads, create a burner email aside from your primary email. Then, the next time you’re in a store or browsing a shop online, and you’re prompted to provide an email, you can give a burner address that all tempting ads can be shunted into.

Tip: Keep the email handle simple so you can say it quickly without having to spell it out.

This will prevent “phantom load” — energy consumed by a device when plugged in but not in use. One report indicates that wasted energy like this costs Americans more than $3 billion a year in the aggregate.

By automating your heating and cooling, you can save up to 10% off your annual energy costs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

By not using your dryer and hanging your wet clothes, you’ll save on energy costs.

Gallons and costly gallons of water can be lost over time to a slow drip.

This prevents heat from escaping in the winter and cool air from getting out in the summer, creating less reliance on heaters and air conditioning. This could save you up to 20% on utilities, according to the Department of Energy.

You can save money — especially for families — by shopping in bulk and not buying certain items over and over again in small quantities.

Opting for digital options will save you on paper costs.

Building up this habit will cut down on your electricity costs.

Kaden suggested that you regularly check what you are subscribed to and cancel what you don’t use — it will save you money. Several surveys have shown that Americans spend around $1,000 a year on subscriptions.

There’s almost always a cheaper plan out there; do some research and find one that saves you money. The average monthly phone bill is $141, per J.D. Power. But you can find plans for as little as $15.

Doing it yourself can save tons on easy home repair costs.

This is one of Kaden’s pet causes. After decluttering her home over 12 weeks in 2024, her life has become far easier and she sold many items from her home and made a profit.

Each week, pick a day in which you are not allowed to spend money — and watch just how much you save.

You can lower your monthly payments, insurance and gas costs all by switching to a smaller car. A small sedan can save $3,000 a year over a medium-size SUV.

Meal planning for the week can prevent impulse grocery shopping.

Batch cooking once weekly can allow you to prepare and freeze food for the whole week, saving you time and money.

Generic brands saves massive amounts of money for items almost identical to name brands.

Searching for deals will save you lots of cash in the long run.

Shopping hungry causes folks to splurge, overspend and grab unnecessary snacks. Shopping on a full stomach can prevent that.

As Kaden noted, seasonal produce is cheaper and fresher.

Stretching leftovers will save a lot of cash from your weekly meal budget.

Starting a small garden will allow you to save on herbs.

Shopping at the farmers market is an easy way to find cheaper local produce than you can get at the grocery store.

Shopping without a list can lead to overspending.

Kaden suggested slow-cooking cheaper cuts of meat to make them just as extra-tender as the pricey cuts.

When purchasing meat, use it as a side dish rather than the centerpiece of your meal. Doing so will require less meat overall and will save cash.

Cut out spending on expensive sugar drinks and coffee and fill up on cheap water.

Not only does this save a lot of money, Kaden revealed that making her morning coffee has become a pleasurable break in her morning routine.

Food delivery apps are not only addictive, they come with an enormous amount of service fees that add up quickly. It is has become common for a delivered meal to cost double what you would pay at the restaurant or if you just picked it up yourself.

This will allow you save whenever you shop for groceries.

Not only is this great exercise, it keeps you from paying high gas prices as much.

Keeping your car in tip-top shape with regular, affordable maintenance helps prevents breakdowns (and the massive repair bills that come with them).

You can use an app to find the lowest gas prices in your area and save at the pump.

Rather than accept the first insurance rate you find, hunt around — often, you’ll be able to find something far cheaper. Average annual premiums in 2025 are around $2,000, according to U.S. News & World Report. Seniors, drivers with good credit and drivers who use their cars sparingly typically get the best rates.

Search for services such as these in your area — you can save so much money at grocery stores and businesses.

Often, apps will have a free version — always use these when you can, and save.

Often, there are a number of aspects of a phone plan you don’t use — and don’t need to be paying for. Take a look at yours and see how bare bones you are willing to go to save on your phone bill.

If your phone is working just fine, hold off on upgrading it. The average new phone costs around $800. If it’s unnecessary, avoid that expenditure.

Kaden suggested that YouTube alone has hours upon hours of free content that is just as entertaining as anything on a streaming platform that you have to pay for.