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Living in today’s economy can be difficult. With all of your expenses constantly piling up and leaving you with less disposable income than you had initially budgeted, there’s plenty of reason to feel frustrated with the monthly onslaught of bills due. Making money is one thing, but saving up enough to ensure a sense of financial stability is another. It’s for this reason that we work tirelessly toward carving out a financial future that is worry-free and debt-free.

Now, even that is easier said than done. Taking the easy route when dealing with your finances can be dicey, but with the right financial life hacks under your belt, making money, saving money, and using your money can be done with beneficial purpose. The following are financial life hacks that will help you keep more money in your wallet so you can enjoy the many fruits and pleasures of life.

1. Call your auto insurance company

Is your car insurance bill higher than you’d like it to be? If you’re like most people, the answer is a resounding yes. Though it may be intimidating to negotiate your bill down, it’s something that wise budgeters do all the time. The reality is that your car insurance provider wants to keep your business, so even if they have to compromise on a more attractive monthly or annual quote, they’ll likely be willing to figure something out that keeps both parties happy.

All you need to do is call your auto insurance’s customer support line, and let them know you’ve found more affordable and reasonable quotes elsewhere. Stick to your guns when it comes to matching another provider’s potential price, and let them do the calculating and lowering.

2. Use the equity in your home

If you’re a senior citizen or a recent retiree looking for clever ways to increase your available income, you may consider looking into a home equity conversion reverse mortgage. Designed to allow you to borrow from your home’s equity without having to make monthly mortgage payments, HECMs are an excellent option for people looking for another viable stream of income. When it comes to learning what is a reverse mortgage, you can bet that your broker is going to be able to talk you through it. Make sure that you have a broker who is well versed on how to go through getting equity in your mortgage as a retiree, though. Knowing that you have an expert working with you for the right advice is so important so that you don’t end up with the wrong advice telling you the wrong thing. Before deciding if a reverse mortgage is a good idea for your situation, be sure to check out the conditions and stipulations as outlined by HECM counseling guidelines.

3. Score discounts with coupons

You won’t have to learn the ropes of television-famed extreme couponers to reap the benefits of using coupons on your shopping trips. In fact, all you’ll really need is a smartphone with access to an app store or a computer with a printer. Coupons are a great way to save money on the essentials and non-essentials in your life. Whether you’re grocery shopping or on the hunt for a new business-casual outfit, there’s a coupon for that.

Our favorite couponing sites and apps are as follows:

• RetailMeNot
• Honey
• Groupon
• SlickDeals

4. Sign up for rewards programs

Reward programs are genius savings systems employed by companies and brands who want you to return to their site or establishment with a coupon in hand or special deal in mind. Retailers love to reward customers or email subscribers with exclusive deals as a way to keep you engaged and keep you buying. For shops that you just can’t get enough of, reward programs are well worth looking into.

5. Cut the cable

In this day and age, it’s rare to find a household that still uses a cable provider to bring entertainment to their television. With on-demand streaming services like Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu, and Amazon Prime offering thousands of exciting television and movie options, the need for live-television has effectively become a thing of the past.

6. Go cash-only

Do you have a nasty shopping habit that keeps your bank account looking a little less than full? Though it may feel next to impossible to nip that habit in the bud, it is possible! Curb your spending by leaving your credit cards and debit cards at home. By going cash-only, you cut yourself off from an unlimited supply of invisible money that lives inside of a pretty plastic card.

With only cash in your wallet, you automatically limit your available pool of money to the specified amount you’ve allowed yourself. This means you’ll be far less likely to make impulse or unnecessary buys in the long-haul.

Which of this hack will you try today? Let us know in the comments below!