These 3 Easy Moves Could Save You $1,000 or More in 2024

Saving more money in 2024 is one of the most popular financial New Year's resolutions. But sometimes, people don't know where to begin. Saving money can feel overwhelming; if you don't already have $500 extra a month, what's the point of saving at all? The truth is, some of the most successful savers start small.

Even with just a few dollars out of each paycheck or by saving a few dollars a month on a few different monthly bills, you can boost your savings account by a meaningful amount by the end of the year.

Let's look at a few estimates for how much you can save by making just a few easy money moves in 2024.

1. Save money on car insurance

The price of auto insurance has skyrocketed in 2023, and many drivers are looking for ways to save. Here are a few tips for how to save money on car insurance premiums in 2024:

• Shop around for price quotes from the best cheap auto insurance companies.
• Stay with your insurance company but change your policy -- such as by bundling home and auto insurance, raising your deductible, or cutting some optional coverages.
• Consider telematics insurance -- by sharing your driving data with your car insurance company, you can get discounts for being a safe driver.

Your exact amount of car insurance discounts will depend on where you live, how you drive, the ages of you and your vehicle, and more. But let's say you can get a 10% discount on car insurance. If you've been paying the national average car insurance premium of $3,017 per year, that means you'd save $302 on car insurance in 2024.

2. Sign up for ads on streaming video subscriptions

In the past few years, many of the most popular streaming video services have been raising their prices. But they've also started to offer lower-cost ad-supported subscriptions that can save you money. If you feel like you're paying too much for streaming TV, and you don't mind sitting through ads, you can save money on Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and other streaming video services.

Based on pricing shown as of Jan. 15, 2024, here's what you can save on streaming services by switching from the highest-priced ad-free plan to a lower-cost plan with ads:

• Netflix: Save $16 per month by switching from Premium to Standard with ads.
• Disney+: Save $6 per month by switching from Disney+ Premium to Disney+ Basic (with ads).
• Hulu: Save $10 per month by switching from Hulu (No Ads) to Hulu (ad-supported).
• Max: Save $10 per month by switching from Ultimate Ad Free to With Ads.

If you switch to ads with all four of these streaming services, you'll save $42 per month -- or $504 per year!

3. Switch home internet service (or renegotiate your plan)

In the past few years, your home internet service price might have crept up. The other day, I checked my internet bill and was shocked to see that I'm paying $142 per month for high-speed cable internet! I'm pretty happy with my internet service provider (ISP), and as someone who works from home, internet service is my most important must-have utility. But that still feels expensive.

Fortunately, you don't have to put up with high prices for home internet. Depending on where you live, there might be other options for home internet that offer lower-priced introductory deals. In my area, there are new fiber internet service providers that are offering faster internet with prices that could save me $50 or more per month! (Maybe I should finally switch...)

If you love your home internet service and don't want to change, you can call your ISP and ask them to give you a better deal. Home internet is one of many bills you can negotiate. Just because the company has raised its prices doesn't mean you have to settle for it. If you call to complain about the price, the ISP will often want to keep you as a customer -- and might offer you a retention discount.

Not everyone has the right local options to save $50 a month on home internet. But even if you could save half that amount -- $25 a month -- you'd have an extra $300 per year in your bank account.

Total savings from these three easy moves

If you make all three of these money moves, with the assumptions and estimates laid out above, here's how much you can save in one year:

When you consider that the typical American savings account is about $1,200, these three simple money moves could help a lot of people double their emergency savings.

Bottom line: You are not helpless against rising prices -- you still have choices. You don't have to keep paying high prices for car insurance, home internet, or video streaming services. By making a few simple changes in your monthly budget, you can unlock significant savings to improve your personal finances in 2024.