6 unexpected ways the Finder crew saved money in 2022

Starting to think of ways to save in 2023? For a bit of inspiration, here's what we've done throughout 2022 to spend less and save more.

It's been a difficult year for many Aussies. With inflation up to 7.3% and the cash rate now sitting at 3.1%, it's no secret the cost of living has risen and unfortunately there's no sign of it slowing down in 2023.

Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker has found that 48% of Australians have had to drop their living standards including buying fewer groceries in response to rising inflation and the cost of living.

With this in mind, it's time to get creative and think of different ways to put some money back into our pockets.

To give you a helping hand, here's a list of our most unexpected savings for 2022 to give you some savings inspiration going into the new year.

Checking automatic bills are correct – "I have to self-read my water meter as it's in an inaccessible spot. This quarter I forgot to do it. When my water bill came in it quoted that the usage charge was an estimate. I checked it against my meter and it was 15 kilolitres more than I'd used. I updated the reading through the Sydney Water website and a few days later was reissued a bill that was $42 less." – Stephanie Yip, travel editor

Contacting pet insurer to get a cheaper rate – "Pro tip – when your pet insurance goes up, just tell 'em you may have to cancel. This saved me $360 this year and $240 last year. My insurer offered to refund me if I'd already paid, so it's worth a shot!... I just hit reply to the renewal email and they got back to me 5 hours later." – Alex Holderness, head of publishing

Using Airbnb to rent out a spare bedroom – "3 months ago, I was paying about $800 less for my mortgage compared with now. That's due to a badly timed combo of my 2.19% fixed rate loan ending during a series of RBA cash rate hikes. Fair to say, it hasn't been a great few months for making savings in my budget. One positive has come from recently opening up the spare room in my home to Airbnb guests. My side hustle isn't particularly lucrative – listing the space as a 'private room' will only get you so far – but as summer approached, more bookings started to trickle through. I make about $500 per month as a host, which is more than half of what I've lost through mortgage repayment increases." – James Martin, editor for insurance

Getting ambulance cover to save for the future – "I only found out this year that ambulances in my state aren't free. Not wanting to pay potentially hundreds of dollars if I had an emergency, I took out ambulance cover. It costs me just $5 a month." – Dylan Crismale, utilities writer

Using cashback – "This year I decided to use cashback apps as a way to save some extra money. Over the past year I purchased most presents online using Shopback and ended up saving $170. This was also a great way to make my Christmas shopping not feel so costly!" – Luana Matrone, growth graduate

Switching mobile phone plans – "I had previously taken out a mobile phone plan which was far too expensive. It being one of those expenses that just comes out each month, I ignored it and continued to pay the bill once the contract had ended. It went down once I paid off the phone but I still knew it was too much. After a few months I took some time to compare phone plans with the features I really needed (like enough data and being able to call family overseas). I switched to a SIM only plan and saved myself about $40 a month. That's $400 over the last 10 months!" – Rebecca Pike, senior writer for money