Gas is the loudest problem right now, but it is not the only one. Groceries are still elevated. Streaming bills keep creeping up. And when financial stress rises, so does the risk of someone taking advantage of it. All five moves on this list offset rising costs across multiple budget categories. None of them cost anything. No subscriptions, no paid tiers, no annual fees. Pick the one that addresses your biggest pressure point and start there.
Want more amazing money saving tips and personal finance tips? Join our FREE newsletter!
Offset Rising Costs: 1. GasBuddy – Find the Cheapest Gas Before You Pull In
Gas prices are well above four dollars a gallon in most of the country right now. Most people pull into the first station they see out of habit. GasBuddy shows you real-time prices at every station near you before you leave the driveway.
The app is free on iOS and Android. You open it, see which nearby station is cheapest, and go there. That is the whole system. Prices are user-reported and updated frequently, so what you see is generally what you get at the pump.
When gas costs this much, even a small difference per gallon adds up meaningfully over a year of regular fill-ups. Thirty seconds before each fill-up is all it takes.
Best for: Anyone driving a gas-powered vehicle right now.
Lower Costs: 2. Upside – Cash Back on Gas, Groceries, and Dining
GasBuddy helps you find the cheapest price. Upside puts cash back in your pocket on top of whatever you pay. They are not the same tool and they work together without conflict.
Upside is a free app that offers cash back at participating gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants. You claim an offer in the app before your purchase, pay as you normally would with any card, and the cash back lands in your account. No points, no store credit. Actual cash you can transfer to your bank account or PayPal.
The gas category is relevant given current prices, but the grocery and dining coverage is what makes Upside worth mentioning separately from GasBuddy. Frequent users earn a meaningful amount annually just by running the app before purchases they were already making.
Best for: Anyone spending on gas, groceries, or dining out on a regular basis.
Offset Rising Costs: 3. Ibotta – Free Money Back on Your Grocery Bill
Groceries are the second biggest budget pressure point after gas right now, and Ibotta is the most direct free tool for that category.
The app works at over 200 grocery retailers including Walmart, Kroger, Target, and Albertsons. If your store supports loyalty card linking, you connect it once and cash back applies automatically on eligible items without scanning a single receipt. For stores that do not support linking, you activate offers before shopping and submit your receipt after.
Ibotta is completely free to download with no subscription and no premium tier. The average active user earns a real dollar amount back annually just on grocery spending they were already doing. The minimum cash-out threshold is low, and you can transfer earnings directly to your bank account, PayPal, or Venmo.
If you are already using a cash back credit card at the grocery store, Ibotta stacks on top of that. The two do not cancel each other out.
Best for: Anyone doing regular grocery shopping who is not already earning cash back on that spending.
Lower Costs: 4. Cancel One Streaming Subscription and Replace It for Free
This one requires a decision rather than a download, but the payoff is immediate and recurring.
Look at your streaming subscriptions. Pick the one you use the least. Cancel it. Then replace it with Tubi or Pluto TV, both of which are completely free with no account required for most content and no paid tier to accidentally upgrade into.
Tubi offers movies, full series, live TV, and originals at no cost. Pluto TV has been running as a completely free ad-supported service since 2014 with hundreds of themed channels and an on-demand library. Neither is going to replace a service you actively use every day. However, most households are paying for at least one streaming subscription they barely open. That is a monthly charge going out for something a free alternative covers adequately.
This is not about deprivation. It is about not paying for something you are barely using when a free version exists. The ads are the trade-off. For most people in most situations, that trade is worth it.
Best for: Anyone paying for more than one or two streaming services who cannot honestly say they use all of them regularly.
Offset Rising Costs: 5. Freeze Your Credit at All Three Bureaus Today
When financial stress rises across the economy, identity theft risk tends to follow. People cutting costs, changing banks, opening new accounts – all of it creates more activity for bad actors to exploit. A credit freeze is the most effective free step available to protect yourself.
Freezing your credit at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion blocks new accounts from being opened in your name without your permission. It is free by federal law at all three bureaus and has no impact on your credit score. It does not affect accounts you already have open. When you need to apply for new credit, you lift the freeze temporarily online in a matter of minutes, then refreeze when you are done.
Paid identity protection services charge monthly fees for a version of this protection that you can do yourself for free in about fifteen minutes. Three websites, three accounts, one afternoon. Done.
If you have not done this yet, it is the highest-return fifteen minutes you can spend on your finances right now.
Best for: Anyone who has not already frozen their credit at all three bureaus.
Start With One
None of these cost anything. Together they address gas, groceries, entertainment, and financial protection – the four areas where most people are feeling the budget squeeze most right now. If the list feels like a lot, pick the one that addresses your biggest current problem and start there. Then come back for the rest.
Want simple finance tips that don’t make it into the podcast delivered monthly?
Join our newsletter for exclusive insights plus your FREE copy of our Simple Finance System Blueprint.
If this article helped you, subscribe and leave us a review:
Follow for More Simple Finance Tips:
Need personalized help?
Check out our 1:1 coaching or contact us at [email protected].
View our full Affiliate and Legal Disclosures.