It seems like you get your money and then after paying all your bills, buying groceries, and getting gas it’s all gone. There are a few simple tricks you can use to help you drastically reduce your spending and have a little more at the end of each month. Applying these tips into your daily life should make worrying about money no longer a problem.
Look at Your Spending
Pull out all your bills and weekly spending and take a good hard look at where your money is going. Do you really need cable? Do you need Netflix or Gamefly? How often do you eat out during the week? Average Americans spend almost 5 days a week eating out at restaurants and fast food places, and having lunch more than twice a week at these places. If you’re going out you’re usually spending about ten dollars each trip just on you. Reducing your outings can drastically reduce your spending depending on how much you go out.
What Do You Need?
Let’s be honest, sometimes you just want to sit back and relax and watch TV, and it’s bundled with your internet. Bundles can sometimes help save money, but if you think you’re bill is still too high you can try to negotiate a lower price. Mentioning that a competing company has a lower rate can also be helpful in getting a better rate. If you have a cellphone that may be your only phone. Do you need it for work? Can people reach you through email exclusively? If you’re only using your phone for work you can claim that as a tax reduction. It may not help the monthly bill but you can get money back for it at tax season. You may not be able to change utilities companies but they usually have several options to help lower your monthly costs.
Shopping Smarter
The average family spends over $1200 in groceries a month, and individuals spend anywhere from $300 to $400 a month. Grocery prices just seem to be getting higher, and if you’ve got a family you’ve felt the dent in your wallet. Here a few things you can do to shop a little smarter and drastically reduce your spending:
- Do not shop hungry! You’re more likely to buy things you don’t need.
- Take a shopping list. Try to put things in order according to isle, so you don’t have to run back and forth through the store.
- Look at the unit price as well as the price tag. Sometimes something that has a higher price tag is actually cheaper in unit price.
- Clip coupons and bring them.
- Go to deep-discount stores
Make a Plan
A lot of what is spent is lost because of not thinking ahead. Do you know what’s for dinner tonight? Most people have no clue what to make and end up eating out as a result of not knowing. Knowing exactly what you need for the week makes shopping quick and you don’t buy anything unnecessary.
Save Gas
Some simple things you can do to drastically reduce your spending on gas include:
- Combing errands
- Taking public transportation
- Ride a bike,
- Drive as little as possible
- Carpool
- Walk whenever possible
Another way to save on gas would be to use sites like gasbuddy.com and gaspricewatch.com. These sites show you the cheapest gas prices near you. Using these tips you can save an average of 30 percent on gas every month.
Change Insurance Policies
If you’ve paid off your car and it’s getting a little old you may need to downgrade your insurance. If your car’s values goes down then giving it maximum protection may not be in the best interest of your wallet. Lowering the policy can reduce the cost of your insurance bill by 30 to 40 percent.
Give Something Up
You may have heard the simple things like give up buying coffee every day or quit smoking. Yes these things will save you money in the long run but what if you don’t buy those things? I’m sure there’s something you buy that you don’t need, like soft drinks, or lottery tickets. Giving up a simple vice can drastically reduce your spending.
Pay that Debt
The most likely cause of you not saving any money is debt right? The average household has over $7000 in credit card debt. If you can pay off that debt without collecting any more debt you will drastically reduce your spending.
Organization is Key
Budgeting is a big part of making sure you know where your money is going. Another important aspect is making sure you keep those bills in order and know where they are when you need them. Knowing where your bills are guarantee you know what to pay and when. A filing system is a great tool to help you stay organized.