Every year you come up with a New Years resolution and inevitably every year it’s already broken by the end of the month. Perhaps you would have a better success rate if you realized that your new years resolution had a dual purpose. Namely, you’ll achieve your goal and save money while doing it. Let me give you a few examples on how changing a few of your bad habits can translate into big savings.
- Smoking. It seems like every year there’s a new tax added to cigarettes. You can pay up to 10 bucks per pack nowadays. How’s that for a cash incentive to stop smoking. Reduce your bad smoking habit to 1 less pack per week. You’ll save $520 ($10 x 52 weeks) per year.
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It is back to school time once again and if you are already broke from buying your kids new clothes and the numerous school supplies they will need this year, the last thing you want to be doing is paying a small fortune for your kid’s lunch. If you are trying to figure out how you are going to work school lunches into your budget worksheet this year, read on for some great money saving tips.
Brown Bag Lunches
Perhaps the most important thing you can do to keep lunch costs down is to pack your child’s lunch. School lunches are costly and not to mention not always the healthiest option. So not only will packing lunches save you money but will also help you get better nutrition into your kids.
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Every month you get a water bill. When you create your budget you allocate a certain amount for it. While paying a utility bill like the water bill is inevitable, paying so much is not. You would think that you can save on things like a car and clothing, but not on water. But you can also save money on your monthly water bill. Let me tell you how.
- Turn it off. You can conserve water by turning the water off when you’re lathering up in the shower, shaving, brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Only turn it on when you need it and turn it off when you don’t.
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Car insurance, we all need to have it. It’s one of those added expenses that you are required by law to have.
There are two ways of thinking as far as insurance goes. You make sure you are heavily insured so that any vehicle damage and personal injury is covered. The other way is you get covered for only legally required minimum and save your money.
If you’re reading this post then you most likely want to find ways to lower your car insurance and not be heavily insured so I’ll go over some tips to save money on your auto insurance.
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Being accepted and attending college is an exciting time for new college students. Continuing education in a college setting helps students gain the opportunities that will shape their lives and their careers. College does, however, cost quite a bit of money. Beyond tuition and books, students may have to worry about housing, transportation, food and drink, and any incidentals. Saving money is very important to having the best college experience possible. Here are a few tips that can help new college students maintain a functional budget and not go without essentials.
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Saving money on one item is good, but real savings come in the way of saving money on the things you need on a weekly basis. Checking before you buy anything can save you money. Remember there is a market for everything and there’s always going to be someone selling cheaper than the others.
Here now are three simple ideas you could use to save money every single week.
- Buying gas for your car – Before you next buy gas again go online and check out who has the lowest price in your area. You can do this at gasmeup.com and gasbuddy.com. Remember, all the gas stations are in competition. Doing this simple check could save you a few bucks every week, depending on how much gas you use. This equals to savings of over $100 a year.
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One of the easiest ways for companies to make money off of you is by selling you insurance. Some types of insurance are wise purchases while others are purely a waste of your money. Here’s a list of some insurances that you probably shouldn’t have.
- Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). If you want to buy a house and don’t have 20% down payment, you’ll be required to fork over PMI. This amount is added to your mortgage + interest payments. Instead of paying this insurance, save up until you have 20% of the loan amount.
- Life insurance for kids. The purpose of life insurance is to help provide for those who depend on you financially if you were to pass. But your kids don’t financially support you so this would be an unnecessary expense.
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- Health care costs. When you’re not in good shape you’re much more likely to suffer from conditions like diabetes or heart conditions. You can also suffer problems with your joints, breathing difficulties and a wide variety of other ailments.
- Clothing. For those who have weight issues, they are constantly buying new clothes as their weight balloons upwards and downwards. If you keep yourself physically fit, you’ll buy the same size and spend less money on new clothes.
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If there is an economic collapse, no matter what country you live in, times will be tougher than ever. We’ll all be more worried about putting food on the table than concerning ourselves with who got voted off of American Idol. But what can you do right now to prepare yourself for a possible future country-wide financial meltdown?
Have you considered making new friends? This is different than networking because in networking you are establishing business connections to further advance your career. But a friend offers a shoulder to cry on, a friend is someone who can offer advice, a friend is someone who will be there for you in your time of need.
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1. Reduce your mileage – one of the things insurers consider when they calculate your car insurance premium is the number of miles you travel in your car annually. Essentially, the theory is that the more time you spend on the road driving, the greater the risk of being involved in a car accident becomes.
2. Avoid modifying your car – Performance modifications can make the car faster which may mean that the car is more likely to be involved in a crash. Aesthetic modifications increase premiums because they can make the car more attractive to thieves and vandals.
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The first step to financial freedom is to sit down and list all your debts. Once you’ve listed your debts, create two columns: Good Debt and Bad Debt. Good Debt would include educational loans and a mortgage. Bad Debt includes all consumer debts, credit cards, department store cards, etc. Once you have your debts listed in each category, you’re ready to embark on the first step to becoming financial free.
The first step to paying off bad debt is to build up an emergency savings fund. Once you build up the emergency savings fund, now you are ready to begin focusing on paying off bad debt directly. Track all of your expenses for one month. Then, at the end of the month, create a realistic budget based on your income and expenses. Look at your expenses for the month and see if there’s areas where you could cut back discretionary spending. Once you set your expenses for the month you should take all of the additional money that is coming in each month and use it to pay down your debt.
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1. Set up an auto deposit from your checking account to your savings account with your bank online. If you get paid on the 1st and the 15th set your auto deposit for the 2nd and the 16th so you don’t have time to spend your money.
2. If you put it into savings, don’t take it out. It can get to be a habit. Your savings account can only increase, even by just a little.
3. Keep your money in an online savings account. They usually pay more interest than your standard savings account.
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For many, there is little reason to keep your home phone if you have a cell phone. Do you still have a home phone, do you still pay for things like caller ID and long distance? It’s time you move into the 21st century and get rid of your home phone. Let me tell you why you need to do this now.
1. Long distance. Your cell phone gives you free long distance across the country, while your home phone does not.
2. Unlimited minutes. Nights and weekends are unlimited. Calls to customers on the same carrier are unlimited.
3. DSL. You can now get high speed DSL without the need of a home phone line or just switch to a faster cable line.
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A CD (Certificate of Deposit) is a specialized deposit you can easily make at a bank or other financial institution. Interest is paid at regular intervals until the CD matures. At that time, you get your original deposit plus the earned interest. The great thing about CDs is that they let you get a much higher interest rate than a savings account while being a much safer option than investing in the stock market. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of a CD.
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Water heating is often an overlooked expense. Here are four ways to lower your water heating bill.
1. Get a new model – Buy an energy efficient water heater. Look for the ENERGY STAR and EnergyGuide labels on new water heaters.
2. Lower temperature – Easily reduce your water heating costs by lowering the thermostat setting on your water heater.
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You should plan for unexpected financial situations as soon as possible. A good way of doing that is by establishing a savings account. Most financial experts recommend having three to six months of basic expenses set aside. A basic savings account is a good place for your emergency fund. Here are the basics of what a savings account is all about..
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While you are awake at home set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter. Turn it down further while you are asleep or away from home. Turning your thermostat back 10° – 15° for 8 hours, you can save about 5% – 15% a year on your heating bill.
Additionally, set your thermostat as high as is comfortable for you in the summer. Keep your house warmer than normal when you are away and only lower the thermostat setting when you are at home. This will lower your cooling bill.
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Analyze your finances to see how you are spending your money. Tracking your spending makes it much easier to see how you have spent money each month. Start by finding a method of tracking that works best for you.
Here are some easy methods:
- Use a small notebook. Carry a small notebook for jotting down all daily spending, whether by cash, debit card, check or credit card.
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A good way to secure your financial future is to set goals for your money. Writing down your goals forces you to be accountable with your money. Most people who have gotten wealthy did it by setting goals and striving to reach them.
The key to a personal wealth creation strategy is based on setting financial goals. The more information you have written down the higher your success rate will be. In preparing your goals:
• Write your goals down, be specific.
• Establish time frames.
• Set up a plan.
• Be flexible, goals can change.
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Is picking up pennies off the floor a waste of time? Well if you’re thinking of depositing it into your savings account then yes you won’t go very far doing that.
Here’s why I always pick up loose change off the floor though. When I go shopping or to grab a quick bite to eat and the charge is $9.22 I make sure and give them the 22 cents. This way I don’t lose that extra dollar every time which can really add up.
Sure sometimes you’re in a hurry or don’t want to make people wait for you so don’t do It those times and use that change you get next time.
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1. Procrastinating: You keep saying you’re going to get your act together, but you keep delaying making the changes you need to make in your life. Don’t be scared of saving, often times, you can find ways to save money without lowering your quality of life.
2. Not Planning: Create a plan that will help you save money. You don’t even have to write it down, it can be in your head, but have a plan ready.
3. Knowledge: If you don’t know how to cut down costs you won’t do it.
4. Goals: Set your goals first. They can be small, such as: save $50 from every paycheck, or big such as: pay off the mortgage in 15 instead of 30 years.
5. Trying to do too much: You can’t expect quick results right away. Saving money is a long term kind of thing. Think of it as a lifestyle change and ease your way into it. Eventually, it won’t seem like a chore, but a way of life.
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Remember the days before debit cards? We actually used to carry cash around in our wallets. Well that and the couple of credit cards that were strictly for emergencies. Nowadays we are so dependent on just swiping those debit cards everywhere we go. It’s fast, convinient and costly. For people on a budget it’s easy to loose track of expenses and find yourself with less money than expected in the end. So the rule of thumb is carry cash for your everday expenses and leave the debit card at home or atleast in the very back of your wallet.
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Often times when it comes to spending and cutting back we think of “big ticket” items like a vacation, a new car or a new TV. But you can really make a difference in your budget by making minor changes to your monthly bills. This is where minor changes can really add up. Here are a few things you can do..
- Check your cell phone plan and see if you’re on the best plan for your current usage. Downgrading a plan to a lower one results in $10/mo change ($120/yr or $600 every 5 years). Remove add-ons like a protection program or roadside assistance. You’ll rarely if ever use these.
- Air conditioner / heating usage. You can make sure you close all your windows and seal them up as good as possible. You can turn it on for a 30 minutes then leave it off for a while, then repeat the process as needed.
- Happy hour. If you eat at restaurants from time to time, go during happy hour. At most places, appetizers are half price and this can really add up in the long run.
- Driving. You waste less gas on freeways than on streets, so find the quickest route to the freeway possible. Go anywhere between 50-70 mph without accelerating and decelerating too much for better gas mileage.
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So during this recession it’s always important to try and save as much money as possible. One way you can do this is by seeing if you can lower already existing bills. There’s things you can do like turning off un-needed lights, watching your water consumption or removing premium channels from your cable provider. But you can also save money on your car insurance. Here’s a few things you can do.
- Raise your deductible to $1,000 or as high as they let you go. This will instantly lower your bill. If you pre-pay they’ll send you back money.
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