Saving money is on many peoples’ minds these days and surely enough, there are several ways to cut back on spending and to save money. It takes some thinking and planning, but being more aware can help you save hundreds of dollars a month! Check out these tips on saving money:
Record expenses: One easy way to save money is to record your expenses on a daily basis. Once you see how much you spend on paper or computer, you will be more inclined to stop spending extra money. Having online access to bank and credit card accounts helps to keep track. Record your expenses on a spreadsheet with categories that include payments, food, entertainment, gas, etc.
Cut expenses: When you look back on a past record of your expenses, go through and see how much you spent weekly and for the entire month. Mark the expenses that were necessary and the ones that were extra. For the next month, you can cut back on the extra money you spend. Ask yourself some questions such as:
- Can you limit restaurant meals to once a week?
- Can you cook more at home and shop in bulk?
- Can you cut back on driving to save gas?
- Can you look for a cheaper car insurance plan?
- Can you restrict shopping for clothes?
- Can you cut back on texting or using cell phone minutes?
Deposit checks in your savings: To save money, deposit your checks in a savings account more than depositing it in a checking. You can open up an interest earning savings account and keep more money in there to earn interest. Keeping little money in a checking account will decrease your chances of using a debit card and going to an ATM for unnecessary expenses.
Pay off credit cards: Get rid of debt! If you have money in the bank, pay off your credit cards so that you don’t have to pay interest or any other banking fees.
Save parts of your paycheck: Keep a certain part of your paycheck for saving and the rest for spending. Notice that it’s better to save first, and spend second.
Bargain and look for deals: Before you go shopping, look for coupons, deals, and good bargains online. Try to get stores to match prices with other stores that sell the same products.
Drive consciously: You can save money by saving gas. When you want to accelerate your car, do it softly. When stopping for a red light, start decelerating hundreds of feet before you actually stop to prevent a sudden halt at the light. Use cruise control on the highway when there is no traffic.
Don’t go to movies: Movie ticket prices rise by the minute. Save on money by renting movies or using Netflix.
Set Goals: Set saving goals per week or month. Allow yourself a certain amount of dollars to spend during the week and for the entire month.
Make coffee at home: To save money fast, stop buying coffee and start making coffee at home. A cup of coffee every day from Starbucks can end up costing you around 100 dollars a month. You can cut this by half by making coffee at home.
Cancel subscriptions: Most news and magazine articles can be found online. One easy way to save money here is to cut down your subscriptions to 1 or 2.
Plan large expenses: If you need to buy a laptop, research on the product and save up for it rather than buying it at the spur of the moment (unless you come across a hot deal). Plan large expenses so that you maximize your savings.
Do cost-free leisure activities: You don’t have to go to restaurants, night clubs, bars and the movies every weekend. To save more money, you can have get-togethers with friends, have potlucks with friends, rent movies with your significant other and eat food at home. Rather than buying books to read, you can check them out from a library.
Don’t use credit cards: When we use credit cards, we often use our debit cards and ATMS at the same time. This ends up costing us double in the long run. Try to restrict using credit cards and use cash that you have. You will eliminate debt this way.
Order water at restaurants: Rather than ordering soda, order water because it’s free. You can squeeze a lemon and add sugar for instant lemonade!
It is easy to spend money and more difficult to save money because most of the time, we don’t realize where our money goes. By charting expenses, cutting back on spending, and looking for money saving deals, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars each month. With this list of easy ways to save money, you can look towards a more bountiful future and good money saving habits!