Keep more money in your pocket so that you can spend it on the things you value most.
Here are a few suggestions to help trim some excess spending. Some require more effort or sacrifice than others, but those will often yield the best results.
1. Take your lunch to work. You read this in every article about saving money, but that’s because it’s true. If the average cost of lunch each day is $10, that is $50 a week. That adds up to $200 per month.
2. Cut the cord. Many people are paying close to a thousand dollars per year for cable TV. Try getting by with one or two subscription TV/movie services. If you are paying more than $20 a month for TV and movies, there is a lot of room for savings here.
3. Get rid of the Internet. This might sound extreme for most people. But many cell phone plans offer hot spot capability, which means your cell phone can become its own wireless router. Many plans offer different amounts of data at different costs, but a few plans offer unlimited data. The unlimited plans are best if you are using a cell phone hot spot to completely replace your home internet connection. If your internet costs you $40 a month, and a cell hot spot plan costs you $10 a month, that is $360 a year that you can keep.
4. Shop for car insurance. This is another tip we hear all the time, and it’s easy to ignore. But rates change quickly, and seemingly for no reason. Call 3 different insurance companies to get quotes and see if you can save any money here.
5. Buy off brand items. This is true no matter what you are buying. Grocery stores and clothing stores and every type of store in between has its own store brand items. Most of the time these products are just as good as the brand name items.
These are just a few suggestions to get you thinking about ways you can trim excess expenses. Get out your scissors today and start saving money!
What are some creative ways you have found to save money? Reply in the comments below.