How many ways can you save money? The answer to this question is dozens if not hundreds. You can save money on just about everything in your life if you examine things carefully. This can range all the way from saving a few pennies on your fuel bill to saving hundreds of dollars on your groceries.
It all starts expense tracking
It’s pretty difficult to save money until you track your expenses long enough to know where it’s going. You can do this the old-fashioned way with a notebook and pen or pencil but today there are a number of apps available for use on an iPhone, iPad or Android device that can make expense tracking a snap. All you have to do is go online and search for budgeting apps or expense tracking apps and you’re bound to find a bunch– many of which are free. Track your spending for at least 30 days, then sit down, review what you’ve spent and decide where you can make cuts. Take food for example. You may find you’ve been spending, say, $150 a week on groceries. If you can figure out how to cut that back by just $25 a week, you’ll be saving $100 a month, which you can either stick into savings or use to pay down some of your debts.
Slashing your phone bill
Here are a couple tips for saving money on your phone bill. First, if you make a lot of long distance calls, how about purchasing a calling card rather than using a long-distance carrier? You can get costs down to as little as three cents a minute with many of these cards.
Tip two – consider dropping your current cell phone service and going to a prepaid service. Check out how many minutes you’re really using per month. For example, if you’re paying $50 per month for 450 minutes but only using 100 minutes, going to a prepaid service could save you a lot.
How about dropping your landline all together? Think about how you use it versus how you use your cell phone. If you use the cell phone most of the time, you might be able to drop your landline. You can also look into services such as Skype where you can call free to other Skype users. Vonage is another good alternative for cheaper long-distance and local calls.
Watch your driving habits
You can save money just by being a “steady” driver. Jumping forward like a rabbit when a traffic light turns green can reduce your fuel economy by up to 15%. You can also save money just by driving the speed limit. I saw one study where for every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph you’re reducing your gas mileage to the point where you’re paying an extra $.27 per gallon. Also, try to take advantage of cruise control when you’re on the highway. And, your car’s air conditioner can be a real drag on mileage. Try to make sure you’re not using the AC unless you really need it.
Tips for saving money on your auto insurance
You may not have ever thought about your auto insurance as a place where you could save money but you can. One way to do this is by raising your deductibles. If you feel you could afford higher upfront costs in the event you’re in an accident, you might be able to reduce your monthly premiums dramatically just by making a small increase in your deductible. Another way to save money on your auto insurance is if you’re driving an older, less expensive car. In this case, you might drop your collision coverage entirely. This could reduce your monthly premiums by close to 50% depending on your other coverage.
Let us consolidate your debts
If you’re carrying a serious amount of debt, you’re probably paying a serious amount of interest. When you have to pay a lot of interest every month, it’s like throwing money out of the window as you’re not getting anything of value in return. Our debt consolidation providers can help you get out of debt in 24 to 48 months and save a dramatic amount of money to boot. Call our toll-free number for more details or fill out our online form for a free debt analysis and estimate.