As the new year starts, it is a good idea to try and save extra money from your budget. It might seem impossible but there are ways to achieve that goal. It may not be easy but it will not be improbable. Especially if you put your mind into it and follow it up with some concrete action. You will see results as your savings grow.
Save extra money with these tips
It is important to try and save some extra funds in your budget. According to CNBC, over 60% of people are not saving anything at all. This is an alarming rate and makes it all the more important to save money for future use. Here are a few creative ways to go about it without putting too much stress on your budget.
Give up a bad habit
Do you smoke a few sticks in a day? Does your nightcap consist of a few bottles of beer? A night out with friends means hitting the club and drinking until you cannot walk home? These are habits that you can give up and even replace with healthier and even less expensive ones. Foregoing these habits can help you save extra money in your budget.
Rather than lighting up a stick, why not go for a run? Rather than drinking beer and other hard drinks, why not reach for a healthy juice? There are activities you can replace them with which will help you save money and keep you healthy as well. The healthier you are, the more you can save money. You lower the chances of having to go the doctor for a check-up and even from purchasing over-the-counter medicine.
Brew your own coffee at home
You might not realize it but lining up every morning for that signature coffee from your favorite coffee place can cost you a lot of money. If you take out your calculator and multiply the number of days in a year you buy coffee with the price, you might be surprised by the amount you come up with. To save extra money, you might be better off brewing your own coffee at home.
It might take a few hits and misses at the beginning to get how you want your coffee in the morning. However, once you perfect the taste and your morning routine, you get to save not only money but time as well. Imagine the long lines you have to swing by every morning before work. If you brew your own coffee at home, you can skip those lines with your favorite coffee in hand.
Drive one car
If you have a big family, it might be a struggle to drive just one car. You have to think about the schedule of the kids, the time you have to leave for work, and the traffic as well. It makes a lot of sense to drive two cars where one parent drops off the kids at work before heading home. However, driving one car can help you save extra money every month.
Think about the fuel the two cars consume at the pump every week. The maintenance you put into the cars as you use them everyday is something to consider as well. It will be very challenging as you need to coordinate everyone’s schedule correctly. You can start with one car a few days a week until you get the routine down but when you do, you will see that extra money in your finances every month.
Frugal lifestyle
To save extra money in your budget every month, you can look at using a frugal lifestyle. The idea is to try and live below your means to give you extra money in the end. Frugal living also forces you to be creative with the way you lower your expenses every month. This makes the lifestyle a little more exciting.
If you have been used to just eating out, frugality can make you learn how to cook so you save on your food budget. Rather than driving the whole family to the movies, you make your own popcorn and drinks and stay at home streaming new movies. It might also help you make the decision to be frugal as NY Post shares that people think frugal living is the new sexy.
Silent budget killers
As you try and save extra money from your budget each month, there are some items that are silently putting a hole in your wallet. You may not realize it but it will cost you a lot of money down the line. Here are a few of them you need to know about.
Subscriptions you do not use
If you sit down and take a close and hard look at your monthly expenses, you might come across some subscriptions you are no longer using. If you love listening to music, check your subscriptions because you might be using two or more streaming services. You can stick to one and create your playlists from there.
If you are no longer using that magazine subscription and it is just piling up in one corner of the house, you might be better off subscribing to online copies. They can come out less expensive. If you signed up for a gym membership and you are not able to maximize it to the fullest, cancel it and just look for free classes at the park.
Ordering take out
It might not seem a lot but ordering take-out food every night will make a big hole in your budget. You will not be able to save extra money when you keep ordering food for the whole family. This is because you are not only paying for the actual food, you are paying for a service. Someone bought the ingredients for you and someone else did the cooking so you can eat your meals.
If you can do all that at home, you can save a ton of money. If you are worried about the time requirement, cook or prepare meals in batches. This way, you can either heat up the food when you need it or have all the ingredients ready for cooking. You can even buy in bulk ingredients you need to save money at the grocery.
Leaving stuff running at home
When everyone leaves the house to either go to work or school, do you leave stuff running at home? Did you close the lights before you went out? How about the heater or AC at home? Did you plug off the gadgets and appliances at home or you just turned them off? There is a big chance that you might have missed one or all of these things.
Even if you turned your tv off, it is still on standby and consuming electricity. It is better to unplug the unit when you will not be using it for hours. The lights are a common problem because there is a good chance you have left the lights open when you left only to realize it when you come home that evening. You need to make sure that you do not leave anything running at home to save on electricity and especially, to be able to save money.
There are a number of creative ways you can consider to help you save extra money in your budget. You just need to identify them and find which one works for your specific lifestyle.