There are always plenty of ways you can save money, but perhaps starting from scratch and examining your entire finances could be the way to go. Sure, you could use a 52 week savings plan, cut the cable cord, or avoid going out to eat anymore, there are necessary and unnecessary purchases that we make in a month, and maybe it takes some tough decisions and sacrifices in order to free up every extra dollar you can in order to put your hard-earned money to more important areas other than spending, such as building up an emergency fund to give yourself a cushion in case any unexpected charges come up, or even more important, saving for retirement when you do finally decide to walk away from work.
Don’t Leave Home Without a List
Whether it’s going grocery shopping or running up to the home improvement store to get what you need for something around the house, having a list with you is the best way to ensure that not only that you get what you went for, but so you also don’t come home with extra items that you really don’t need. If you can take stock of everything you may need before the house and check them off as you put them in your cart, you can avoid spending any more than you have to.
Look for the Best Price
Gone are the days where you actually had to drive around from store to store to see what their prices are, wasting gas, and more importantly your time, in order to may or may not save a few dollars. These days, saving money can be easy in that regard, as you can hop around from website to website in a matter of seconds, checking prices, and making the purchase on the best deal you can find. This can also be scary as well as there are no closing hours, so you can be tempted to online shop all the time, with virtually everything available at your fingertips.
Coupons are Still Key
It’s sad that the days of sitting down with the Sunday paper and going through the sale papers are long gone, but that doesn’t mean that coupons are a thing of the past as well. Between mail, online, and even digital coupons that you can load on your store card, there are still plenty of opportunities to save money. Groupon is a great way to save on restaurants, concert tickets, and trips that you would otherwise have to pay full price. Online shopping and travel booking have coupon codes as well. The deals are out there, you just may have to look for them.
Credit Card Rewards Will Add Up
The great thing about using a credit card for making purchases, is that provided that you have a rewards card, you can earn points and cashback on purchases that you were going to make anyways, so anything short of that would be leaving free money on the table. The only catch is you have to make sure you pay the statement balance by the due date, otherwise you will start to get charged interest, and that may outweigh any rewards that you did earn in the meantime.
Could be Safer to Use Cash
Using a credit card is a big responsibility, one that if you are not careful you can slip into debt pretty quickly, so it’s understandable why some may be hesitant about using a credit card for purchases, even if it does mean losing out on any potential rewards. By using cash instead, you could allocate certain amounts for bills and spending, and once you have spent the money, that’s it until next paycheck, so maybe seeing the money leave your hand and go into the cash register could be enough to give second thought to any purchases you were thinking of making and really put thought into whether they are worth it or not.
Never Leave the House on an Empty Stomach
Something I forgot about that made me think of this past weekend when I went grocery shopping on an empty stomach and came home with plenty of items that will both hurt the diet I’m currently on, and puts the budget out of whack. If you can leave your house on a full stomach you can avoid any temptation of buying something that looks good, filling up the cart or grabbing food while you’re out, of whatever craving you may want at the time.
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