Economy in US has taken dive since 2008, and many people were unemployed for long time, lost homes through mortgage crisis and the effects of it is still felt after years. In these bad times we are all looking for different ways to save our hard earned cash. It could be the little thing such a hot cup of latte or bag of chips, or it could be bigger chunk of savings that we can combine to make a huge budget surplus.
While, we can not cut rent/mortgage, gas, and utilities bills, we can sure save money in some of the area. I have come up with a few ways to make some big changes until job comes along or life gets little better for those who want to save money and turn around life.
Some of the budget changes will require major compromise for some but it is up to you to make a choice to see what works for you. All these changes are not applicable to everyone, so pick and choose what work for you and your lifestyle. After all, if we are feeling deprived, then we will not be motivated to save money.
1. Move to a smaller home.
For most of us housing is a huge expense when you are paying mortgage on your house or renting a place. If you can move to smaller place, it will cost less in rent or mortgage. Of course, this change will save you the biggest money, and it also requires biggest change but it can be done for long term financial improvement.
In addition to if you get rid of your extra stuff that you may have, you may not need a big place to live or storage, freeing your life further.
2. Sell One car or Go CarFree
If you have two (or more) vehicles, consider selling one of them to save money. Often we can get away with one vehicle if we carefully arrange our schedules.Many couples can survive or manage with one car if planned properly. I know some people who are car free with kids, so it need earlier adjustment when you give up a car. You can use that cash from selling your car to your debt or savings.
3. Get a smaller, used car.
For many people #2 above is a drastic step, in that case, instead of getting rid of a car, you can buy smaller car which will save you money on gas, monthly payments as well. You want to buy a car that runs well and does not need major repairs. Buying a new “used” car which is 2-5 years old will also make a huge difference in your car payment, insurance bills saving you over thousands of dollar in a year.
4. Stop paying interest.
Many of us buy things on loan or credit card and never paying it back in full right away. If you just take a look at how much interest you are paying over time, it will make cringe. I have paid so much money on interests before, now I pay zero percent on interest as I am going through debt reduction phase. Stop paying un-necessary interest as much as you can to stop the budget leaks.
5. Stop buying unnecessary Crap
Many of us buy things just because they are on sale, or trendy, or though we needed it, wasting so much of our home storage and budget. Start tracking your spending to see what type of un-necessary things you bought and can you do without those items? If answer is yes, you have found a new ways to increase your savings and reduce your budget.Try tracking your spending for a month, and next to each expense item mark the ones that are pure necessities: groceries, gas, utility bills, medicine, doctor’s visits, etc. The rest are unnecessary — clothes and shoes you didn’t really need, electronics, magazines, gourmet coffee, etc.
6. Reduce Traveling.
This might be tough for many, specially if travel is your only outlet of fun. If your travel even once a year, you could spend over thousand dollars specially if you traveled with family. Just imagine if your took more trips, it could be even more expensive, adding more to your debt. Unless you have a cash to pay for it, reducing travel while getting rid of debt is good idea.
You could still travel locally, by car or Bus. There are many free or cheap things to locally where you live.
7. Cut entertaining/entertainment Spending
Entertaining such a hosting parties, going out to restaurants, going out to bar, dancing can add up expenses fast. While we all love some entertainment, we can reduce it or do it cheaply to boost our savings. Instead of going to theater to a watch a new movie with friends and later going out for bite to eat, you can invite your friend for pot luck dinner with DVD rental from a library or netflix. You can play board games at home, instead of going out to a bar and still have loads of fun on free or cheap.
8. Cut out all subscriptions.
Each little subscription you have is a small-ticket item — a magazine subscription could be $15-25 a year, for example, and subscribing to an online service might only be $5-20 a month. But if you subscribe to 3 magazines, and 4 online services, and cut out one of your cell phone plans or cable TV subscription, you could save $1,000 a year. Some people have even more subscriptions and can save thousands. Not much compared to some of the items above, but worth considering, just think about it.
What are your ideas for slashing a budget and saving lots of money? Share in the comments!
