Here are some simple things that you can do to cut expenses now to start saving money, and they will make your life much easier in the future. Saving money is a daunting task for many people. There are a lot of expenses that we have to make and it can be hard to lessen back on them.
6 Ways To Cut Expenses Now To Start Saving Money
1. Cable Cut
Cable bills can cost hundreds of dollars per month, but there are plenty of streaming services that offer the same thing for a fraction of the price. Sling is a great alternative for a streaming service for $35 dollars compared to a $99 package from a major satellite or cable company. Sharing an account can also be beneficial, but do that with people you trust can pay their share!
Sports fans might want to hear this information, and it might be the best decision for them in the long run. You can save money watching your favorite sports at home rather than going out to a bar to watch your favorite sports team. We will get into that later in the article. Cutting cable will save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year.
2. Change Car Insurance
If you are driving, then you probably have done your fair share of researching different car insurance companies. Shopping around for new car insurance is always a good idea to do every 2-5 years. Also re-evaluating your coverage never is a bad idea. Things change and life happens, you might have never thought you can get a better rate with a different company. Always make a decision what is best for YOUR situation and your needs.
Insurance companies are known to raise prices with time so it does not hurt to get a quote from another company. Showing your current company the new lower quote, and it can incentivize them to keep a paying customer. If not, switching your car insurance company can be a great new way to cut expenses now to start saving money today!
3. Stop Online Impulse Shopping
As much as it can be rewarding and fun, stop buying things you just want to have! Impulse shopping is a habit that can be hard to break. It’s easy to buy things that you don’t need and then regret your purchase later on. To curb this impulse, it’s important to establish boundaries for yourself. For example, if you’re at the mall with your spouse or friend, make a deal with them that you are only allowed to buy one thing while there.
Here is another secret about the big box stores. When a new product goes through its cycle at retail price, they will actually raise the “original” price then put the item on sale. Thus making the take home price similar to its normal sale price or slightly less. Going forward you need to try and and price items on their worth, not how much of a steal it is!
4. Address Your Student Loans
Depending on your job situation you can always change the type of repayment plan you have. Your federal loan provider will always try and work with you and lower your minimum payment. This obviously is a short term solution, to help you keep some extra cash in your pocket. Really good if you are between jobs, or need the relief.
Another thing to note is that you could consolidate your federal student loans into private loans. This can be a double edge sword. Over the last year, the federal government halted federal student loan interest building up, for over a year. You might not have gotten that privilege from all private lenders. On the other than the private lender might give you a lower interest rate on one loan compared to a higher rate on a few from the federal government. This mostly applies to people in the US, but can help you start saving money NOW.
5. Change Your Eating Habits
Depending on your living situation, food can be your 2nd or 3rd highest most expense on a monthly basis. Especially with a busy lifestyle, everyone has reason to get fast food and eat out a lot. That can be several hundreds of dollars on top of your normal groceries a month.
During your favorite sports season you might be going out several times a week, which can lead to a big opportunity to save money now! If you invite people over to your house instead and make food, or buy food and split costs with friends.
It helps if you can revamp your monthly groceries and start to spend less on snacks to replace for just healthy foods. You can clean up your diet and your financial situation at the same time.
6. Discounts & Coupons
Always try to use discounts or start shopping in the clearance area. There are many browser add-ons that “automagically” scrape the internet and provide your online shopping cart with a promotion. One of the most popular browser add-on is Honey.
There is no shame in trying to maximize your savings. Be the person that spends an extra 30 seconds getting your coupons out when paying for dinner or groceries. At the end of the day, you know you will be contributing to your financial freedom.
Conclusion On Ways To Cut Expenses Now To Start Saving Money
Discipline is going to be the biggest thing to help you cut expenses now to start saving money today! No one loves hearing the phrase, “Create a budget and stick to it!” because it is overused. It is clichéd for good reason, it will make you sit down and take a long look at your financial situation and decide what is a “want” vs “need”. This is what you need to do every so often to make sure your financial goals are being set and followed.
Once you’ve cut expenses now to start saving money, you can start to learn about side hustles that don’t require startup costs to help bring in some extra income.