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Do you constantly find yourself with little to no money left at the end of the month? Does it seem like every penny you make goes on bills? It can be exhausting and even depressing to feel like you work so hard and still have no extra money to show for it. Rather than feeling out of control and letting it spiral where finances are concerned, it may be wise to come up with a plan on ways you can be saving money in your everyday life. No matter how big or small the savings are, you have to think of the bigger picture and what it totals in the long run. Small savings each week can result in big savings over a year. Here are five money saving tips you can use in your everyday life.
Money Saving Tips
Start Tracking All Your Expenses
If you’ve never sat down and actively tracked all your expenses before, it’s time to give it a try. Yes, it will be a lot of work at first, but it’s necessary to give you a clear picture of where you can be saving money. For many people, this will be an eye-opening exercise, as the areas you spend the most money on may come as a surprise. Because tracking your expenses can be time-consuming and a bit of an inconvenience, look for an app you can download that makes tracking simple and quick. If it’s easy to do, you’re more likely to stick with it.
Choose the “Easy” Categories to Make Cuts
To save money you will ultimately need to make cuts, but before you make any drastic cuts, try making changes to the “easy” categories. These can be considered variable expenses in that they aren’t a fixed amount, so you do have some wiggle room. Here are some suggestions you may be able to use:
- Dining out
- Transportation costs (taxis and rideshares can get pricey)
- Clothing
- Entertainment (the movies, going out to the bar, visiting attractions and so forth)
- Hobbies (these can be very expensive)
When you see the word “cut” it can cause a negative reaction, but it’s important to look at things logically. Cutting doesn’t mean you need to eliminate the expense; it means looking for ways to cut back on the cost. Each of the above-mentioned categories can be scaled back so they are more affordable.
Better Manage Your Credit Cards – Never Miss a Payment
Missing a payment on your credit card can not only hurt your credit rating but also lead to even bigger interest charges. This means the credit card company will be benefiting from your oversight and collecting the interest. A simple tip is to find a way to better manage your credit cards and ensure they are paid on time. For example, the credit card management app from Tally can be great for anyone looking to take control of their finances. This credit card management app provides you with a way to manage all your credit cards in one location. You can set up automatic payments and Tally will pay it. You will then pay your Tally bill once a month, instead of having to remember multiple payments to multiple credit cards. The fact is that credit cards can be quite useful, but if you don’t keep up with the regular payments, it won’t take long for it to snowball out of control.
Become Energy Savings Conscious
Here’s a category that gets a mention because the savings can be significant. Finding ways to make your home more energy efficient will end up saving you a whole lot of money. Some great tips include:
- Use cold water for your laundry
- Turn off any lights when you are not in the room
- Switch to LED lights
- Adjust your thermostat (turn it down a degree or two in winter and up a degree or two in summer)
- Use fans to help circulate the air in the house better
- Use energy-efficient appliances
- Take less time in the shower so as not to use as much hot water
Open a Savings Account and Start Actively Saving
While you may be tempted to just save your extra cash at home, the fact is that it is still easily accessible to you. Sometimes it can be smarter to open up a dedicated savings account that requires you to go in person to make a withdrawal. The more inconvenient it is to take out money, the more likely you will be to think long and hard about it. At the same time, the savings account you set up should be easy to deposit money in. Ideally, you can set up an automatic deposit which can be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or whatever interval you choose.
All these tips will help you to take control of your finances, turn things around and start saving money.
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