5 Small Sacrifices to Save Big.
Posted: March 30th, 2011 | Author: Joe | Filed under: spending | Tags: Guest Post, How To, Saving Money, spending, Tips | No Comments »With a few small sacrifices and some smart money decisions, it’s easy to start saving big. One of the best ways to save money is to first know where your money is being spent. Create a list of your spending in a week; it seems like a dull task, but at the end of the week, you should be able to see where costs can be cut or what things you can do without.
Here are 5 small sacrifices to save big:
1.On Food.
Cook at home whenever you can. This may be quite difficult for others who don’t eat together, but you can start out with the habit of cooking and eating together at home once a week and slowly increase the frequency. If cooking a meal is too time-consuming for your busy lifestyle, create a weekly plan of your meals.
Shop for all your grocery needs in one go, prepare the meals ahead of time, store them in separate containers, and freeze them. The next time you are too tired to prepare a meal, you can just pull out a container in the fridge and heat it up right away. If you always eat at work, consider taking a packed lunch.
You don’t have to do it every day so as not to isolate your coworkers. If the entire office is going out for lunch, go ahead and connect with them. But for other days, try to convince some of your colleagues to join you in brown-bagging lunches. You’ll never know they might also appreciate the idea of saving extra money from it.
If you just can’t seem to stop yourself from binging on food, carry some snacks in your purse, keep some in the car, or have a stash available in the office too. This way, you can avoid going to convenience stores or the vending machines whenever your hunger pangs strike.
If you are a coffee person, you may already know that the coffee you pick up every morning adds up to a significant amount of money. Even though it seems like a small indulgence, skipping designer coffee will turn into a lot of savings in the long run.
You don’t have to completely avoid drinking coffee, but as often as possible, make one yourself at home. If you need it on the go, invest in a reusable thermal travel cup, so you can take your homemade coffee with you. If you can, get into the habit of drinking water.
But avoid having to spend a lot of money on bottled water by investing in a tap filter or pitcher and filter. You can use a reusable bottle that you can refill and take anywhere with you so you’ll never have to buy bottled water again. Not only is this much cheaper, it’s also better for the environment.
2.On Energy.
Regulate the energy you consume at home. Switch off anything that runs on electricity when not in use. If you keep forgetting, invest in a motion detector so that the light switches off automatically when no one is in the room. Unplugging an appliance will help you save more than simply switching it off. Control the thermostat of your heating and air conditioning units as they consume a large amount of electricity than most appliances.
In the winter, layer your clothes so you can lower the temperature a little bit. During summer, use blinds or curtains in your windows to block the sunlight from coming in; but make sure that there are other windows, situated in cooler direction of the house, that are open so that air can circulate inside your home. Choose the most energy-efficient and eco-friendly models when buying new appliances or replacing your old ones.
3.On Bills
Seeing an overview of you budget might make you more conscious about your spending habits. So, spend some time to create a detailed and organized budget, and stick with it. If possible, automate all your payments to make sure that you do not overlook some of your bills, which can charge you extra fees for late payments. If not, when you receive your fund, immediately divide it to pay for all you financial obligations.
Use cash instead whenever you can – it’ll save you withdrawal fees to transferring fees, and other bank fees you may not be aware of. But when withdrawing cash from the ATMs, make sure that it will not charge you any transaction fees. If it does, then don’t use it and find another one which doesn’t or withdraw directly from your bank. If the money just isn’t there, don’t spend – it’s that simple. Using a credit card will force you to buy on debt and it may be hard to pay it off completely especially when the interest starts adding up.
4.On Leisure
Plan and book your vacations ahead of time; it will not only save your sanity but also give you enough time to look for inexpensive airfares, hotels, and other travel packages that will eventually save you a significant amount of money. If you are not really fond of traveling, consider your local tourist destinations and look for activities that you can do on your idle time.
Visit your local library. You might be surprised that you can get a wide selection of books and DVDs at very minimal cost. Usually, your library card can let you borrow them for free. This is a better option than buying them because there is a great possibility that you will only read a book once, and watch a movie once.
If you really like something, then that’s the time you purchase it. Better yet, buy used books at second-hand stores or online shops like EBay and Amazon. It may be a little scruffy, but considering that you can get them for almost as much as half the price of the new ones, it is a small price to pay. For DVDs, see if you can get a membership to the DVD stores for discounted prices.
5.On Transport
Avoid buying a new car if possible. A new car depreciates in value as soon as you drive it out of a dealership, and it is still more costly than getting a pre-owned vehicle or maintaining an old car. Compare the money spent on repair and maintenance of an old car against the monthly installment of a new car and see the difference.
Either you choose to spend some extra thousand dollars for a new one or you shell out just a few bucks in repair maintenance for a slightly used car with a low mileage on it. Whatever it is, your goal is to keep your car as long as possible. As long as the repair costs are low, lengthen its life by having a regular maintenance schedule.
If you can, choose walking or biking when going someplace, especially when the weather is great. And if it is hard to get by without using a car, share a ride with your spouse or colleague. Planning a carpool can save you hundreds of dollars a year and reduce your carbon footprint in our air. You are not only saving money this way, but also saving the environment.
