How can I save money when I'm already spending it as fast as it's coming in? I can't believe that somebody actually asked me this question. The answer is in the question itself. Stop spending so much. There are a lot of ways that we can cut back on spending no matter how frugal we think we are already. There's always a few extra bucks you can trim from your expenses. We all spend a lot of money during the course of a year, and sometimes I wonder if we ever really notice how much of that spending is down right wasteful.
Do you travel? Over the course of the year it's fairly likely that you travel more than you really need to, and the mode of transportation doesn't matter really. The internet is a great money and time saver when it comes to cutting down on travel. Not every trip is a necessity. I'm not going to get into this one too much, but whether you fly or drive, you're spending money. Be sure that the next trip you take, whether it be to the corner store or to the opposite side of the country, make sure the trip is absolutely necessary. Plan your grocery shopping to where you only have to run to the store once a week at the most frequent. If you're not buying groceries, and you are dining out 5 days a week or more, I don't need to tell you how much you could be saving by preparing your own home cooked meals.
Take a look at your monthly expenses, mortgage/rent, electricity, cable, internet, phone bills, and cellular just to name the most common. Is your mortgage currently at the best possible rate? Refinance now, while the rates are still low and make sure you have a fixed rate. If you can afford a 15 year note, do it, it can save you thousands. The truly frugal can cut costs by unplugging all of those "brick" type chargers when they're not in use, believe it or not, they draw a charge whether they are charging your toys or not. Turn off the lights when you leave the room. Are you paying for premium television packages like HBO, Showtime, Cinemax? How about High Definition? If you're behind, you can cut back on entertainment until you're at least caught up. Many of us require high-speed internet at home due to our careers, but if business doesn't dictate it for your life, you don't need to pay for it, you can go to the library, or Starbucks, heck, I think even MacDonalds has Wi-Fi these days. No matter where you live, you're probably not too far from a free wi-fi hotspot... But remember, you don't have to drive there. Save the gas and walk or bike. If you still have a home phone and a cellular phone you only need to answer one question, when's the last time you used your home phone for a call you really wanted to make or take? You don't need a home phone anymore. You can ditch the extra line to save big time.
Now let's examine the nitty gritty daily expenses. Do you go our for coffee? MacDonalds, Starbucks, Seattle's Best, or Dunkin' Doughnuts? Regardless of where you get your morning jolt, it costs more than brewing your own at home. This goes for the lunch hour as well. Skip the spendy trendy salad place, if you're dining out, you're wasting money. Brown bagging it can save you over $1,000 a year. Are you commuting? Can you Carpool or take public transportation? How about walking or biking to work? How about working from home? I work from home whenever possible and it can really save you a fortune. If you work at home, you probably don't need to shave as often and that adds up too. What about after work? Are you going out with friends or do you go straight home? Guess which can save you money?
All of these methods are available to you if you want to start saving more money. The key to making this pay off for you is to actually save the money. Don't just turn around and spend it someplace else. Put it in the bank. As I mentioned yesterday, this is not my favorite way to get ahead. I much prefer increasing income to decreasing expenditures. But we all do what we have to in order to get ahead in the game. That's right. This is a game, the game of life. But the stakes are high, so tomorrow, I'll be talking about income boosting. It's a much more exciting topic.
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