Track Your Expenses- know your reoccurring monthly bills, food costs, household costs, kids, social, personal care, childcare, emergency/unexpected. If you don’t know what your overhead is, you won’t be able to plan what you can save and invest.
Know Your Gross vs. Net Pay- you think you may be getting a big bonus, but after taxes, retirement savings and health insurance, your take home pay will be MUCH lower than expected. It is important to know what to expect for your average income per month vs. average expenses.
Come up with a Monthly Budget- if you don’t track your food, socializing, and personal care expenses, you can easily blow through your budget and increase your monthly expenses $500 or more. It will be difficult to get ahead and save as inflation increases and you are not sticking to a savings plan.
Use Credit Cards that Give You Cash Back- Discover has great credits cards with no annual fees that give you 1% or more cash back on your purchases. Take advantage of free money!
Use Credit Card Points- don’t forget you can get gift cards or free travel from the points using your credit cards
Find a Credit Card with 0% interest for 12months or more- use these types of credit cards for larger and unexpected expenses so you can pay the bill over time without paying interest fees
Cut Back on Eating Out- Going out to eat is more expensive than ever. When you add in tipping, you can easily spend $100 for two people for a dinner out. If you go out to eat lunch or get coffee every day, your food costs will skyrocket and leave you wondering where all your money goes
Watch Your Food Waste- As hard as I have tried, I am shocked at the food I have wasted by not eating it quickly enough, or from some of my health issues killing my appetite / ability to keep food down. I am learning to eat fresh foods more quickly and not buy so much at one time
Watch Your Drink/Snack Expenses- These quick pick me ups and can end up costing as much as a full meal. When you add these extras up with 3 meals a day, you will break your budget
Ask Yourself- Is this a Need or Want? Wanting something is not a good reason to buy it
Avoid Stores You Struggle to Control Yourself in- Target , Marshalls, Walmart…you know how it goes. Suddenly you see a cute pillow, $15 soy candle, a salad spinner on sale and next thing you know the deodorant you needed turned into $100 trip to the store.
Wait Before Making a Want Purchase or Big Purchase- If you wait a week or month, chances are you will find you don’t really need a new T.V. that is 2 inches bigger. Waiting to make a purchase will prevent impulse buys.
Stop Upgrading Your Electronics Ever Year or Two- the amount of money we spend on tech is outrageous. Older generations didn’t have to get 3 phones, 3 T.V.s, 3 computers per household, then upgrade them every 3 years. The dollars do add up and you will keep falling into the consumer cycle without saving like you want
Cut Your Amazon Prime- You can still get free shipping with minimum order. One heck of a genius scam that have-You pay them just to shop there on top of the money they are making from your purchases. Do you really need the item in 2 days or can you plan ahead…
Review Your Subscriptions- Do you really use and need them all?
Buy Items You Use Frequently in Bulk and/or On Sale- Don’t buy items you won’t use just because they are on sale, but if you will use them, shop the deals.
Use Up all Your Products Before Buying a New One- ever end up with 4 shampoos, 3 deodorants, etc and someone doing your hair trying to get you to buy more products (that annoys me, just stop selling to me for 2 hours please)…well, make a commitment to use what you have before getting tempted to buy something else
Review Your Medical Charges with Insurance- They make mistakes. Annual physicals are free and doctors often try to charge you copay for them as well.
Stop Buying Clothes, Bags, Shoes and Things you don’t NEED to have- I know it is tempting. When I was dealing with my custody battler, unable to socialize, not wanting to drink, I distracted myself at home with Netflix binges and online shopping (mostly searches, but it led to purchases I didn’t need). I was not overly reckless, but given I don’t go out like I used to and my career path changed, I was still living in the past getting things that years later, I have yet to use.
Don’t Go out to the Movies- You can easily spend $50 vs using the subscriptions you already have to use at home
Focus on Experiences, not Buying Things
Build Your Credit Score- Paying bills off on time, having multiple credit cards with low balances, and not making unnecessary purchases will help you build your credit score, which will help with lower interest rates for loans (saving you money over time with large purchases such as a home or car)