Are you finding that everything is more expensive these days? If so, you are not the only one. It is more important than ever to get a good handle on your household budget so you can stretch your income to last between paychecks.
I checked into a lot of savings opportunities, and really found about 10 ways to save money that I had not thought of before! These tips will not be the right solution for all readers. But these 3 tips seemed to suit most people! I hope they will help you become more frugal without a lot of effort.
Carry cash and not plastic. My fixed bills were pretty stable. My problem was that I tended to spend a lot of money on things I would buy without planning for their purchase. Not of them seemed that expensive at the time, but they really added up over the course of a month. In fact, when I checked my impulse spending, I found that it was a lot easier to get other bills paid off and save money too!
Going shopping without a debit or credit card may seem hard to adjust to for many people. But I replaced my debit and credit cards with cash. I kept one card in my wallet for a true emergency, but otherwise I tried to pay for everything from groceries to shoes with actual paper money! This was an effective way for me to really think about my purchases. It would take some time and effort to go get more money!
Turn on the fans. A cheap fan is also cheap to run. But when I have the fan on in a room, it feels much cooler and fresher to me. This means I could set up my air conditioning at a much higher level. By adjusting my thermostat from 72 degrees to 76 degrees, I saved about ten percent of my untility bill. In the summer, this actually added up to quite a bit of money over the hot months. I live in the sun belt, and it is warm about 6 months of the year.
Plan grocery shopping better. I used to go to the grocery store with no clear plan. Now I try to make trips to those stores where I can find things cheapest. Of course, you will probably still buy food at your food market! But cleaning products and personal products are cheaper at discount stores. Instead of paying extra for convenience, I planned out different trips for different types of things.
Some large discount stores carry both types of items. These stores can help you because you will not have to make many trips to different stores. Otherwise, try to find the type of stores you want that are close to each other. You do not want to save a few bucks because you are a good shopper, but then waste the money on expensive fuel for your car!
I hope you can use these ideas to save money for yourself. If you can lower your impulse spending, home emergy bill, and the cost of groceries, you should be able to put aside more cash. Good luck and good shopping!
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