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Making a budget is relatively easy, sticking to it is hard. That’s because strictly following a budget requires focus and discipline — something sorely lacking in most of us.
But don’t despair. We know a few things about controlling cost, sticking to budgets, and saving money. Stay with us and we will share them with you.
1. Remove Your Credit Card From Online Stores
If you are one of those with an Amazon “one-click” buy button, it’s time to disable it.
For those of you who don’t know what the Amazon one-click button is, it is a feature on Amazon’s website that makes purchasing exponentially easy. All you have to do is click and button, and your purchase is made. Simple.
You should disable this button! We’re not asking you to disable it because we envy your simple life and secretly want to destroy it. We’re asking you to disable it because the button promotes impulsive purchases.
Also, if you have your credit cards stored on other shopping websites, make sure to delete them too.
Doing this will put a lapse between your impulse and taking action. If you have to get your credit card and manually type it into a website, it might give you time to think twice about making the purchase.
2. Always Use A List For Grocery Shopping
Using a list when you go grocery shopping is very good for helping you stay focus. Most times, when people go grocery shopping without a list, they end up spending money on things they don’t need and forgetting the things they do need.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen victim to this “listless” shopping.
Using a list will help you spend within the confines of your budget, and the chances of overspending, or buying things you don’t need will be diminished.
3. Go On A Spending Fast
Spending fast, sometimes called “no-spend days,” is like a food fast. You make a decision to spend no money for a while.
You wouldn’t buy a single thing for the entire duration of the fast. This may sound drastic but it is doable, and it can be effective.
It helps you temper your perspective on essential and non-essential spending.
For example, if you go a couple of days without eating out, buying something on Amazon, or at Starbucks, and you survive without a scratch — as you should, you’ll be inclined to take the posture that those things are not essential, and you’ll probably stop spending money on them for good.
You don’t have to be drastic on yourself when you do this. Start small and gradually increase the list of things you want to do without.
4. Sell The Things You Don’t Use
Cutting your expenses is very good, but just as good, is increasing your income. One way you can increase your income is by selling your unused stuff.
If you have things in your closet or anywhere in your home that you haven’t used in years, chances are, you don’t need them anyway, and you might never use them. So why are you keeping them? Sell them to people who need them.
There are many apps out there for selling things to your neighbors, or people within a certain radius of where you live. Some of the good ones are Letgo, OfferUp, and Facebook Marketplace.
5. Shop At Budget Stores
If you only buy groceries at Whole Foods and other fancy specialty stores, it’s time to kick that habit to the curb.
Prices at these high-end stores are significantly higher than stores like Walmart, Target, and other bargain markets; however, there isn’t evidence that the high-end stores sell superior quality items or produce.
The excuse most people give for shopping at expensive artisanal stores is that those stores sell organic items. But so does Walmart, Target, Safeway and other bargain stores. All you have to do is look at the labels to know what’s natural and what’s not.
You will almost always find organic items –sometimes the exact brands you buy from the pricey stores — in these bargain outlets at lower prices. Try going there to see how much you save.
6. Put Spending Caps On Your Debit And Credit Cards
Most cards have a feature for placing spending caps. You can place a spending cap on your debit or credit card to control your spending.
For example, you can place a cap to spend only $400 a week, or whatever amount you decide. Once you reach $400 in spending, your card is no longer going to honor additional expenses.
This type of spending control will be more effective if someone else has the password, code, or authorization to increase the limits on your spending cap.
You can call you credit card company and see if they provide this feature.
7. Cancel Subscriptions You Are Not Using
Because of the busy lives we lead, it is possible to still be subscribed to services we no longer, or rarely use. I know I have.
Do you have a Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, Spotify or a digital magazine subscription, or any subscription you no longer use? Go over your bank account, find them, and cancel them.
The amounts may only be $4.99 here, $12.99 there, but they add up over time. Imagine if you have up to $40 in monthly subscriptions you no longer use; that’s $480 a year. That’s an amount you can invest in the stock market for an excellent return.
You can also use Truebill to help cancel those unused and unwanted subscribtions.
8. Delay Buying A Car – Use Public Transportation
According to this study, Americans use their cars only 5% of the time, while paying an average of $523 a month car note.
That amount does not include gasoline, repairs, insurance, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Imagine if you can use public transportation to get to and from work. You’ll save hundreds of dollars — money you can use to build wealth.
Let’s say you decide to use public transport for two years and save the amount you would have spent on car payments — say $650 a month in total. Within 24 months, you would have saved $15,600. That’s money you can invest in the stock market, index funds, or in your dreams.
I understand that in some places, public transportation is very bad. But if it is good where you live, then take advantage of it.
9. Refinance Your Debts
Rather than blindly paying your debts, have you considered refinancing them at a lower interest rate? You could save hundreds of dollars if you refinance your debts, especially large ones like your mortgage and car loan.
10. Consolidate Your Debts Using 0% APR Credit Cards
Do you have personal loans or credit card debts? Consolidating them on a 0% APR credit card can save you a lot of money in interest payments. It can also give you the peace of mind of dealing with your debt in one place.
11. Install A Whole House Fan
What’s a whole house fan? I’m glad you asked. A whole house fan is a fan you install in the attic of your home for the purpose of keeping it cool, thereby saving money on air conditioning bills.
The whole house fan sucks warm air out of your home, and circulates cooler air, making your home cool and pleasant. Using this fan will minimize the need to use your air conditioning system, especially during the summer. Imagine how much money you can save on utility bills.
12. Get A Cheaper Mobile Phone Plan
Many people blindly keep expensive phone plans for no apparent reason.
For example, why are you still paying hundreds of dollars in phone bills when you can pay between $30 – $60 a month for an unlimited service phone plan?
Most of the cell phone companies have the same coverage all over the country. The ones that don’t just tag their wagon to larger companies. For example, MetroPCS is on the T-Mobile network, therefore, using MetroPCS is exactly like using T-Mobile, but without the expensive monthly bill.
Honestly, there’s no excuse to keep these expensive phone plans that fraudulently charge you for data usage overages. Wow! What a rip off.
Budget phone services like MetroPCS, Boost Mobile, Cricket, and others regularly offer great deals that can save you a lot of money. And contrary to what you may have heard, these small companies offer everything the bigger companies offer.
13. Stop Doing Financial Favors – At Least For A While
One of the ways to control spending is to minimize or stop giving handouts or doing financial favors.
If you are someone who likes to give “small loans” to family and friends with no expectation of getting repaid, you’ll need to modify your behavior. Stop giving them money.
Doing this doesn’t mean you don’t love them, it only means you are trying to put yourself in a better financial position.
14. Use A Cashback App When You Shop Online
If you regularly shop online, this is for you.
Did you know that there are companies willing to pay you to do the shopping you’re already doing online? These companies have what are called cashback apps. All you have to do is use their platform to access the online store you want to shop at.
For example, if you want to shop on Amazon’s website, just go to the cashback app and they’ll redirect you to Amazon’s website. When you purchase, the cashback company will get a commission for referring you, then they, in turn, will split the commission with you. Simple.
Here are two of the leading cashback apps:
If you use the referenced apps or websites to shop online, you can get up to 40% in cashback. You can also get deals, coupons, and promotions. I don’t see why you wouldn’t use them.
Related:
15. Cancel Gyms And Clubs Memberships If You’re Not Going
If you have a gym or club memberships that you hardly ever use, it’s time to cancel those memberships and start saving money.
According to multiple research, over 80% percent of people with a gym membership don’t use it. Don’t be a part of the statistics.
The monthly cost for maintaining a gym membership can add up over time. Either go to the gym or cancel the membership.
16. Stop Eating Out
A single meal in a restaurant can easily cost up to $20. It’s even more when you dine at upscale restaurants.
If you are someone who eats out regularly, you can save a lot of money by cutting the habit.
Rather than eating out, you can make a conscious choice to have all your meals at home. Doing this will keep a lot of money in your pocket.
17. Don’t Use Your Appliances During Peak Hours
All hours of the day aren’t equal. Did you know that utility companies charged a lot more when you use your appliance during certain hours? There’s something called “peak hours”, and the utilities usually charge up to two times the regular rate during those hours.
Peak hours are usually between 5 pm and 9 pm. The rest of the time is “off-peak.”
If you have activities that to do, like laundry and the like, consider doing them during off-peak hours. Use your air conditioner and other appliances only during off-peak hours, and you will see a decrease in your monthly utility bills.
If you are unsure what the off-peak hours are in your city, call your utility company and they should tell you.
18. Cut Cable Cost
It’s common for people to have cable in addition to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and a host of other services. Ask yourself, do you need all those services? How often do you watch shows on all those platforms?
If you are honest with yourself, you will realize that you hardly open a lot of those apps. Well, it’s time to make a decision. Why don’t you cut the cable off? It will save you tons of money.
And if you’re using the cable more often than the apps, then keep the cable and cut the apps off. Don’t have them all at the same time. It’s a waste of money.
19. Get A Programmable Thermostat
So here’s what a programmable thermostat does. Rather than keeping your heater or air conditioner on all night, or all day, a programmable thermostat will automatically turn the air off when the room reaches your desired temperature.
A programmable thermostat will save you a lot in electricity or gas bills.
20. Use Energy Saving Light Bulbs
I don’t have to tell you the benefits of using a 4 watt light bulb compared a 120 watt light bulb. Energy-saving light bulbs help reduce electricity bills. Try investing in them.
21. Disable Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime facilitates impulsive spending. Who doesn’t like the idea of clicking a button and then receiving boxes of goodies two days later — or better yet, two hours later in the case of PrimeNow?
The problem with that scenario is that it encourages wasteful spending. Disable Prime, and you will no longer find the idea of ordering something, paying extra for shipping, and then waiting for five-eight days as appealing. Yes, disabling Prime will put a damper on your deal for Amazon.
22. Automatically Transfer Money To Your Savings
Automatically transferring money to your savings will constrain to only use what you have in your checking account.
Let’s say you make $1000 a week, and automatically transfer $200 to your savings. You can condition your mind and constrain yourself to spend only $800.
This strategy tricks your mind into thinking you only make $800 a week. After some time, your spending will conform to what you “think” you’re making.
This strategy promotes savings and frugality.
In Conclusion
Saving money and controlling your spending requires discipline and focus. If you follow some of the tips we provided here, you will be well on your way to eliminating wasteful spending and achieving financial freedom.
The post 22 Ways To Cut Cost, Save Money And Make Your Budget Work appeared first on WholesomeWallet - Get Better With Money.