Common Sense Ideas to Save Money
Posted at by ifydcat on category Personal FinanceNo matter how much money you have, you can always use more. While coming into an inheritance or getting a big raise are things that do not happen every day, there are some small ways that you can economize to help you wind up with more cash in your pocket.
Cut back on dining out. Sure, eating out is fun and convenient, but it also is far more costly than buying groceries and preparing your meals at home. Eat breakfast before you leave home in the morning so you do not have to stop for coffee and bagels. Bring a bagged lunch with you to work so you are not tempted to go out for lunch, and buy enough groceries each week so that you can cook quick, nutritious dinners for you and your family. You will be amazed at how much money you can save by reducing the number of times you eat out.
Before you go grocery shopping, be sure to make a list of all the things you need. Impulse buying can wreck your budget and cause you to buy things that you do not really need. If you have a list, you can search for the items you need and ignore the marketing gimmicks in the store that tempt you to buy unnecessary items. Also, eat before you go grocery shopping. If you are starving when you are in the food store, you are more likely to buy food that you do not need.
Review your current cell phone plan, and compare it to other plans to see if you can save money by switching. If you do not use all your minutes each month, perhaps you can switch to a plan that includes fewer minutes but costs less. Or maybe you can find a plan that offers unlimited texting or free incoming calls. Depending on how you use your phone, these offers could save you quite a bit of money.
Review your cable plan and see if you can switch to a different plan that saves you money. Do you and your family watch all the channels that are available, or do you mainly stick to a few favorites? Most people only watch a few channels. If that is the case with you, you might be able to save money by downgrading your cable plan to one that includes fewer channels and costs less. You may even want to consider ditching cable altogether and relying on over-the-air TV signals, depending upon where you live and the reception you receive.
You can save money on gasoline by walking to nearby destinations or using public transportation when available. If you live in a city with a great public transportation system, you may even be able to do without a car entirely. That would save you money on the cost of buying a car, as well as on insurance, maintenance and gasoline.
Try to use ATMs within your bank’s network so that you do not have to pay a lot of unnecessary fees. Plan in advance when and where you will withdraw money from an ATM, and make sure you take out enough so that you will not be caught short and have to go to an out-of-network ATM. Another option to consider for obtaining cash is to use certain credit cards when making a purchase in a store that allows you to obtain cash back without incurring fees.
If you take medications on a regular basis, it is a good idea to check the prices of the medications at various pharmacies. Prices can vary substantially, and you may be able to save a great deal of money by transferring your prescription to a different drug store. You can also use mail order to buy prescription drugs, and that can save you money as well.
All these strategies are simple, common sense things that you can do without much effort. Simply making a change here and there in your everyday behavior can help you keep more of your hard-earned cash in your pocket.