There’s a time in almost everyone’s life when you’ll need to cut back on monthly expenses. Whether you’re saving for a major purchase (a new house, car or even a vacation), you recently lost work, or just want extra cash for a rainy day — it makes sense to fine tune your month-to-month spending.
Here are five tips for cutting back on monthly expensive to save money:
1. Most every family has cable, internet and a phone line in their home. If you’re paying for each of these services separately I guarantee you’re paying too much. Check with your telephone and cable providers to see if a bundle packages are available, similar to these BT packages. Compare costs between local telecommunication companies to get the best deal — often if they know you’re considering a competitor they will offer lower priced bundles.
2. One of the biggest expenses for a family every month is the grocery bill. If you aren’t already, start to cut coupons from the Sunday paper and online — but only for things you NEED and regularly buy. From there, start to plan your meals around the weekly sales ad. Always buy produce and fruit that is in season, and avoid costly items like soda and snacks. If you purchase bottled water, look into getting a water purifying pitcher and stick with reusable BPA-free bottles.
3. For reoccurring non-food purchases, check out the rewards programs at the major pharmacy chains. From week to week you can save major bucks on health & beauty, home, and personal items by being loyal and using rewards earned from previous purchases.
4. Start walking or biking to work/school/shopping. Seriously, map out what locations you could physically walk/bike to and start to do it. Once you start, you’ll find that it’s easier than you thought — plus, you’ll save a TON of money on gas and get a workout 😉
5. Cut out visits to the local coffee shop and start packing your own lunch. You will be AMAZED at how much you’ll save a month when you cut out unnecessary expenses. One way to do this is to start writing down every purchase you make. Within no time you will be sick of spending money on “little things” that add up to hundreds of extra dollars a month.
How do you save money on your monthly expenses?
