Money. It’s one of our biggest stressors. For many, we have difficulty saving up for emergencies. Some people are even living paycheck to paycheck. About half of Americans would struggle to come up with 400 dollars in an emergency. They would need to use credit cards, retirement accounts, or borrow from friends and family. There are many ways we can save money. You would be surprised at what 5 dollars a week can amount to. So, here are our ten ways to save money.
10 Ways to Save Money
1. Start Small
Creating a nest egg can seem nearly impossible to do when you have bills, loans, and debt to pay off, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. You could take 10 dollars out of your paycheck every week, or even 3 or 4 dollars a day.
2. Create a Separate Account
It will be easier for you, in the long run, to create a separate account for savings instead of trying to remember the amount of savings mixed with your other dollars. It’s just an excellent way to stay organized.
3. Look at the Small Details
Check out your everyday spending, write everything down in a notebook. Then you will be able to see what could be cut. You may even realize that you were spending money where it wasn’t needed.
4. Be a Smart Shopper
Grocery shopping is probably one of the most significant discretionary expenses that you have week to week, so it would be a good move to look and see what can be cut there. Maybe you are buying too much food, and it goes bad, but by cutting back portions, you will save money. Maybe you can even use this as an opportunity to cut out foods that are bad for you.
5. Cut Trips to the Coffee Shop
While you might think your daily coffee run doesn’t affect your finances, you’d be surprised at how quickly it adds up. By skipping the shop, you save 5 dollars a day, which turns into 35 dollars a week, which can turn into 2,000 dollars a year.
6. Eat Home Made Lunches
Similar to the coffee shop, making your lunch can save you big money.
7. If You Smoke, Give Up Cigarettes
An average pack of cigarettes costs $6.28, and the average smokers use a pack or more a day. You can create a lot of savings and kick a bad habit.
8. Get Rid of Cable if You Don’t Use It
If you are paying for premium channels that you aren’t watching, cut them from your bill. If you aren’t really a TV watcher, you can even get rid of cable altogether.
9. Find Ways to Lower Your Phone Bill
Look at your cell phone bill and see what can be trimmed from it. For example, if you are paying for a lot of data and using very little of it, that’s something that can be cut.
10. Reduce Subscriptions
If you have a lot of magazine subscriptions or gym memberships, this can be a way to get a few more dollars in your pocket every month. You can try exercising at home to stop the membership. Maybe you don’t read as many magazines as you used to, and cut out a couple.
You can find more info about saving here.