We can all use a little extra money from time to time, whether it's for that new "Plasma Television" or simply to pay off a few debts, and the easiest way to "get" a little extra money is to "save" money on a monthly basis. Saving doesn't have to be difficult, and the following tips are great for people of all ages and all income levels... if you read carefully, you'll find your bank account has that extra "padding" it needs in no time!
EAT AND DRINK AT HOME
You would be surprised how much money is wasted every day on "convenient" food and drink products. If you think about it, a cup of coffee at any convenience store or specialty coffee shop will cost anywhere from $1.00 to $3.00... how many POTS of coffee do you suppose you could make at home for $3.00? Using this money saving tip, which was as simple as remembering to bring a soda from home or pack a lunch, saved me $275.00 in one month!PLAN YOUR TRIPS TO THE GROCERY STORE
The grocery store is a veritable obstacle course of "impulse buys". My mother taught me this money saving tip, as I had fallen into a rut of visiting the grocery store at least twice a week; the idea is simple... plan your trips to the store. Write out a weekly "meal plan" and make sure you have the necessary ingredients for these meals (including snacks, packed lunches, etc.), you need not buy more. It took some getting used to, but now I only shop once every two weeks, saving $150.00 to $200.00 per month! SHOP THE SALES AND STOCK UP WHEN YOU CAN
Growing up, I was never a "sale shopper". Not only was it tedious and time consuming, but it made me feel "cheap". Still, some years back I realized that by buying whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, I was wasting a good amount of money that I could otherwise spend on other things. A good example of this rule is soda; a regularly priced 12-pack runs $5.00 to $7.00, but there are often sales that are as good as two 12-packs for $5.00... that's a 50% savings! Using this method I save anywhere from $100.00 to $150.00 per month. NAME BRANDS AREN'T NECESSARILY BETTER, AND THEY COST MORE!
In any store, you will find "name brands" and "store brands". The store brands are usually close if not identical in terms of ingredients to the name brands, and they always cost much less. Take "Tylenol", for instance... a bottle might cost you $6.00, but the store brand (which is exactly the same) might only be $4.00. Sure there may be some things that you can't substitute, but if you even do this half of the time, you'll save at least $30.00 to $40.00 on an average shopping trip! DON'T BE AFRAID OF DISCOUNT STORES AND OUTLETS
We've all heard of stores like "Marshalls", "Ross" or "TJ Max", places where name brands are offered for less. Sure these stores are sometimes less appealing to the eye than the high priced department stores or specialty shops because of the sheer volume of merchandise, but if you can find the same products priced at thirty or forty percent off, sometimes more, isn't it worth it? When it comes to clothes, linens, home decor, shoes, etc., there is no reason NOT to shop at the discount stores! SET A MONTHLY BUDGET FOR FRIVOLOUS SPENDING
Start the month with a per person allowance of, for instance, $80.00. This money can be used for lunches, convenience items, or can be saved for something bigger like clothes, but...when it's gone it's gone. My husband and I have used this little trick for the passed year, and it has made a huge difference in our spending habits. Because we only have a certain amount of money to be used over an entire month, we both think a lot more about our purchases... sometimes we even have money left over! This has saved my family at least $200.00 per month.SAVE FOR PURCHASES AND SHOP FOR THE BEST DEALS.
So, you want that new wide screen LCD Computer Monitor? You could run out to the local electronics store and put that $300.00 on a credit card, but you're going to end up paying $500.00 by the time it's paid off. If you force yourself to "save" for big purchases, you will be more likely to find the "good deals" and to only spend money on things that really matter to you. Take that computer monitor, if you'd have waited two months you might have been able to save up for the purchase and you might have found the same product on sale for half the price minus the finance charges of a credit card!
If you use the above tips, saving will not only become easy, it will become fun. There is nothing quite like looking at your bank account at the end of the month and realizing that you have saved hundreds of dollars!
