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Easy
Ways to Cut Expenses
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Saving money for
most people is actually better than earning more money because
of taxes. If you earn a dollar more a year, depending on your
deductions and tax bracket, you may actually only get to spend
or invest 50 cents, while the rest goes to Social Security,
federal, Medicare and state taxes.
However, if you save $1 off your grocery bill this week, you
get to keep the whole dollar, since that is already post tax
money. So with that in mind, here are some tips to reduce
your current expenses.
Cost
Cutting Articles
- Frugal
Living Tips - There are probably thousands of relatively
painless ways to reduce your living expenses each month.
This list has some of my favorites.
- Low
Cost Furniture - Shopping at estate sales is a great
way to buy
quality pieces of furniture at low prices. Read my tips
list for more ideas on how to furnish your abode without
breaking the bank.
- Living
on One Income - Can you cut back enough to live on one
income instead of two? Read my list of financial questions
to ask yourself before you take the plunge. After factoring
taxes, daycare, commute costs and having less time to comparison
shop and cook from scratch, you may even come out ahead.
- Budget
Dates - Romance doesn't have to cost a lot. Why pay
$50 or more for dinner and a movie when you can have more
fun and show your creativity for less money?
- Cutting
Expenses from Every Day Purchases - How much money is
that daily latte really costing you? If you look at every
expense over the rest of your life, small daily purchases
can really add up over the years. Tackling recurring expenses
is a good way to reduce your budget now and forever.
- Inexpensive
Entertainment Ideas - Having fun doesn't have to cost
a lot of money. View
my ideas on how my family has frugal fun each month including
beach trips, tide pool walks, picnics and star gazing at
the local planetarium.
- Trimming
Dental Expenses - Proper care of your family's teeth
now could save expensive dental bills down the road.
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Tip:
I try to put all of my purchases and bills on a cash back
credit card. That way I make a little extra money each
month, track my expenses by budget category, and not have
to write many paper checks. |
Three
Easy Ways We Cut Costs This Year
I thought we were
living rather frugally when we were both working, but in
hindsight we could have cut back much more without impacting
out basic lifestyle. Two things happened this past year
that suddenly gave me an extra 40+ hours of free time to
spend on looking for ways to improve our budget. The first
was that my husband left his day job and the second event
was that our youngest child started driving. My husband
now has more time to help with housework, shopping and bill
paying, and my son drives himself to school, friends houses
and his own doctor and dentist appointments.
Since we were
down one pay check, I tried to use this extra time to see
where we could trim some of our expenses better. Listed
below are a few of the ways I cam up with, including a table
of our one year and ten year total savings.
Expense
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One Year
Savings
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Ten Year
Savings
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1. Lower cable bill |
$600
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$6,000
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| 2.
Less fast food |
$2,400
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$24,000
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| 3.
Smaller garbage can |
$204
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$2,040
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| Total |
$2,364
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$23,640
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Table
of Expenses Cut in 2012
1. I negotiated
a lower cable bill. We live in an area with competing
cable companies, so I was able to knock off $50 a month
and get more services just for asking. Interestingly, I
was able to get lower rates by actually going into the local
cable office over just asking for the lowest rates on the
phone.
2. We stopped
buying fast food twice a week at $25 a meal. We used
to do this on busy weekday nights when we were both working.
With two parents and two teenagers in the house, this was
getting very expensive, especially as the kids got older
and were eating more and more. Cutting out fast food saved
us at least $$200 a month. Now I try to keep the freezer
stocked up with quick meals we can make at home. A favorite
is steamed chicken from frozen chicken breasts, rice in
the rice cooker, fruit and a salad.
Eating
less fast food was good for our waists as well as our wallets.
3. With less
fast food, it was amazing how much less garbage we had each
week. We were able to switch to a smaller garbage
can without making any other conscious effort to reduce
our weekly waste. This saved us another $17 a month.
Remember, that
in budgeting it isn't so much what you make but what you
spend compared to what you make that counts. A person earning
$30K a year who can live on $25K a year is going to be able
to save more than a person making $500K a year but spending
$600K.
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