Everyone would appreciate a little extra cash in their pocket every month. It’s actually not as hard as you might expect to create more wiggle room in your monthly budget. With just a few simple changes to your spending habits, you could quickly achieve significant savings. Once you do that, you simply need to decide whether you want to set the extra money aside for a rainy day or use it for a specific expense you’ve been anticipating.
Think about what your financial goals may be and once you have a few in mind, get inspired by this list to actually achieve them. You may be surprised at how easy it is.
1. Cut the Cable Cord
If you still pay for traditional cable, you’re most likely shelling out for an expensive monthly bill on a package that only contains a few channels you actually enjoy. Look around for streaming services that are much cheaper and allow you to personalize your plan based on what you watch. Netflix and Hulu are popular choices, but Sling is a good option if you like to watch live television. Many of the major cable networks have introduced their own services, which is worth considering if you tend to watch one network over another.
2. Cancel Your Subscription Services
Whether it’s a music subscription, monthly boxes, magazines, or a gym membership you never use, take a look at your recurring subscriptions. It’s all too easy to sign up for a $5 or $10 monthly subscription, but do you remember how much you’re actually spending? Take a look at all of your checking accounts and credit cards to get a true scope of how much you spend each month. If you need help, there are apps that will scan your accounts for you and identify your subscriptions. Some can even cancel them for you.
3. Keep Your Food Budget on Track
Your food bill is easily one of the biggest places you can save each month. Give yourself a limit of how many times you should be eating out at a restaurant each month. Also pay attention to what you’re spending at the grocery store. If you really need to buckle down in this category, pick one day a week to go grocery shopping. If you run out of an item any other day of the week, do your best to go without until your next scheduled grocery day. For extra incentive to stay on budget, try ordering online — it saves you time and you know exactly what you’re spending before you checkout.
4. Cut Back on Your Electric Bill
This one may be harder to see, but there are tangible ways to reduce your electricity bill each month. Start off by unplugging any appliances you’re not using, from your laptop to your coffee maker. Each one quietly drains electricity, which adds to your bill. Also consider getting a programmable thermostat so you can better manage the temperature of your home while you’re there and while you’re away. You can also reduce your bill by investing in LED light bulbs. They use less energy and last much longer.
5. Bundle Your Insurance
If you haven’t shopped around for insurance rates in the last year or so, now is that time to do it. Don’t assume you’re automatically getting the lowest rate on things like homeowners and auto insurance. Call a few different providers to compare deals, and also ask if you can save by bundling multiple coverage plans.
6. Improve Your Credit and Lower Your Rates
If you’ve been working on credit repair recently, it may be a good time to either refinance a loan or ask for a lower interest rate on your credit card. These simple tasks can end up significantly lowering your monthly payments, especially if you carry a balance on one or more of your cards.
If you haven’t done so already, fixing your credit can save you a lot of money in the long run. Whether you need a new credit card or plan to buy a car or a house in the future, your credit score has a huge influence on how much you’ll pay.
A short-term expense of hiring a professional credit repair company can create a lasting impact on your financial health in the long term. They can fix credit errors and initiate credit disputes that could end up improving your score drastically.
To see how much a credit repair service could help improve your own credit, sign up for a free consultation today with Ovation Credit.
