20 Smart Ways to Cut Your Monthly Budget
20 Smart Ways to Cut Your Monthly Budget
Spend less than you earn. That’s the mantra of personal finance success. Every week, month and year that you spend less than you earn, the more you can save and the better your financial situation will be.
A big part of that solution is cutting back on spending, and for many people, the thought of cutting back on spending seems unpleasant. Losing out on the things that bring you pleasure in life seems like a pretty steep price to pay for a little financial success.
The benefit is that the money you save by spending less can be applied to other financial goals in your life. You can get rid of debt faster, which eliminates a monthly bill that sucks up your money. You can build an emergency fund, save for a down payment on a home or start saving for retirement.
If you intentionally cut back on things that are of low importance to you while holding on to the things you really care about, cutting back doesn’t really have any negative impact on your life at all.
Here are 20 frugal living tips that do just that. It’s outside air seeping into your home, and that means paying extra energy costs to keep your house at a livable temperature. Finding and sealing most drafts is pretty easy. You just follow the cool/warm air, theninstall weather strippingorcaulkto seal the leak. In summer, a ceiling fan can create a gentle breeze in a room cooling your skin. Use your ceiling fans, andset them to the right mode for the season, as a ceiling fan is far less expensive to run than an air conditioner or furnace. This saves on the cost of heating the water and still results in clean clothes. Take advantage of the variety byeliminating cable or satellite service. It’s far more than that. Most libraries today have movies to borrow, audiobooks to listen to on your commute, equipment you can borrow and many other services all for free. Lean in on your library for tons of free entertainment options. For example, instead of buying yet more books that go unread, aim instead to build a long list of books youhaveread. Makedoingthe center of your hobby, notbuying. Don’t go to stores just to browse for entertainment, as they’re designed to convince you to buy things you don’t need or even really want, but just react on impulse. Find other places to be entertained. This step can reduce your monthly student loan payments and even reduce the total interest you owe over the lifetime of the loan. This can help significantly cut a credit card bill and make it easier for you to pay off. With interest rates at historic lows, this might be a perfect moment to look into refinancing your mortgage. A debt repayment plan helps you identify which debt you should focus on paying off first by making extra payments. This reduces the total interest you’ll pay on that debt and eliminate it much faster. The time invested in making that plan is more than saved by spending less time in the store and having a list to stick to saves a ton of money on grocery store impulse buys that just sit in your pantry. Start by identifying things you enjoy eating, then look for how to easily prepare it from scratch and with basic ingredients.