10 Basic Expenses To Cut And Prevent Spending Money On

It’s often whenever we stop investing in the little issues that people start really keeping big! Have a look at these simple expenditures that you could cut to begin really saving cash and meet your monetary goals!

I’ve always loved these suggestions from Benjamin Franklin: “ Avoid the little expenditures; a little leak will sink an excellent ship. ” So excellent, right?!

When we want to avoid extra cash, we often search for big ways to conserve and forget that lots of times, it’s reducing the little expenses occasionally that actually finish up making a huge difference!

I know for all of us, cutting little expenditures was one of the big factors that helped us pay back our mortgage in 5 years. It’s been instrumental in enabling us to live debts free while my hubby pursued his Bachelor’s, Masters and now his Ph. D.

We all know that it would just be stupid to blow $40, 000 that we don’t have on an expensive vacation. And it doesn’t take a financial advisor to understand that dropping $150 to eat out every single night of the week probably isn’t the wisest way to get ahead.

But sometimes it’s hard to step back and evaluate what some of the smaller expenses are that we could cut.

So whether you’re looking for ways to stop spending money because you would like to get out of debt or you’re trying to figure out how to cut expenses so you can meet a savings goal, these suggestions of how to cut mostly “small” expenses should help!

SIMPLE METHODS TO STOP EXTRA CASH AND SAVE BIG

1. BOTTLED WATER

Do you know what? Studies have tested that water in bottles is no unique of tap water. Therefore not merely are you losing your cash buying it, those plastic material bottles are harmful to the environment too!

Instead, get yourself a refillable drinking water bottle and fill it up with your personal filtered water. We like this beneath the sink water filtration system but you may also make use of a Brita Drinking water Pitcher. And if you would like a water filter that will last for years and that you may also move with you wherever you live, check these Berkey filters.

2. COFFEE TO GO

I love the convenience of buying coffee drinks as much as the next person. But that convenience quickly gets expensive!

Buying a regular coffee just three times a week easily sets you back over $300 a yr. And if you are like me and prefer lattes and frappes, you’re going to become spending more like $780!

Instead, take a few minutes and brew your personal coffee at home. Actually if you end up spending a bit more to get really top quality coffee or a coffee machine to make lattes, in the long run, you’re still saving big time!

If you use K-cups, check out these money- saving reusable K-cup filters.

3. BANK FEES

I recently go through a study that found out Americans spend an average of $329 a yr on bank charges! I experienced no idea it might be that high!

But when I thought about it, it made sense because so many banks really do like to charge a ton of fees.

There are charges for using an ATM. Charges for dropping below the required minimum balance. Transfer charges. Foreign transaction fees. And sometimes even a monthly fee just to have the account. Really, it’s crazy!

Switching to a fee-free bank like Varo is only a smart, easy way to save. Unlike big banks that charge you for almost every single transaction, Varo is completely fee-free.

They offer free withdrawals at 55, 000+ Allpoint® ATMs, have no minimum required balance, no transfer fees, no foreign deal charges and no monthly account fees. And if you shed your debit card? No big deal. They’ll actually replace it for free! By banking at Varo and avoiding all those charges, you’ll be ahead of the game!

4. CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Don’t worry. I’m not really advocating that you totally prevent giving Christmas gifts. That could just be sad!

But what about reducing on the amount of gifts you give?

Consider it. Do your children really need four presents each? How most of the presents that your loved ones received within the last couple of years in fact got used and used? In case you are like many family members, the answer is most likely only a few.

Focus instead about giving a couple of meaningful presents that the recipient will in actuality value and use.

And even better? Just work at shifting the emphasis from present giving to making recollections with fun family actions instead.

5. CABLE TV

Did you know the average cable supply bill is $100 per month? That’s lots of money. Believe of everything you could perform with a supplementary $1, 200 a season!

We don’t have Television, so you may think I’m not the very best person to talk about tips about how to spend less here. But , I’ve several friends which have totally ditched cable completely and instead cut costs through the use of Roku or an antenna. Plus they have stated it’s totally worthwhile!

Another option is to get Amazon Prime for $99/ year (that link will give you a free month trial! ) Amazon Prime comes with free Prime Video, plus for only a little more each month ( I think it’s around $15), you can add subscription services like HBO, Showtime, STARZ and more to your membership.

The great thing about both Amazon Prime and the subscription services is that you can cancel them at any time!

6. APPETIZERS, DRINKS and DESSERTS

Obviously, cooking at home is the best way to save money. But who doesn’t enjoy occasionally eating out?

When you do hit a restaurant, keep it budget friendly by skipping the appetizer, drinks and desserts.

The occasional times we do eat out we find that ordering just an entree is plenty enough to fill us up anyway. And by skipping those costlier points, we’re eating healthier too!

7. CELLPHONE

With all the budget cellphone plans available anymore, there’s simply no good reason to not use one of them. We switched to Ting six years ago and have saved thousands as a result!

Even if you use your cellphone a lot, there’s no reason to spend $50 a month. Do a bit of research and find an inexpensive cell phone plan that will work for you.

8. SECOND CAR

Several years ago, I was sure that I couldn’t live as an one car family. But when our second car died, my husband convinced me to try it for a bit due to all the cash it would conserve. And while it could be inconvenient sometimes, it’s really not really been as horrible as I believed it would be. Plus, we’ve saved thousands!

Not only do we have the money the vehicle would have cost, but we’re also not paying the insurance cost, inspection costs, repairs, etc .

9. SUBSCRIPTIONS and MEMBERSHIPS

Monthly memberships and subscriptions are one of those sneaky things that can eat away at your budget almost without you even realizing it! You get so used to paying them that it just becomes the norm, even if you aren’t actually using the product or service anymore.

Are there magazines that you really aren’t reading? Gym membership not being used? Subscription boxes you really don’t need? Movie streaming services that you could nix?

10. HOUSEHOLD REPAIRS

If something breaks, don’t underestimate your ability to fix it! We’ve discovered that with the help of YouTube, a little determination and a bit of elbow grease, we’ve been able to repair far more than we ever thought we could. And of course, it’s saved us a lot of money in the process.

A few of the things that we repaired/replaced ourselves with the help of YouTube: our dryer that stopped heating, our water heater that totally needed replacing, our washer that stopped agitating, a vehicle that had a water leak at the sunroof and two broken cell phone screens.