Each month you do the math and figure your bills and expenses against your income and project a net balance of a few hundred extra dollars. Yet, for some reason, after paying your bills and covering your expenses, you have nothing left over to spend. The good news is there are literally dozens of ways to save money every day so that you can keep more of your money.
Consume Less Gas
Carpooling is a great way to cut the cost of your gas in half or more. Frequent trips to the store for necessary items can also consume extra gas and cause you to have to add $10 or $20 more than you allotted for. Instead of shopping two to three times each week, go once.
Plan your meals the weekend before and then make a comprehensive list that includes spices, sauces, butter, and other condiments needed. Another way to use less gas is to consolidate trips and tackle multiple places at once. For instance, if you need beauty supplies, pet food, and a haircut, plan to spend a few hours out and take care of all these items on one trip.
Shop Around for the Best Prices
You have to heat and cool your home, do the dishes, have someone pick up the garbage and keep the lights on. However, you don’t have to spend more than you should. In many states, utility companies are deregulated.
What this means to the consumer, say if you live in New Jersey, is that you can use whomever you want for your natural gas, electricity, and water. Take advantage of the change to the law and shop around for the best prices. The same goes for cable, your cell phone, and even the homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance NJ residents need, contact several reputable companies to best the best rates.
Patience Saves Money
In a day where everything seems instantaneous, the high demand can drive up the price. Luckily, there are ways to save significantly on large ticket items by developing patience. For instance, new clothing for the fall comes out usually at the end of July/beginning of August at a highly marked up price. Yet, if you wait just a few months until January/February, the stores are trying to make room for the spring fashions and drastically reduce the same garments, sometimes for less than 50 percent of the previous asking price.
The same applies to purchasing a vehicle. The new inventory comes in sometime in August/September, but if you wait until October, November or December to buy a car, a new vehicle from the prior year will cost thousands less. Anytime something is new to the market, the price is marked up high. If you just wait for even a couple of months, you can enjoy substantial savings.
Treat Yourself
Many people who commute to work daily grab a coffee on their way and often buy lunch every day too. These two items can consume $75.00 to $100.00 easy each week. Multiply that number by 4 weeks, and it’s between $300.00 to $400.00. Instead of throwing your money away, bring your coffee and your lunch 4 days a week and treat yourself on Fridays. The savings in just one year is more than a few thousand dollars.
Coupons
Today, many companies advertise online at different sites offering discounts or coupons for their products. Before heading out to the grocery store or to purchase anything from jewelry to dinner, check to see if there’s a discount you can download, scan, or clip to save money. If you have many supermarkets in your area, go online to check their prices against each other on the things you need for any given week. Do this as a standard practice, and you can save hundreds or more each year.
Just because the prices go up doesn’t mean that you have to accept it. With a little time and resourcefulness, you can save money on just about everything.
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