Ten ways to budget and save money.
By: Cortney Vreeman
- Save $100-$200 per paycheck.
I get paid from my full-time job every other Friday and depending on the check, I’ll put $100-200 in my savings account. The savings account is strictly for emergencies, do not touch your savings account! Figure something out according to your payment schedule.
- Save leftover cash in an envelope.
When I rarely go out, especially to a bar, I bring a certain amount of cash to avoid overspending for the night. Most of the time, I have a bunch of $1 bills leftover, so I will put them into an envelope. Eventually, that envelope fills up and gets deposited into my savings account, where we don’t touch it! Saving your leftover cash is a super-easy way to save without even budgeting it into your savings budget.
- Save your pennies!!
It sounds like the oldest and most cliche thing said, but it’s true! Anyone that saves change knows it does add up. Especially those quarters! I put all of my leftover change into a change jar, and like the envelope, it goes straight into the savings account. That change will add up; this is a perfect way to save mindlessly.
- Cut back on eating out.
I used to eat fast food almost every day! It’s quick, easy, and convenient, and I don’t gain weight, so it was my diet for a few years. I figured why not. Why not? Because it is a lot of money wasted, unhealthy, and not a good way to live. I realized how much healthier I feel without eating that nasty junk every day; that itself makes it worth it, but for it to save me tons of money makes it a deal-breaker. If you think about it, $5 a day would be $35 a week, $140 a month, and $1,680 a year! That’s almost two grand that I can spend on more important things!
- Make a budget.
Yes, another cliche but a tried and true method of saving money! I do a budget for every month to ensure that I do not go over my spending limit. A reasonable budget should include your income, expenses like food and bills, any loans or debt, and how much you want to save. I highly suggest you make a budget for yourself; thank me later!
- Cancel those unused subscriptions!
I didn’t think I was paying for any subscriptions I wasn’t using as I checked my bank account daily, and didn’t see them coming out. Low and behold, I did have some subscriptions that were charged to my PayPal, monthly! Always check into it, even if you think you are sure! I also decided I wasn’t using certain streaming services and game passes enough to pay for them monthly. Canceling those three subscriptions saved me $60 a month, more for savings!
- Keep your perfectly good phone!
Most people want the best of the best and the newest of the new, not me. I like to keep my phone as long as possible. I get the newest when I upgrade, keep it until it is no longer usable. I don’t need the latest iPhone, where the only new thing about it is the name. Maintaining your old phone and not upgrading will bring your phone bill down by $40-50 if you’re on a contract/payment plan.
- Meal Plan.
In today’s world, it is so easy to meal plan! You can directly just purchase a monthly box if you don’t want to do the grocery shopping. I prefer getting the groceries myself and making meals from scratch. I will look up a few recipes that I want for the next two weeks, buy the groceries and usually freeze some!
- Buy in bulk!
Usually, when you buy more of something, it costs less in the end. I always buy the biggest and most cost-effective of whatever I am purchasing. If deodorant is “buy one, get one half off”, you best believe I am buying two! If the 24 oz box is cheaper than two 12 oz boxes, then I will buy the 24 oz. I always do the math on what I am purchasing.
- Cut back unnecessary spending.
Do I need to go to the bar or buy a case of beer for the weekend, every weekend? No, I don’t. I’ve realized I don’t like drinking; now, my body does not like drinking. I stopped buying a case of beer on the weekends, and that alone saves me $1,200 a year! Cut out anything that you don’t absolutely, positively need in your life!
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