Spending less money each month is a goal many people aim for. Unfortunately, accomplishing this goal is easier said than done. All too often, people set out with high hopes of saving more money without taking the time to plan how they’ll accomplish their financial goals. As such, they typically come up short. For some simple, easily applicable tips on how to spend less money each month, continue reading.
Make a budget
Making a budget is the most obvious way to spend less money each month—and the most important. By creating a budget, you can determine how much money you can realistically save each month and devise a plan on how to accomplish your financial goals. Your budget should account for your income, financial goals, and your fixed, variable, and discretionary monthly expenses. Without such a guideline, you can easily spend money frivolously and end up spending more money each month than you would’ve hoped.
Track your spending
Making a budget isn’t very helpful if you don’t track your spending to ensure you’re sticking to it. If you don’t keep track of your spending habits, you can easily spend money outside of your budget on unnecessary purchases. When you track your expenses, you may be shocked at the areas you tend to spend the most money on. Based on your findings, reassess your spending habits and make necessary changes to your budget to create a more realistic financial plan. This will also help you determine what lifestyle changes you’ll have to make the following month to better stick to your original budget.
Cut down on your energy usage
Many people’s largest monthly expenses are their utility bills. Your utility bill is comprised of energy, water, gas, and heating. You can’t eliminate your utility bill entirely, but there are many ways you can decrease it each month. Examples of simple ways to
save money on your utility bills include switching from incandescent light bulbs to LEDs, washing your clothes in cold water, unplugging electronics when you’re not using them, and turning off lights when you aren’t in the room. By making these small adjustments, you can significantly decrease the amount you pay on your utility bill each month.
Meal prep
The convenience of purchasing a meal often tempts people into spending more money on food than necessary. If you’ve gotten into the habit of regularly going out to eat instead of making your own meals, a great way to break this budget-busting routine is to meal prep. By making your meals ahead of time, you’ll always have something tasty to eat, so you’ll be less tempted to buy takeout.
