Do you wonder how to get ahead in today’s economy? Chances are, your spending doesn’t seem to be excessive, given your take-home pay. Yet, your finances seem to be dwindling rapidly.
What can you do to improve your financial situation if you cannot ask for a higher salary at work? Give yourself a raise, of course!
When you seem to be on the edge of financial trouble, the best remedy is a combination of two actions:
- Minimize your spending. Trimming down a shopping habit is the first step, but it’s also best to consider cutting back on your bills.
- Some routine expenses that most people can do without are premium television packages or pay television altogether. You can watch your favorite TV shows for free with an antenna or on Hulu.com. Lose the landline phone if you have a cellular phone. Minimize your utility bill by going on your provider’s monthly budget plan.
- If you’re a dog owner, you can save on your pet expenses in several ways. Minimize your visits to the groomer by learning to groom your pet yourself. Purchase effective flea repellants at stores like Pets Mart instead of the vet. Also, you can save a few dollars by switching to dry food rather than canned.
- An unconventional way to save money is by making your laundry detergent. Most families spend between $10 and $20 monthly on laundry detergent alone. Making it at home costs less than $2 for the same amount. If you can save $18 per month, this equates to $216 per year.
- Ramp up your savings. Place every last dollar you save on monthly expenses into savings. Yes, it will be tempting to indulge in purchases you’d like to make. But remember, each dollar you save today is a dollar you’ll have tomorrow.
- Treat your savings as a monthly expense. Just as you would never think of shortchanging on your rent or car payment, don’t shortchange your savings account either.
Overall, if you implement only the tips mentioned above, you can save $200 per month or $2,400 per year. What can $2,400 do for you? It can likely cover you for a while in case of a job loss or medical emergency, or it can pay for unexpected car repairs. Essentially, by saving $200 per month on your routine expenses, you’re giving yourself a $2,400 yearly raise!
Why It’s Important
Making a considerable deposit into your monthly savings account is just as important as making your car payment, paying your rent and utilities, and buying groceries. Without the security net of savings, you’ll live paycheck-to-paycheck for years.
Nurturing your savings account is like raising yourself because you’ll have a considerable amount of money at your disposal without working any harder. You’ll be able to live now, yet have the freedom to upgrade all aspects of your life at the drop of a hat should you want to.