Find Money: Four Easy Ways

The best financial advice I received when I started my first job was, “It’s not how much you make; it’s how much you spend. “  One of the best ways I’ve found to save money is to control my monthly expenses and make conscious decisions of what I’m routinely spending each month.  Twice a year, I take a look at these expenses and see if there is anything that I can change.

Review your itemized bills

Do you know what additional services you are paying for each month?  If so, you can figure out ways to reduce your expenses.  The telephone, cell phone, cable, and/or internet bill is a great place to start.  Do you really need all the movie channels?  Can you get a deal from your telecom company by combining services?  Are you ready to drop your home phone line?  I was able to find my extra $25 by downgrading my cell phone plan minutes.

Make substitutions

When I signed up for cable, I got a great deal on the movie channels.  I received three months free then additional movie channels at a discount.  Soon, I was spending at least $30 on movie channels.  After about six months, I started thinking how much do I really watch those movie channels?  If I’m going to sit down and watch a movie, wouldn’t it be something new that I hadn’t seen versus a movie rerun?  By using on-demand, I’m getting the movies that I want to watch for less than subscribing to movie channels.

Go generic

On your next weekly trek to Wal-Mart or Target see how much you could save by going generic on some of your purchases.  It’s amazing to me how much cheaper generic Tylenol and Advil is compared to the name brand.  It’s the same active ingredient!  Often with the generic, you get more at a lower price.  If buying generic is a challenge, try this trick.  Save the box or packaging from your name brand purchase and refill it using generic.  Can you tell the difference?  If not, make the switch to generic for good!

Eliminate

Are you spending money on something each month that you aren’t using?  If so, cancel it! Magazines are a good place start.  Are you getting magazines that you rarely read?  If so, don’t renew your subscription.  Many magazines have good websites.  You can do a quick scan of the website each month for free instead of paying for a subscription.

Other quick monthly money saving tips:

• Put your gym member ship on hold on during the summer months or holidays when you know you are less likely to use it.
• Cancel your gym membership if you haven’t been in two months.  You can always renew your membership.  Don’t let your guilt of not going to the gym be the only reason you are paying your monthly membership.
• Return items which were a purchase mistake within a week.  Did you buy the wrong size?  Return it within the week and get your money back.  By returning it within a week, you are less likely to lose the receipt.  The longer it sits around your house the less likely you are to return it.
• Know your weaknesses and practice saying, “I already have enough”.  For example, I love stationery.  I’m a sucker for cute cards.  When I’m tempted to purchase more note cards, I remind myself of all the stationery I have at home.  I already have enough and that eases my temptation to buy more.
• Use reward points or cash back credit cards.  It’s an easy way to get free airline tickets, hotel stays, or merchandise that you were going to buy anyway.
• Have a general idea of what your utility bills should be each month.  When you have a general idea of what you are spending on each utility, you can quickly spot when a bill is higher than what you expected. I learned that I had a water leak outside my house when I noticed a higher water bill.

Your monthly expenses are an indicator of what it takes to sustain your lifestyle.  The little things add up, and it’s easy to make small changes along the way to stay within your means. 

What ways can you be thrifty so you have more money for the important things that matter to you?