I have a spreadsheet of all my expenses and I actually write down everything I spend money on every day. This way I'm forced to review everything I bought and see if it was an important purchase or something I didn't really need. Since I started doing this, it's really helped me understand what I'm spending money on and where I can be saving a few dollars here and there!
What about you? What are some of your tricks for cutting back on expenses?
@hope - me either. But using cards and then reward $$ is too easy to spend for me :(
Staying out of the store. When in the store - stick to the list!
I avoid going to stores, and I cancelled my Amazon account.
I struggle with this all the time. I try to keep a budget when I go I to a store. And if i go over i do t have a problem with making a returning if i need to to stay on budget.
I maintain a budget ,eat at home mostly and plan for buying things also buy things where they are cheaper -Do planning around grocery and any and other shopping,Use coupons and shop online
I watch my accounts like a hawk using credit union apps and mint. Watching money go up feels good. I check these almost as much as my facebook. Direct deposit helps too because it is automatic.
I buy my groceries at aldis. What I cant but there- I look for deals at other stores. At times I buy meat the day it expires.. they tag is $1 $2 $3 off.
I use a few rebate apps. These essentially mimic the old coupon clipping process. I love Ibotta – over the past couple of years, I've earned over $200. The money can then be deposited directly into my bank account. It works for everything from in-store grocery store purchases to online purchases, like Amazon. I earn cents or dollars each time I use it. I also use Rakutan but less so. They add up!
For gas, I use the Mobil loyalty program for point/cents earned with each gallon that can then be applied to future purchases.
I've used Poshmark to sell my used clothing easily. It works for women's, men's and children's attire and you set your own asking prices. Poshmark keeps a small percentage like a consignment store but the rest of the money goes into an account that can then be transferred to my bank. The posting of items takes a few minutes but, once something sells, the rest is easy. Poshmark provides a postage paid mailing label for you to affix to any making box. Drop in the mail and the money arrives in your account as soon as the receiver accepts your package.
Just a few ways I save/earn extra bits!
When you evaluate expenses- lets take the water bill… start from the cost of zero- then add in the features you MUST have… do this for every expense.
Lets say a grocery item… it is 10% off if I buy 3 of them on a Tuesday between store hours at certain locations only- OR shop a no frills store where the price is always cut rate. Aldis is such a store. Why is it cheaper? Well when the product is trucked aldis has one less leg in that process than retail grocers- so on retail, you are paying for that product to have been trucked one more time. Lately Aldis prices are always better than retail grocer sales prices- why do I mention groceries? because I have to eat.
I find that food is my family's top expense that could be variable. With coupons, savings sites like Ibotta, meal planning and packing lunches, we can dramatically impact our expenses and savings. It takes weekly prep and sticking to a store list, but pays off weekly when we keep to our plan.
I dont have a bank account I give about 65% of my income straight to my sister. Because I do not know how to save money and if I have access to it then I'm shopping and buying things I dont really need. But my sister man I love her cause she knows how to save and invest her money shes real good at it so she is my savings account and i trust her with my money.
Some of the things I do to save money is buying store brands for sugar, salt, oil, eggs, milk, etc. Instead of buying coffee or donuts outside, I make my coffee. Walmart sells a pack of honey buns or donut sticks of probably 6 in a box. Sometimes at work I eat cereal/ granola bars for breakfast or may take a cereal box and milk. I no longer eat out a lot. I just bring my own lunch I cooked. If I feel lazy I just make me a sandwich. If I do eat out I try to go once or twice a month and I get something from the dollar menu. Also I just learned that online banking pays a higher interest than a bricks and mortar bank( chase, Wells Fargo, etc), which usually pays .01 of interest compare that to online savings account that can pay between 1-1.2%. You can find other things cutting back like cable that are not a necessity but a want. You can look for another phone provider where you paying lesser. Just see this as just being temporary way of living. Hope this helps some of you or gives you some ideas for saving or cutting back.
What stages do i need to invest..
@Francisca not really sure what you mean by stages but I found some article about investing in Saverlife. https://www.saverlife.org/money-101/ready-to-start-investing-6-tips-for-avoiding-scams. If you want to invest I think the best would be to inform or educate yourself before doing any investing. This site also had some other article about investing. I think it was called investing 101.
All food shopping at Aldi, make a lot of my own products, use free entertainment, grow vegies, fruit, herbs and flowers. Make gifts or gift services I can do (painting a room or planting a garden)
Staging out store help me save…..