Want to Cut Costs? Learn to Do Without
The 5th and final part in my series on Ways to Reduce Spending is learning to do without. Gasp! Not me. Not doing without something I want. Yes that's right, perhaps the easiest way to reduce spending and save money is to get rid of the things you can live without. At this point it's probably a good idea to take out that budget we talked about and find the fluff.
A good place to start is to break your spending down into categories: needs, wants, really wants, why the heck am I wasting my money this...however you choose to group them is fine as long as it's relevant to your spending habits. After you have the groups all laid out, start cutting out the things you least want and keep working your way up until you get to a comfortable mix of needs and wants spending.
So what can I cut out of my budget? Here's a list to get you started reducing your expenses today:
- Cable - Cut it completely or get a cheaper plan. Hulu anyone?
- Internet - I couldn't live without this one personally, but make sure you have the cheapest plan.
- Dining out - It hurts to write, but it's one of the easiest ways to save. Brown bag that lunch.
- Car - That's right, do you really need it? does your family have an extra. Get rid of the fluff.
- Insurance - No, don't live without any insurance, that's just foolish. But do you have more coverage than you need? It's worth investigating. I would seek some advice from a professional before acting on this, but one you can think out for yourself is on your car insurance. Do you have collision on an older car? It may not be worth it.
- Electronics -Just because Apple released a 2nd gen doesn't mean your first one is broke.
- Room Tempature - You won't die if your house is not at 72* all the time. Turning back the heat or a/c a few degrees can lead to huge energy savings in the long run.
- New Clothes - are your old ones worn out?
- Pets - I never realized Fido cost so much
- Landline Phone - I haven't had one in forever. I have a cell phone. I don't need 2 phones.
- Name Brand Items - buy generic, this should be a no-brainer.
- Starbucks - Also hurts to type.
and my favorite, number 1 item that you should learn to live without...
- DEBT - You'll save on finance charges, you'll be able to save for your future, you'll rest easier at night. These are just a few in the long list of reasons why you should give up debt, even if that means living without the things you really, really want.
Interested in learning more ways to reduce your expenses? Find the whole series here:
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thanks
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In economics, a recession is a general slowdown in economic activity over a sustained period of time, or a business cycle contraction.During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way. Production as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, investment spending, capacity utilization, household incomes and business profits all fall during recessions.Governments usually respond to recessions by adopting expansionary macroeconomic policies, such as increasing money supply, increasing government spending and decreasing taxation.
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We recently started checking out the local Amish salvage stores. At first I thought it was going to be a bunch of rotten out-of-date food, but they have some serious bargains in there. And no, it's not all out-of-date (well, some of it is - so you have to watch what you're buying.) And you can also find some really unusual but tasty food in there. I couldn't give up my internet either and I absolutely refuse to go back to dial-up.
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i just cant live without the internet but i think can cut the other things without much effort.
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