Among Americans saving can be a tantalizing task. There as so many new products introduced into the market each and every day. Many of these products you feel you need but you may not. By reducing the amount you spend you can save money and build up a pocket full of cash in no time. Here are six quick ways to cut back on spending to get you started on your quest to build up a savings.
Letting Go of Bad Habits
Often the hardest but quickest way to some cash letting go of expensive habits such as drinking, smoking, or junk food can quickly build some money. Although all these habits seem to be cheap, the average package of cigarettes costing $5.00, they add up quickly over time. For example, the average American smoker smokes about 15 cigarettes a day, that’s 3/4 of a package, which averages out to approximately 450 cigarettes or 22 and a half packages a month. Considering the average package of cigarettes cost $5.00, that’s about $113.00 a month! That is enough for a car payment on most new vehicles. Drinking can be even more expensive, depending on your individual habits.
Eating Out Less
With the introduction of low value menus and larger portions, fast food has grow immensely in popularity. Although eating out seems like a cheap alternative to making food at home consider this, the average hamburger from a fast food restaurant cost $1 to $3, making a hamburger at home cost even less than this, breaking down the value of the buns, hamburger, and toppings, each hamburger at home can cost as little as $0.75.
Letting Go of Name Brands
Name brand products are often up marked a lot purely because they know consumers will pay for them. Name brand soda can cost up to $2.00 more than off-brand sodas of the same flavoring. Buying the cheaper brand will save you a large amount of money over the course of a month, anywhere between $50 to $100 per shopping trip depending on the quantity of food you buy. Again this is almost enough to make a car payment each month!
Walking the Distance
Walking is not only good for your health but also for your wallet. With the price of gas skyrocketing the best alternative is either to invest in a bike or walk the shorter distances you must go. The general rule is if where you are going is under a mile, then walk. The amount this method can actually save you is completely dependent on the amount of commitment you are willing to make. The more you walk, the more you save.
Swimming with Friends
Forgive the bad pun, but carpooling is an excellent way to save money. You’re cutting a huge portion of money, money to go to a job to make money i might add, out of your expenses. If you carpool with 4 people you could potentially save $30 to $40 in gas per week! This amounts to almost $150.00 a month!
Cutting Back on Non-existential Expenses
We have all done it, probably more than once, bought something we had no need for purely because we liked it. Exorcising some self control can make a huge difference in your budget. Instead of buying something for $20.00 today why not put that money away and save it. Before long those twenties will build up and you could easily have saved yourself thousands in products you would use once before it ends up in the garage or attic.
Saving money can seem like a hard task but with a little practice it will come naturally. The ideas I listed above can easily amount into thousands a month depending on your personal situation, but they should work for everyone no matter your income. Constantly think outside of the box, keep coming up with new ideas that could simplify your expenses and save you money. Stick to your budget and you can easily have a pile of cash building for something you constantly find yourself wishing you could acquire.
