Saving money may be easier than you realize. Small daily changes can add up to some big savings. While it may be hard to change your daily habits at first, it gets easier over time.
What Habits to Abandon to Save Money
There are some common ways that you can see some serious improvements in your savings if you abandon some daily habits. These daily habits that you should abandon include:
- Getting Coffee Everyday
- Constantly Dining Out
- Not Using a Daily Budget
- Not Making the Most Out of Your Groceries
- Keeping Unused Electronics Plugged In
- Not Saving Your Change
- Buying Beyond the Essentials
- Going with the First Price You See
Getting Coffee Everyday
Plenty of people in America rely on coffee every day when they start their morning. There are plenty of coffee chains out there like Starbucks, Dunkin, etc. In fact, Americans spend roughly $1,100 a year on getting coffee! That translates to roughly $92 a month. However, it is easy and cost-effective to make coffee at home. You can even get the ingredients you need to make your perfect drink! For example, if you normally order a french vanilla cold brew iced coffee, you can get the ingredients for this at a fraction of the total cost that you’d spend going to a coffee chain.
Constantly Eating Out
Lots of people hate cooking. Besides that, a lot of people don’t know how to cook or hate the cleanup after cooking. Regardless of the reason that people choose not to cook, constantly eating out can be costly. That is why it is beneficial to cook! While going out once in a while isn’t terrible, cooking at home nearly every day should be the goal. For example, on average, a meal that you make at home costs around $4 worth of groceries. Let’s say that you go out to eat at a restaurant for $13. That meal is a whopping 325% more expensive! You can see some serious savings by cooking the groceries you buy.
Not Using a Daily Budget
If you are not using a daily budget, you need to break that trend. That’s because a daily budget can help you stay on track and make sure you are reaching financial goals. There are plenty of free tools online that can help you make a budget that you can update every day. However, one tool, in particular, is available (surprisingly) through Google Sheets! There is a template for a budget that you can create and fill out every day. You would fill in when you get your paycheck and when you spend money. You can set expectations for the month to see if you are staying on track!
Not Making the Most Out of Your Groceries
While cooking with your groceries is important, you want to make sure you are using your groceries to the fullest extent. When it comes to shopping for your groceries, you want to make use of any coupons you have. In fact, coupons are so important that the typical household in America could save $1,465 a year just by using coupons when grocery shopping. On top of that, once you get your groceries, you want to ensure you aren’t wasting any of the products you buy! This means properly storing your groceries and using them when you expect to. A great way to make sure you do this is by planning your meals out for the week. This helps you know what product you will be using and when so that it doesn’t spoil!
Keeping Unused Electronics Plugged In
A lot of people think that turning electronics off saves them the most money possible. However, that’s not necessarily the case! Electronics could be consuming power, even if they are turned off if they’re still plugged in. You can maximize your savings by unplugging it. However, you can also consider using a surge protector. Typically, this device can help by cutting off all of that power that the electronics are not using.
Not Saving Your Change
Many people consider spare change as exactly that. Money that they can spare. However, this change can add up over time. At the end of every day, you should take any remaining change you have and put it to the side. This will add up more than you realize over time! Once you have a good amount of change you can go to a coin counter to exchange the coins for cash.
Buying Beyond the Essentials
While it can be tempting to spend money on the newest fashion trends, getting your hair done every week, or getting your nails done every two weeks, the reality is that it isn’t cost-effective. That is why you want to focus on buying what you need. If you already have a bunch of clothes, you don’t need to buy more. If you bought your groceries for the week and have food at home, you don’t need to go out. Becoming more strict with your spending will limit where your money goes!
Going with the First Price You See
It is important to keep in mind that there are a variety of prices out there for an item you may be looking for. That is why you can benefit from comparison shopping! When you comparison-shop, you look at different prices for the item you need to pay for. For example, let’s say you want to get bananas. One grocery store may sell them for $1.09 while another grocery store sells them for $.89. This difference can add up, especially when you are buying a bunch of groceries. Besides groceries, this is true for other expenses like your car insurance, beauty appointments, and more.
Bottom Line
When it comes to saving money, there are a lot of ways you can do it. There are some daily habits that you should abandon that can help you save in the long run. Some daily habits that you should abandon include:
- Getting Coffee Everyday
- Constantly Dining Out
- Not Using a Daily Budget
- Not Making the Most Out of Your Groceries
- Keeping Unused Electronics Plugged In
- Not Saving Your Change
- Buying Beyond the Essentials
- Going with the First Price You See
Regardless of how you decide to save money, it is essential to keep yourself on track. If you need additional support figuring out the best way to handle your finances then you may benefit from getting in touch with a professional.
