In these days of tough economic times and constant pressure to make ends meet, we constantly need to be looking for ways to be smarter, to box clever, in order to make it to the end of the month with a bit of spare cash left in the account. But how exactly do we do that? Obviously you need to ensure that your salary is all that it can be. You can hustle on the side of course, which is always a good option for earning more. The other way is to reduce your monthly costs and to find a way to make what you already earn disappear less quickly. Here are some ideas to help squeeze the most out of your monthly budget.
Ask questions
You might think that you are already being as smart as possible in terms of what you are spending on. But you might be surprised if you start to ask the right questions. You need to seek better quotes and get suppliers of things like insurance, mobile network or utility suppliers to bid against each other for your business. Don’t be afraid to compare the market gas and electricity supply for instance go to Econnex website. Nobody has the right to your business, so don’t be afraid to pick the deal that works for you.
Mobile phone
Look at your bill on a monthly basis to see if it is all that it should be. Often unscrupulous content aggregators will sign you up for services you don’t use and you need to be alert to these. Similarly you need to ensure that whatever package you are on is the right one for you. It’s pointless if you are paying for a package of 500 minutes a month if you are only using 200 minutes. So do the due diligence and respond accordingly. The goal with cutting costs is not to find one area that saves you a fortune, that would be great if you could do that, but the reality is you need to find multiple areas where you can make small savings, and rely on the fact that added to together it will all translate into something worthwhile.
Eat smart
Eating out can be an expensive business. So think smart and plan accordingly. Cooking at home can also be expensive but if you cook once and produce enough for a couple of meals and some work snacks as well, you will save yourself a lot of money. You might also find it a very enjoyable experience as well. Cooking good food is great fun.
Shop at the right time
Never ever shop when you are hungry. Studies have shown that people who shop when they are hungry make rash purchasing decisions, particularly when buying food. So rather have a snack or a sandwich to fill that gap in your stomach that tells your brain to ‘buy, buy, buy’, anything and everything that it sees. You will find that you make significantly better decision and that you don’t just buy expensive, sugar filled rubbish!
