If you’re tired of seeing only $10 left over in your bank account every month after all the bills are paid, then it’s time to take a look at your spending and saving habits.
Jan Yager, a sociologist, coach and author provided nine tips via email to reduce spending in order to build your savings account. She is the author of a 30-page booklet, “21 Ways to Beat a Financial Crisis.”
1) “Consider your spending habits. Are there ways you spend your money that you know you could eliminate and, if you're consistent and organized, direct those funds right into a savings account?”
2) “Do you buy lunch? That could cost as much as $5 to $10 a day. Bring your own lunch, even having a protein bar and an apple or a banana.”
3) “Stay with friends when you go on vacation instead of in hotels. Travel on the off season so airfare and, if you do stay in a hotel, room rates are lower.”
4) “Go back to cooking more instead of eating out or even buying pre-packaged foods. Reserve eating out for only special occasions.”
5) “Work on the reason behind your spending. Do you spend, even if you don't need something, because you need immediate gratification? Do you have poor impulse control? Do you spend because it makes you feel good about yourself, at least temporarily?”
6) “Once you have a better idea about the reason behind your spending, you will be in a better position to control it.”
7) “Make a list of all the reasons that saving is going to make you feel better, even better than spending.”
8) “Reward yourself in non-materialistic ways when you put money into your savings account rather than spending it. Call up a friend you haven't spoken to in a while. Take an hour to read a novel or poetry for pleasure. Work on a creative project you've been putting off doing because you're so busy.”
9) “Research where you could move your savings account so you can get the best return on your savings as a motivator to save.”
Holly Wolf, a chief marketing officer at Conestoga Bank, is not a financial expert but has been successfully saving money. Here are her 11 tips.
1) “Stay away from temptation. Don't go to your favorite stores - stay home and only go [once a] month instead of every week.”
2) “Clean up/clean out. Go through every drawer, every closet and every corner of your home and clean it up and clean it out.”
3) As a result of cleaning up your dwelling, you will be more likely to stay away from shopping when you’re cleaning, you’ll find clothing items you didn’t realize you had, and you’ll be able to analyze your shopping trends. For example, you might notice that you tend to buy clothes on sale but never wear them, or have too many tank tops.
4) “Donate what you can to charity and take the tax write off. Sell it at a consignment shop or a yard sale and save that money.”
5) “Post your ‘needs’ list on the refrigerator and be very specific. Do the same thing for groceries to avoid over spending.” For example, you may think you need a container to hold art supplies, but you might already own something that would suffice.
6) “Pick your splurges. If going to dinner with friends is important, pick one [day of the week] to do it instead of several times a week. Consider a [weekday] night that is usually less crowded and more specials. Instead of dinner maybe just appetizers and a drink. Skip the alcohol at dinner and skip dessert.”
7) “Make it a girls night at your house. Cook in the crockpot when hosting your friends. Encourage them to bring items they no longer wear. Have them create some new outfits for you out of things that you own.”
8) “Instead of exchanging gifts with friends, suggest that you just go out to dinner together. If this is something you do anyway, no extra cash. I appreciate the time with friends more than any gift.”
9) “Instead of exchanging gifts, give money to a charity that means something to both of you, and you each get the write off.”
10) “Make gifts. [It’s] easy and inexpensive to make homemade candy or cookies. People love that you spent the time to do it. Goodwill has lots of tins for goodies at a very inexpensive price. Or, buy them after the season.”
11) “Offer to spend a day doing a ‘chore.’ I helped friends clean closets, and they helped me clean my garage or plant flowers.”
Sources:
Yager, Jan. Email interview. September 25, 2014.
http://www.drjanyager.com
Wolf, Holly. Email interview. September 25, 2014.
Reviewed October 1, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith