If you’re looking to cut your expenses or get out of debt, you don’t need to pay a pricy company to help you manage your finances – you need to figure out how to spend less money.
And no, the solution isn’t to eat only Ramen noodles and walk around holding candles afraid to turn on the lights.
But with a few simple changes to your spending habits, you can easily stop the bleeding and save hundreds if not thousands of dollars each year – and it’s even easier than you think.
In fact, many of these changes are quick and easy to implement, and you won’t even feel the burn.
So if you’re looking to keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket and stop needlessly throwing it away, start with these areas of your life first.
Cancel Unused Subscriptions
Maybe you signed up for a “free 30-day trial” and never canceled it…
… so you are getting dinged every month for a service you never use.
Whether it’s a Premium LinkedIn subscription which costs a whopping $59.99 a month, or something less like a $14.99 monthly credit monitoring service, it all adds up.
In fact, Instamotor polled a group of people ages 18-34 and discovered 1 in 10 were spending a whopping $200 a month on subscriptions!
Do a full inventory of your recurring monthly charges and cancel any subscription or services you are not using.
To save even more money, cancel anything else of excess.
If you never shop online, do you really need Amazon Prime? It’s not worth the $12.99 fee each month if you only use it twice a year.
Or do you really need Hulu, Netflix, Audible, HBO Now, Starz, and whatever other subscriptions you have set to auto renew each month?
Probably not.
Sometimes you can score great deals with free trials and get perks like swag or reduced shipping fees.
Take advantage of these deals, but set a calendar reminder in your phone to cancel these trials at least 3 days before they are set to renew.
Your wallet will thank you.
Car Insurance
When is the last time you did a full audit of your car insurance premium?
If you simply renew it every year and keep it on autopilot, chances are you are overpaying.
There could be all types of hidden charges on your bill like yearly fees promised to “lower your deductible limit over time” or rental/roadside assistance fees.
If you have AAA, why are you paying for roadside assistance?
Or if your car is a beater, do you really need full coverage?
Car paid off?
You don’t need gap insurance.
Other charges like full glass coverage really start to add up.
When auditing your car insurance policy, make sure your average miles driven per year is accurate.
If you used to drive to work everyday but now only use your car for leisure because you work from home – tell your car insurance company as your overall rate can be significantly reduced.
By making proper adjustments to your quote – you could literally shave hundreds of dollars a year off your car insurance bill.
And if you can, pay your premium in full as you are likely to save even more money.
Don’t count on insurance companies to proactively find ways to lower your premium – you need to do the work.
Stop Getting Food Delivered
Do you know how much you spend a month eating out?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American Household spends a whopping $3,000 a year eating out – and that’s just the average.
The truth is, it’s likely many people spend double or even triple that amount.
Even eating fast food has gotten expensive as these days many people don’t even want to drive to pick it up (even if the food joint is less than a mile from their home) so they pay to have it delivered – which leads to more surcharges, delivery fees, and tip charges.
Not to mention many places require a “minimum” amount to spend in order to deliver, which forces you to buy more food than you normally would.
If you’re trying to get out of debt or save money – definitely audit this area of your life.
Find out how much you’re actually spending in a given month dining out (yes this includes Starbucks coffee) and then seek to reduce it by half.
You’ll survive, and may even develop a few custom homemade recipes in your own kitchen that are even better than your favorite restaurants.
Not only is cooking at home healthier, but you can make your food exactly the way you want it and save thousands of dollars a year.
Hack Away
Every month, take a look at all of your expenses.
If you’ve not already, develop a budget so you can see exactly where your money is going.
Once you see everything on paper – and understand what you are paying every month, you’re bound to find even more ways you can save money.
And remember, the goal of saving money is to invest it wisely – not spend it recklessly on junk.
As you continue to save money, you’ll be motivated to keep going.
Cheers to financial freedom!