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Are you living paycheck to paycheck?
Have you thought about where your money is going and how you can better control your finances?
Let’s discuss our options.
Some people get in over their heads with debt and end up contacting a National Debt Reduction Services company to help them out.
Today, I wanted to discuss how we get there and how we can control our finances and our future.
1.) Income Overview: Sit down with a pen and paper and jot down all of your income. (Easy enough, right?)
2.) Expenses Overview: Now that you know your income, you are going to sit down and write down all of your monthly expenses. I like to include not just my bills, but also my gas for my automobile, grocery bill and any other expenses I will have going out regularly.
3.) Budget: Now that we know what money we have coming in and what money we have going out, we can sit down and make a budget. We want to make sure that we don’t have more money going out then coming in.
I like to use a budget planner. I bought a really simple one from the Dollar Store. I believe it was like $2. Don’t spend a lot of money on fancy planners and things. It will only make your debt worse. You can just as easily use a notepad and pen.
Okay, now that we have the expenses, income and budget, let’s discuss ways that you can cut your monthly expenses.
- Skip the restaurants and pack your lunch.
- Skip the vending machines. This adds up over time.
- Skip the coffee shop. If you are used to stopping for a $3-$5 coffee every day (and some pay more), don’t. That’s right, skip the coffee shop and make your own. Invest in a thermos or nice to-go coffee cup and bring your coffee with you.
- Lower Internet Fees. If you have a smartphone with the internet and also have internet at home you could get rid of the internet on your cell (or at home if you prefer to have it on your cell). This doesn’t have to be permanent, but could free up some cash while you work at paying down debt.
- Many people are getting rid of cable. Yikes, right? Not really, there are so many options these days for television that you won’t really be losing out. Try something like Roku Streaming Player.
- Slash Cell Phone Bills: Shop around for the best cell phone deals. Sometimes you can go in on a plan with a friend or family member to save even more.
- Plan trips in one day. To save gas try to plan all of your trips in one day so you aren’t driving to town many different times. This seems like a simple step, but will definitely help save money.
What money saving tips do you have to add to our list?
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These are some excellent tips. I do some of these, but I hadn’t really thought about doing trips in one day. I tend to easily forget about cost of gas.
To control our finances and future is so important. We always make budgets for everything and try to stick on it. You have mentioned some amazing points. Thanks!
Thanks! We agree, sticking to a budget is one of the most important factors when taking control of your finances.
These are great tips. It’s also good to right down daily expenses and then annualized amounts spent.
Yes…Love taking charge and keeping my finances in order because I am on a fixed income so I have to be extra careful on what I buy and how much to save!
Taking over your finances and not letting them take you over.
These are some helpful tip. Thanks for sharing!