Hello friends,
The happiest ten minutes of my life is when I check my bank
account and find that my pay check has been deposited. It lasts about that long
because as soon as I pay my bills, it is almost gone.
I know what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck. Seeing
all the money saving advice of “pay yourself first.” Sure, that works if you
don’t need to put gas in your car or pay your phone bill. How can you pay
yourself first if you need every last cent of your paycheck?
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
Write down every
single cent you spend from one paycheck to the next and create a budget. You
may be surprised at where your money is going. I tried this and it was tedious,
but it was a good lesson. I found that I was running to the gas station next to
where I worked and overpaying for lunch items. I hadn’t even given it a thought
before, but when I realized it had become a habit, I was wasting extra cash on
a daily basis and it had to stop. Keep a small notebook with you so you can jot
it down.
Pay attention. Look
around you to find ways to cut costs on a daily basis. Many times we spend
money on conveniences like fast food restaurants. If you’re working full time,
this is hard to avoid. When I’m starving and I don’t have a lot of time, I just
want to go through the drive-through and grab something to fill me up. However,
prepackaging snacks from home is not only healthier, but cheaper. This requires
preparation and knowing what part of day you will need a pick-me-up and what it will take to satisfy you.
Preplanning. I
promise that you’ll save money at the grocery store by planning your meals.
Once a week we sit down as a family and decide what we want to cook the
following week. We go through the pantry, find ingredients, and then make a
note of what we don’t have. By doing this, we avoid impulse purchases and overspending
at the grocery store. We also avoid wondering what we're having for dinner any particular night.
It’s fine to go out to lunch once in a while, but be sure this is built into the budget and decide ahead of time how much you will spend. If the social aspect of going out with friends is important to you, try ordering from the a la carte menu or choose a place that is within your budget.
Do it yourself. High
costs are built into prepackaged foods. Cut costs by making your own meals. Not
only is cooking a great skill to have, but it is healthier to learn to cook
whole foods and cheaper in the long run. If you're careful, bulk ingredients can be less expensive than prepackaged foods. My husband likes to make oatmeal in the mornings and then add his own touches (walnuts and maple syrup) to it. It's healthier and cheaper than the little prepackaged packets you find in the grocery store.
Cut the cable. Purchase
a ROKU or other device that will stream television and you can get rid of cable
all together. Sign up for Amazon Prime, Hulu or Netflix, and you can enjoy
hours of television and movies at a very low cost compared to what you were
spending for cable. I found a Roku on Craigs List for half the cost and it worked perfectly.
Save on electricity. Unplug
all unused appliances, even if they are on a power strip. Even if an appliance
is off or the power strip is off, you may still be drawing electricity. Why pay
for it if you’re not using it? It may take a while, but you’ll see a difference
in your electric bill.
Be the family power Czar, if a family member is not in a
room and the lights are on, train them to turn them off. Also, check to see if
your home is properly insulated to save in heating and air conditioning (I
mentioned this in a previous blog post). A little extra insulation will go a
long way in saving you money.
Lastly, change out all light bulbs to LED. They are cheaper,
last longer and use less energy. I’ve been using LED lights for eight years now
and you couldn’t pay me to go back to incandescent bulbs. Actually, to be honest, you could pay me--but it would have to be a lot of money. It's true--I can be bought.
The bottom line--you need to know where your money is going
before you can start cutting costs.
I know from personal
experience that budgets aren’t fun, but it may become a necessary evil when
trying to figure out where your money is going and how to get off the roller
coaster of living paycheck to paycheck.
Peace my Peeps,
Broke Girl
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