Money is necessary and without it we could not live in today’s society. Talking about money is needed especially in hard economic times. Money itself is not evil. It’s the love of money that is the root of evil. Whether rich or poor financially, there is always room for improvement in managing cash flow. Frugal living can be a joy with a good attitude towards money.
“It’s not about being able to spend more money. It’s about enjoying and managing what you already have…BETTER.” Michelle Jones, Founder of BetterBudgeting.com
1. Calculate how many hours you have to work for an item you want to buy. For example if you want or need a pair of casual shoes and they cost $40 and you get paid $10 an hour would you be willing to work for over 4 hours? This method also reduces impulse buying when you’re at the store.
Women love to buy shoes whether they need them or not. If you start thinking this way you may say to yourself “Do I really need them?”
2. Read flyers. They are a great source of information on prices and coupons. In Canada coupon shopping doesn’t really add up, but it could help if you need certain items. Buy in bulk or look for 2 for 1 deals. Stock up on dry goods or non-perishable goods. Coffee is on sale so coffee drinkers can benefit greatly.
3. Be active on Facebook. It could be valuable. Apparently you can find printable coupons for anyone who ‘likes’ a business Facebook page. Check out major manufacturers’ pages to see what items are discounted. We can take advantage of these incentives to cut costs of household items such as paper towels, toilet paper, food items, batteries, etc. You name it and find it. Let me know.
4. Cut back on your shopping trips. My mother always says, “Stay away from stores.” Of course, at her age she now doesn’t need anything more than the basics. It’s good advice when I think about window shopping at the mall or Ikea which usually amounts to spending!
Really, why do women need to look around anyways? I know it’s different for most men. They don’t look around. They go to the store only if they need to buy something for themselves. My husband is purpose driven.
5. Squeeze the savings. I read this on a website, but I have heard it before. So here it is. Take the tube of conditioner, shampoo or cleanser and cut the bottom with scissors to get every last drop of liquid out. This means that you can use it longer than you thought. I’m going to do this with my conditioner that is almost unsqueezable.
6. Make a plan. If you’ve never had a budget, try one. Or if you don’t know where your hard earned money is going on a daily or weekly basis, track it for a month. I’ve done this exercise several times regardless of how much I was earning at the time. It’s eye opening. With debit and credit cards it’s easier to see your spending habits, but with cash it’s not so obvious. Take a little notebook or your iPhone notes and write down every nickel you spend. I did this for a month for every penny! So glad pennies are gone!!!
I hope you benefit from any these money saving tips. There are a zillion ways to save money so I just picked a few that I’ve used myself.
Please share one or two of your own tips. I will continue on this topic for my next blog post. I would love to hear from you.