If you find that there’s not much money left at the end of each month, we know and understand that feeling. Knowing how to handle your monthly expenses is essential if you want to save money and be able to afford life’s essentials and even some little luxuries.
There are a whole range of different ways that you can save money and cut back on your monthly expenses, but it starts with raising your awareness about your spending patterns. Bad habits can often result in overspending without you even realising it and this is normally a cycle that will repeat itself over and over again.
To help you reduce your monthly expenses we’ve come up with 8 useful ways to save money. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of your debts and looking for processional advice, we’re here to help. Please visit our debt solutions page for more information or contact us now to speak to a friendly member of our team.
Keep track of your monthly expenses
Knowing where you spend your money and what you spend it on is the first step in saving money. All the small expenses here and there can add up to a significant amount and you could save a lot when you realise where you can reduce or even eliminate these expenses completely.
Get a notepad or create a document on your phone so you can write down what you spend your money on. You’ll begin to see patterns if you do this every day for a month and you might even surprise yourself how much you spend on some daily expenses. This really is one of the best ways to save money as you’ll know exactly what your major and minor monthly expenses are.
Create a budget
Once you’ve learned how to keep track of your monthly expenses you can think about putting a budget in place. This will help you control your spending habits and save money whilst you’re at it. However, creating a budget doesn’t mean you have to punish yourself by cutting out every luxury item and treat. Think about limiting yourself to one coffee a week or a meal out every fortnight. If you’d like to learn more about creating a budget to save money, head over to our recent budgeting blog post now.
Reduce the amount of takeout food you buy
Takeout food is often expensive in comparison to a home cooked meal and doesn’t always have the kind of quality attached to it. Try to reduce the amount of takeout food you buy and save it for a special occasion or a weekend treat.
You could always consider investing in a cookbook that has recipes designed for people trying to budget. You would definitely save yourself valuable money and eat a lot healthier too. Once you get into a routine, you may even find that you enjoy the ritual of cooking for yourself and your loved ones. If you find cooking to be a burden or tiresome, share the task so that you have one night on and one night off or you one person does the meal prep and someone else cooks. Cooking together is a great way to create or strengthen your relationship as well as your communication and teamwork skills.
Buy home brand products
Whether you’re buying washing detergent or tomato ketchup, choosing unbranded products in your local supermarket is going to save you pennies that will add up over time.
Cut out all the unnecessary extras
There are all kinds of unnecessary purchases that can severely impact saving on your monthly expenses. For example, buying a coffee and a sandwich every day could set you back thousands of dollars per year. Thankfully, you can avoid these costs by brewing your own coffee and making a bigger dinner so you have leftovers. But, don’t just cut back on these examples, get creative and think about other ways you can save money.
Use public transport, cycle or walk
Running a car can be hugely expensive, especially if it’s something you have to do every working day. If you live in an area where public transport is good then you should consider making use of it on a daily basis. It’s a hugely cheaper option and bus routes can have their own lanes, hopefully making your commute a little quicker during rush hour.
In addition to this, try to cycle to work or walk if you’re not too far away. This is totally free to do and will help to keep you fit as an added bonus. Even if you live up to 10 km away, a bike ride may only take half an hour and could even be quicker than driving a car.
Reduce your energy consumption
Wasting energy in your home is effectively the same as pouring money down the drain. The amount you can waste through poor insulation or not having LED lightbulbs is staggering. If you’d like to get your home ready for the winter and help to reduce your monthly expenses, you can check out our energy saving tips for winter here.
Stop using credit cards and consolidate your debts
Credit cards can act as a huge barrier when trying to save money and having multiple debts with different interest rates can hit your bank balance hard. If you’re struggling with debt you should consider consolidating your credit cards into one affordable monthly repayment.
For more friendly advice on how to turn your financial situation around, we’re here to help! Speak with our expert team at Debt Busters about your financial situation to see how we can help you save more money on your monthly expenses. Contact our team now.