Seven Little Money Savings Ideas Money savings ideas are around us every day. Here are seven that can quickly be put to use to save more of what you earn. 1. Play the waiting game. When you want to make a purchase, force yourself to wait before you buy it. If online, leave the site and come back in an hour. For large purchases wait a month. You might surprise yourself how many of these impulsive purchase decisions do not occur when using this technique. 2. Reduce spending as entertainment. Too often the mall becomes a place to burn a few hours with family and friends. This form of entertainment can be a costly one. Find another entertainment outlet. Go for a walk. Review your community bulletins for free events. When going out to eat, do not choose a restaurant attached to a mall. 3. Pay yourself first. When sitting down to pay your bills, pay yourself first. Put the payment in the mail to a bank account that is inconvenient to make withdrawals. Use this account to build up three to nine months of spending needs. This will become your emergency fund. 4. Prioritize your debt repayment. First pay those items that have a strong legal obligation (like your tax bill). Then pay high interest credit card debt. Be very deliberate about the order in which you pay or make extra payments on your outstanding debt. 5. Review annuity payments. Many suppliers rely on the strategy to charge you a little bit each month. Some suppliers actually thrive on charging for add-on services. Review your monthly bills and eliminate items you dont need. Typical vendors include cell phone providers, cable companies, internet providers, and traditional phone companies. Add on fees could be call forwarding, or excess charges for data plans, or monthly fees for premium cable channels. Every monthly bill you eliminate comes back as savings every month of the year. 6. Ask for less. Whenever possible ask for a lower bill amount. Call your credit card company or bank to challenge their fees. Be willing to leave them if they do not. Negotiate for lower pricing on all your large purchases. Use the internet to comparison shop for the same item. While negotiating for a lower price is difficult, you will be surprised how many vendors will say, yes, I can give you the item for less. 7. Plan large purchases like your parents. In the old days our parents would save their money and then purchase an item. With todays ready access to credit cards, this great savings habit has become somewhat of a lost art. Why not rediscover this habit by identifying something you wish to buy and then saving your money to make the purchase when you have the cash to pay for it.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 15:00:00 +0000
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