By Instituting a few simple habits you really can save yourself a lot of money without drastically altering your lifestyle. In fact, by just making some basic changes, you will likely save yourself a lot of time and energy. Our so called convenience living not only takes money out of our wallets it actually takes time out of our lives. So here are a number of easy to implement ways of saving money without compromising your way of life.
1) If possible, live closer to your job. You can save hundreds on gas and maintenance expenses every month if you find a home within walking distance of your place of work. You will gain other benefits as well. Your walk to work will get you some valuable exercise and you will cut out the stress of the daily commute. In addition, it is likely that the amount of time it takes you to walk to worker will be shorter than driving. If it is still too far to walk, use public transportation if possible.
2) Say goodbye to Starbuck’s. Make your coffee in the morning before going to work. The savings here is unbelievable. Even if you drink plain coffee from the cafe it is still much much cheaper to brew your own. If you don’t like taking the time to brew a pot, there are coffee makers that you can brew one cup at a time. We are not talking about the expensive pod coffee makers, but usually under $20. They have a filter and you can measure out one cup of water and your coffee. This change alone can save hundreds a month. Use flavored creamer if you have to have a fancy coffee.
3) Bring your lunch to work. This is really easy to do. Yes, you will have to make your lunch at home which can be a chore. On the other hand, going out to lunch on the job is time consuming too. By bringing your lunch, you can save a lot of time while at work and maybe go for a walk or enjoy a few minutes to yourself. You are likely to have a lot fewer “phantom calories” in a homemade lunch, too.
4) Look for what’s on sale at the grocery store. Meats, produce and vegetables have sales that rotate from week to week. This means, let’s say, that one week chicken is on sale. The next week maybe pork roast will be on sale. If you watch for the sales you can save substantially on the cost of these items. It also creates variety in your diet. Also, take advantage of two for one sales on canned goods and other items like sauces and salad dressings that you can keep in the pantry.
5) Never buy name brands. Buy the store versions of the name brand products. They are much cheaper. The name brand products are not necessarily better. You pay more for the advertising, not the quality of the product.
Try these ideas as a start. You will save hundreds of dollars a month. You will also save time and maybe even lose a little off your waistline.