Want some tips for saving money each week?
Sometimes it’s hard to budget for an entire month. It can be easier to start by making minor changes and gradually build on the steps. By doing a few things differently on a weekly basis, you will be on the path to a healthier budget in no time. Here are 8 tips for saving money each week:
1. Scale Back the Eating Out
Eating out can be one of the biggest expenses for any household. Skip eating out this week and try eating in instead; you can get healthier, higher quality food at the grocery store for less money than you would spend on a restaurant meal. This is especially true for office lunches, which tend to add up over time. If you want to treat yourself, you can schedule an “eat out day” once a week.
2. Turn off the Lights
Turn off appliances and lights when you aren’t using them. Although they don’t draw a lot of power, that’s still energy you don’t have to be using. Some appliances even draw power when they’re idle; you can solve this by purchasing “intelligent” power strips, which turn off when they aren’t being used.
3. Carpool Rather Than Drive to Save Money Each Week
When you can, carpool to places instead of driving; it saves you gas as well as car maintenance. You can also consider walking to things that are within a mile rather than jumping into the car. Bonus: It’s good exercise too! If you live in an area with good public transportation, you can also consider a bus or rail pass.
4. Pay Your Bills on Time
It can be easy to procrastinate on bills you don’t want to pay rather than just pay them, but that can be a costly mistake. Every bill you’re late on will be a bill you need to pay a late fee for. If you’re late on utilities, you may need to pay a reconnection fee or a deposit; it’s often cheaper to take out a loan.
5. Put Your Savings Aside
Schedule a transfer from your checking account to your savings account every week; that way, you’ll be saving automatically and that money won’t appear in your account to spend. Remember to put money into your retirement account when you can, too. Bonus: you’ll also be saving money on taxes!
6. Save Money Each Week by Turning off the AC/Heat
Consider turning off your AC/Heat (or turning it down) at night, as you’ll be asleep and less aware of the temperature. You can also schedule your system to turn off automatically when you’re at work and don’t need it. Your AC/Heat system is often the most expensive system in your house to run.
7. Find Some Coupons
Coupons are a great way to save money on things like groceries, but keep in mind: you’re only saving money if you were already going to buy the product. With groceries, you can use the coupons you find to figure out what you’re making in the coming week. With retail shopping, remember there are almost always coupon codes for online stores.
8. Set Aside Change
Remember the old coin jar your parents or grandparents always had? Consider starting one of your own; just throw in some coins at the end of each day, and you’ll eventually be able to turn it in for grocery money or even just “fun” money.
Saving isn’t easy, and it can take time to really get into a groove even with these tips for saving money each week. Even if you’re working on it, you may need a title pawn to help you in the meantime. Come on into Title Tree and we can help you get the cash you need.