Top 15 Ways to Spend Yourself to Savings!

• 1. Create a Spending Plan

• 2. Track your spending

• 3. Pay yourself first

Basic fundamentals…LAYING THE GROUND FLOORLAYING THE GROUND FLOOR

• - A budget is a guide that tells you whether you're going in the direction you want to be headed in financially .

• -A spending plan will keep you focused.

• Why Budget?• - You may have goals and dreams but if you

don't set up guidelines for reaching them and you don't measure your progress, you may end up going so far in the wrong direction you can never make it back.

Devise and Execute Devise and Execute a spending plan…a spending plan…

Keeps you focused!

It’s your guide!

Keeps you on the track

towards your financial goals!

• This will raise awareness on your spending habits.

• Closely examine all expenses looking for ways to increase value or save money.

Track Your Spending…Track Your Spending…Collect and write notes on your cash purchase receipts

ONCE YOU GET PAID…

• - Immediately transfer a portion of your paycheck into this account or have it direct deposited.

• • - Start with 5 % of your

regular deposit amount.

• - Attempt to forget about the account in order to prevent unnecessary withdrawals.

• • - Only access the account

upon emergency.

FORGET ABOUT IT…

Pay Yourself First…Pay Yourself First…Set up a separate savings account

Start with 5% first and then

gradually increase.

Out of sight out of mind.

READY TO SPEND ……

“You don’t have to be a cheapskate to get spending in line, but you do have to keep an eye on what you buy and redirect your money to things you care about.”-Gregory Karp, author

And Now…The top 15 ways to spend yourself to savings…

……Re-evaluate your servicesRe-evaluate your services

Buying phone service, Internet and cable TV as a package through a major company such as Time Warner can make sense, but if you’re paying for premium channels you don’t use, you’re wasting money.

Consider dropping your home telephone line. Your cell phone is probably all you really need, and most likely it has free long distance. You could save $30 or more per month by dropping your "land line.

…Carry CASH

Carry cash instead of credit cards. Psychologically it’s harder to spend cash than it is to use the credit card.

You’ll spend less and save on interest charges.

You spend 15% more when you use a credit or debit card instead of cash

 

…Save at the Supermarket

1. Do your homework- take the time to do a quick inventory of your kitchen to check the food you already have and determine what you need to buy.

2. Plan your weekly menu- plan around what you have in the house and what weekly specials are at your local supermarket.

3. Keep a list- this will help you from buying things you already have in the house and prevent you from impulse buying.

4. Eat first- going to the grocery store hungry can increase your bill up to 15%.

5. Use coupons- match items that you need, that are on sale, to coupons.

Compare prices and quality of merchandise in competing stores to determine the best valuedetermine the best value

The Internet has really taking over from traditional shopping and this has led to many on-line comparison sites being established

…Comparison shopThe first deal may not be the best.

• Pricegrabber.com• Nextag.com• Shopzilla.com• Mysimon.com

…EAT In•Eating out less can save a LOT. If you're going out twice a week, cut down to once. If once a week, try for every other week.

•At a fine-dining restaurant, the average cost of food is 38 to 42% of the menu price, says Kevin Moll, CEO and president of National Food Service Advisors. In other words, most restaurants are making roughly 60% on anything they serve.

•When you do eat out, consider places where you can order and pick up at the counter. This can save on tips.

• - Place it in a jar or piggy bank and you will see how it will grow quickly.

• - Once every 3 months take the amount in the jar and add it to your savings account.

…Save The ChangeStart saving all your loose changeStart saving all your loose change

…Save Your Energy

• Turn off lights when you leave the room.

• Turn off strip-switches when electronics aren't in use. Turn off DVD and CD players, for example.

• Shut down the computer when it's not in use.

• Cool your home at 78 degrees or warmer with the thermostat fan switched to auto. For additional savings, raise your thermostat to 82 degrees or warmer when you're away.

• Clean or replace the A/C filter regularly to help your unit run more efficiently and trim cooling costs.

• Turn off your ceiling fan when you leave the room. A fan that runs all the time costs up to $7 a month.

In tracking your spending have you discovered an expense that can easily be made at home for less?

Can you do with out your “latte factor”?

Let’s do the math, $4 a day on one latte comes out to $20 a week, and that’s over $80 a month, and a total of $1,000 in a single year

Just make your own coffee. Even if you’re into the whole espresso culture, small home espresso machines can often be found for $20 and $30 at chain drugstores.

High quality beans are readily available and all those flavored syrups are only about $5 a bottle at the local grocery store.

Homemade coffee may not be as glamorous as holding a fresh Starbucks cup, but honestly does it really taste all that much different?

…Make Your Own CoffeeWhat is your latte factor?

…Pay on time; avoid fees•Get organized about your regular bills.

• If possible, automate the payments.

•Most utilities and other recurring bills can be set to be charged to a debit card or deducted from a checking account these days.

•Also, many banks offer free bill pay programs. So there really is no excuse for forgetting to pay a bill on time and forking out the late fees.

•Be aware of your bank balance and avoid over draft fees.

•Avoid ATM fees: Be sure to use only those ATM machines where your bank will not charge the fees, or withdraw directly at your bank.

•Avoid credit cards with annual fee: Credit cards with their cash back bonuses and reward points are a great way to save some money. Just make sure that the card does not charge you any annual fees!

Keep your car engine tuned and its tires inflated to their proper pressure.  Doing both can save you up to $100 a year in gas.

Shop around for gas.  Comparing prices at different stations and using the lowest-octane (recommended by the car owner's manual) can save you hundreds of dollars a year.

When driving, avoid fast start-ups and stops.  Over time, you will save hundreds of dollars on lower gas and maintenance costs.

Take fewer cab rides.  Using public transit instead of cabs can save you $5-10 per trip or more.  If you're a frequent cab user, the savings could completely fund your emergency savings account.

Check all airlines for cheap fares.  Since no website lists all discount carriers, also check out the websites of discount carriers like Southwest and Jet Blue, possibly saving you hundreds of dollars.

…Save on transportation

...Bring Your Lunch

Research free or inexpensive entertainment in your community. 

Use local newspapers and websites to learn about free or low-cost parks, museums, film showings, sports events, and other places which you and your family would enjoy.

Give up premium cable channels.  It's a lot cheaper to rent one film a week than watch one on premium cable channels that may cost more than $500 a year.

Borrow books rather than purchasing them.  Borrowing books and reading magazines at your local library, rather than purchasing reading material, can save you hundreds of dollars a year.

Attend high school rather than college or pro sports events.  High school sports events rarely cost more than $5 and are often free, with hot dogs and sodas typically costing $1-2.  College and pro football and basketball games rarely cost less than $20, and their concessions are usually several times more expensive.

…Enjoy Free Stuff

•Plan gift-giving well in advance.  That will give you time to decide on the most thoughtful gifts, which usually are not the most expensive ones. 

• If these gifts are products that must be purchased, you will have the opportunity to look for sales.

•In families, discuss limits on spending for gifts.  These limits not only tend to reduce expenditures; they also be greatly appreciated by the least affluent family members.

•Socialize at pot-luck meals rather than at restaurants.  Because one wants to be generous to friends and family, there may be huge cost savings here.

•Consider writing letters instead of making frequent phone calls.  Thoughtful letters are usually far more highly valued than phone conversations, and they are often saved by recipients for future reading.

…Save on Family and Friends

Shop around for auto and homeowners' insurance: Before renewing your existing policies each year,

check out the rates of competing companies .Their annual premiums may well be several hundred dollars

lower.

Raise the deductibles on auto and homeowners' insurance: Being willing to pay $500-1,000 on a claim,

rather than only $100-250, can reduce annual premiums by as much as several hundred dollars.

Assess your need for life insurance coverage. If your children are now on their own, or if your spouse

works, you may not need as much life insurance protection.

Consider dropping credit insurance coverage on installment loans. Terminating this coverage often

reduces financing costs by three percentage points.

…Save on Insurance

Look for sales at discount outlets.  There are huge price differences between clothing on sale at discount stores and that sold regularly at many department and specialty stores, though keep in mind that prices at the latter are often deeply discounted.

Consider purchasing previously-used clothes from Good Will, second-hand stores, or school or church thrift sales.  With a little effort, you can find low-priced, high-quality used clothing items that can be worn for many years.

Assess clothing in terms of quality as well as price.  An inexpensive shirt or coat is a poor bargain if it wears out in less than a year.  Consider fabric, stitching, wash ability, and other quality related factors in your selection of clothes.

Clean clothes inexpensively.  Wash and iron clothes yourself.  If you use a cleaner, compare prices at different establishments.  A 50 cent difference in cleaning a shirt, for example, can add up to $100 a year.   

…Save On Clothing

Key to savings…

Credit counselors advise that it’s not about how much you start saving;

it’s about establishing the habitit’s about establishing the habit.

For more information contact:

American Debt Counseling, Inc.

A 501(c )(3)non-profit

Credit Counseling Organization

14051 NW 4th Street

Sunrise, FL 33323

www.americandebtcounseling.org

1.888. DEBT USA1.888. DEBT USA