Every year, many of us resolve to make the most of our money by spending less. Making more money might also be a major goal that many of us have.
No matter your goals, you can help reach them by practicing frugal living. Here are 5 tips that can help you with your frugal living objectives in the coming year:
1. Rethink Your Things
One of the biggest expenses many of us have is things. We buy things, and then we have to pay for the space to store them. Rethink your things this year. Before you buy something new, ask what you’ll actually do with it, and then consider getting rid of something you already have to make room.
At the very least, go through your storage unit and get rid of what you can. You’ll save on monthly storage costs, and if you sell some of the stuff you might even make a little money.
2. Cut the Cord
Finally, it’s time to cut the cord. If you have Internet, you can stream a lot of what you want to watch for much less than cable or satellite. I save about $150 per month since cancelling the satellite and going all-streaming for my TV-related entertainment. It’s amazing how much you can save just in TV costs when you change the way you manage your entertainment.
3. Know Your Priorities
This is an underrated way of saving money. Few of us think seriously about how we want to use our money, and what really matters to us. As a result, it’s difficult to keep more money in our pockets. Once you understand what really matters to you, and you stop spending on things that don’t matter to you, being frugal becomes easier. If you aren’t spending on things that don’t matter, chances are that you are spending much less.
4. Use a Waiting Period
Once again, it’s easy for us to lose track of what really matters to us when we’re in spending mode. Rather than buying something immediately, institute a waiting period. You can decide what works for you, whether it’s 14 days, 30 days, or 60 days. Anytime you want to buy something, put a waiting period on it. Revisit the item at the end of the waiting period. Chances are that you don’t actually want it badly enough to use your hard-earned cash on it. I find that if I can do without something for a month, I really probably don’t need it. It’s a good way to keep from spending more money on things that I don’t really care about.
5. Remind Yourself of Your Long-Term Goals
Finally, keep your mind on what you want to accomplish in the future. Remind yourself of your long-term goals. When you feel like spending on some pointless item, ask yourself what else you could be doing with the money. I find that reminding myself that I could go on a weekend getaway with the money I’d spend on TV keeps me more interested in setting the money aside than buying the TV. Whether you hope to be debt-free or travel the world, reminding yourself of your long-term goals can help you avoid spending money right now.
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