Have you ever looked at your bank account to see if you can afford another purchase, only to discover that the grocery bills, gas, and energy costs have destroyed your balance? You’re not alone. The current economic moment is challenging and harder than ever to stretch your budget. Inflation is – thankfully – coming down, but it remains high, with prices higher than they have been in almost a decade. As a result, purchasing ordinary items is still more expensive than in years past. This financial reality pressures most Americans to do whatever they can to reduce expenses.
You may have already tried more well-known options to reduce your expenditure, like cutting subscriptions you don’t use, making more purchases in bulk, or checking out online coupons. Maybe that’s enough for you to manage your monthly budget … or maybe not.
Here’s a look at ten unique ways to cut expenses and save more hard-earned cash.
1. Plan, plan, plan
Creating and sticking to a budget is one of the best ways to limit expenses. A budget lets you see what and where you spend your money. From there, you can identify ways to reduce expenses.
However, more planning can help you save money. For example, you can plan your grocery shopping to reduce impulse purchases and ensure you only buy things you plan on using.
This idea also applies to larger purchases, like clothing. With some forethought, you can probably grasp how much clothing you will need to get you through a season. From there, you can buy that number and then not worry about buying anything else. Lastly, consider planning what you need versus what you want.
This distinction is critical and will enable you to better focus your expenses on what you need and what you can afford.
2. Keep a price book
Most of us have many stores that we shop at, using various combinations of department stores, small businesses, and online retailers to get the things we need. Ask yourself this question: Where can you save the most?
There’s only one way to answer this question: You must do the work.
The next time you purchase, grab the receipt and enter it into a spreadsheet that tracks the price of what you buy and where you buy it from. This is your personal price book, enabling you to monitor your purchase, where you made it, and how much it cost. From there, you can compare how many items are and where things are the cheapest. This information lets you know where to shop to save the most.
This strategy also has a secondary benefit: You can better track your spending by manually entering all your transactions. As such, you can better grasp where you are spending your money and potentially find ways to save by not buying certain items. You can also keep track of all prices in your budget. By doing so, you can get a comprehensive view of all of your expenses.
3. Ask your creditors or services for help
There’s a hidden secret regarding saving money: In many cases, it’s as easy as a phone call. You can call many places if you are looking for ways to reduce your debt. Credit card companies sometimes give you lower interest rates if you ask for alternatives. They may also set up programs that will enable you to reduce payments or save money. The same can often be said for utilities, like your phone or electric company.
Alternatively, ask yourself this question: What am I willing to cut? Call to cancel once you have identified services you can get rid of. The service in question may reduce your price to entice you to stay. A quick Google search (“Does service X give discounts if I try to cancel online?”) may also reveal insightful results.
4. Use website extensions for your online shopping
Most Americans spend extensively on online shopping throughout the year. Fortunately, if used properly, you can use the internet for significant savings.
Various websites available today – including Ratuken, Klarna, Honey, and more – will allow you to save money when shopping online. The specifics of each website vary, but generally speaking, they allow you to achieve savings or automatically check for online coupons. As such, these website extensions can help you save money relatively passively.
5. Unsubscribe from emails
Sometimes, the temptation to avoid shopping online can be too strong. Reducing this temptation can be the real-world equivalent of avoiding those end-caps at grocery stores: You can remove the chance to spend by removing options.
Unsubscribing from marketing emails can be a great way of accomplishing this goal. Not only can unsubscribing reduce the threat of impulse buying, but it can clean up your inbox and help you get out of a mindset where you feel as if there is a constant barrage of marketing meant to separate you from your hard-earned cash.
Unsubscribing is usually easy enough: Scroll to the bottom of an email and click unsubscribe. Alternatively, some email services – like Google – allow you to click an “unsubscribe” button without even having to scroll.
6. Automate what you can
Many online retailers, such as Amazon, allow you to get automatic deliveries of commonly used items. These regular deliveries often come at a discount. As such, you can save money by signing up for a regular delivery of a product that you will use. Remember that these services require maintenance to ensure you don’t order more than you need.
7. Purchase reduced-price gift cards
Everyone loves gift cards. Fortunately, there are ways that you can buy gift cards at a discount. Websites like Raise, CardCrazy, and CardCash allow you to purchase digital or physical copies of cards from hundreds of stores throughout the country. By purchasing one of these cards, you can save money on purchases you plan to make.
8. Spend more money
Wait, what?
Ultimately, there are times when spending more money will put more money back in your pocket. This will allow you to build your savings and have more money later in the month.
Those cheap shoes that you bought wore out pretty quickly, right? This meant you had to buy another pair of shoes relatively soon after buying the first one. You might not have needed the second if you spent more money on the first pair of shoes. The quality of a good often means that you can get more life out of it, thus saving money in the long term.
Generally speaking, this pricing strategy applies to items you will use extensively or over a long period. Spending less money on short-term purchases than long-term ones is usually better.
9. Find an accountability buddy
You may have friends or family members looking to save money but struggling, just like you. If that’s the case, you may be able to help each other.
The concept behind an “accountability buddy” is simple: You and your friend can work together to keep each other to a spending plan. Specifics of this program can include:
- Regular check-ins to discuss how you are doing in your money-saving goals.
- Weekly “reviews” of your budget, spending, and overall struggles.
- Open, honest conversations about the difficulty associated with spending money.
Depending on your closeness with the friend in question, you can even go so far as to share budgets. Doing so will allow you to get another set of eyes on your budgeting documents, ensuring that other people can potentially give you advice and feedback on saving money.
10. Move or reassess your living situation
Is it extreme? Maybe. But, in this era of remote work, people often simply don’t have to live as close to their office as they used to. Have you considered moving into a lower cost of living space if nothing else ties you down to an area?
Inflation has rocked much of the country but not in an event way. According to the latest statistics, inflation is worst in Washington, D.C., Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. Interestingly, Virginia is 17th on this list. States where inflation is the lowest are largely located in New England.
Furthermore, some areas are less expensive to begin with. This includes places with lower cost of living, rent, and grocery prices. Generally speaking, rural areas are less expensive than urban or suburban ones. If cost matters to you and you want to move, keep this strategy in mind.
Moving isn’t viable for everyone. If that’s the case for you, there may be ways to reassess how you live. Are you able to move into your home? Find roommates to help you reduce your costs? Move to a smaller apartment or one in a different neighborhood? All of these present viable options that may help you reduce your expenses.
Get help from the professionals
We’re deeply proud of our commitment to our customers at Village Bank. We offer an array of locations around Greater Richmond and Williamsburg that are staffed with friendly, knowledgeable experts who understand money and how to save it. With nine retail branches that offer personal and commercial banking services, we’re here to help. Contact us today for more on how we can help you.