Continuing on our tips for saving money…
#7: Spend extra or unexpected income wisely. Many Americans received the stimulus money during the last year and there are rumors there may be more. While it is tempting to go out and splurge on a purchase, put that money to good work. Invest it in your retirement, put it in your emergency fund or pay off debt. If you’re 30 years old and you put $1400 in your retirement at 12%, you’d have $91,433 at 65! That’s without adding anything to it and many years you’ll make more than 12%!
#8: Reduce Energy Costs: Nathan and I changed our lighting in our home to LED during covid. We added dimmable recessed lights and ceiling fans in all the rooms too. But our electric bill has actually gone down! Make sure that you’re not leaving lights on in rooms you’re not using or paying to air condition the outside!
#9: Unsubscribe from emails. I know there are many times that I get an email from a company that I’ve shopped at previously and they get me to click on their site and start looking at things that are pretty or that I “need”. I have to go in several times a month and just unsubscribe from all of them. This not only cleans up my email, but keeps me from splurge spending.
#10: Check your insurance rates. I actually just did this this week! Thankfully I’m already getting a great rate, so I don’t need to change. But at least once a year go online and shop around and see if there is anything better. You can also save money by raising your deductible to $1000, however, I don’t recommend this until you have a fully funded emergency fund.
#11: Pack a lunch (and eat at home). This is getting more difficult now that places are opening up for business. However, eating out has gotten really expensive. You’re easily looking at spending $8-12 for lunch per person! That would be $2600 a year if you did that 5 times a week. Perhaps pick a day each week or every other week to splurge and eat out. Eating at home is also healthier, so your waistline will thank you.
More to come on the next post! Which savings ideas are you going to use?