Three Ways To Save Money This Month
If you find you keep coming up short every month there are a few things you can try to make a difference in the way you spend. Here are three ideas to try out this month in order to start living a thriftier life.
Drinks
This might seem like an odd place to start, but you would be surprised at how much money you spend on beverages of all types everyday. If you are big on drinks such as juices and smoothies try making them at home instead. Frozen fruit is available year round and can be used to create yummy drinks for everything from frozen cocktails to healthy breakfast smoothies. Take a look at how many hot beverages you buy at work, how often you pop out for drinks after work and how much you spend on bottled water. Then make a decision to be a little more careful and use some discretion with your spending. Cut down where you can and put the money you would have spent in a jar to keep track of your savings. Then put that money aside for when you need it. You can also consider keeping a tin of your favourite flavoured coffee or tea at work and make it instead of buying it.
Groceries
Consider how much you are spending on name brand products and make the decision to try some of the own-brand goods instead. You might just be surprised at how good some of the products are and in most cases you will not see much of a difference, especially in food items such as canned vegetables, beans and tomato and pasta sauces. Try it one week. Buy the own-brand items in place of your regular brand and then take note of two things: First consider taste and second consider savings. If you find the taste is not worth it then go back to your regular brand. But in most cases you will probably find there is very little difference. As well keep an eye on items you use often that are sold in bulk as well as items you use regularly that come on offer. These items can also include meat that you can freeze. Avoid fresh produce of course as they will go off before you eat it.
Health and Beauty Products
For personal care products such as shampoos, conditioners, soaps and moisturisers see if you can find travel sizes or samples and give them a try for a few days. You can see substantial savings not only in personal care but also in own-brand pain killers, allergy medicines, bandages, vitamins and many items in your medicine cabinet. Try them and see how they work and take note of how much you save. Also look for good offers such as buy one get one free or even items that might get you extra points on your reward cards.
Trying these three little things can save you a lot more money than you might think and can be put towards something special or better yet into a savings account for a rainy day. For more money saving advice visit Carmax Finance, the money saving experts of the automotive industry. Go on… give us a call. You may just save a fortune!