When it comes to saving money, it sure can take sacrifice, otherwise everyone could do it and have loads of cash in their savings account. Hoping there is enough money coming in as there is going out is important to ensure that you stay out of debt and risk wasting your hard-earned money on interest every month until the balance is gone, likely holding you back from any financial gain in the meantime. By making a few cuts in areas where you are otherwise used to spending, you can watch the savings add up and use the extra money to build your emergency fund, payoff debt, or save for retirement.
Go Grocery Shopping Instead of Eating Out
This probably will be the hardest sacrifice to make, especially if you are not much of a cook, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a professional chef to learn how to go grocery shopping and prep meals for the week. While it’s nice to go out to eat and have someone else cook, serve, and cleanup when you’re finished, it comes at a premium price that likely could see hundreds of dollars at up if you go grocery shipping instead and eat at home if you can save going out to eat for special occasions or even splitting appetizers.
That Even Means Skipping Stopping for Coffee
Stopping for coffee in the morning is probably a regular occurrence since the need for caffeine in the morning is mandatory, but you can brew your own coffee at home and time it just right that it’s finished and ready to pour into your travel mug by the time you are ready to walk out the door. Doing this maybe not save hundreds right away but could save you $20 a week or so.
Use a Credit Card for Every Purchase
Probably the best reason to use a credit card and the reason it could be argued to be used for every purchase, is for the rewards you can get by charging on your account. While it can be tempting to charge more than you need to see the rewards pile up, but even if you charge the purchases that you were going to make anyways, you can earn free points that you can redeem for gift cards, airline miles, or hotel rooms, not to mention even yearly cashback checks to cash yourself.
Cut the Cable Cord
Depending on how much and what you watch, cutting the cable cord may be a major sacrifice but can easily save a hundred dollars at least a month by cancelling cable. Instead you can opt for an HD antenna for under $20 to still get the local channels, and a streaming service or two for around $10 a month to still watch all of the best shows. You may not have as much live TV any longer, but how much do you really watch anyways? Chances are all the shows you watch are on your DVR anyways, so what’s the difference if you stream them at a later time.