As we start a new year, usually the focus now is on losing weight, as you may not be where you thought you’d be at this point. While resolutions come and go pretty quickly, especially when the gym visits become less frequent and you’re paying for a membership that you don’t use, your finances should be a priority starting now and for the entire year, so that this time next year you are in better shape when it comes to getting out of debt, building up an emergency fund, and contributing to your retirement account in order to secure your financial future.
Paying for Cable
Certainly, if you’re looking to be a little more productive after work and taking care of items around the house, TV might not be the focus, especially if you find yourself only watching streaming services to catch up on the best shows. More and more are cancelling cable every year and for good reason; it’s just too expensive and becoming irrelevant. If you think about all the channels that you’re paying for and not watching, let alone watching those channels from your DVR so you can fast forward through commercials, it may be time to cut the cut and start saving a couple hundred dollars a month.
Only Using Cash or Debit Cards
I understand if using cash or debit card is for budget purposes so you can avoid going on a credit card spending spree, but if you figure only using a credit card for what you’re normally spending anyways, such as utility bills, food, gas, and other spending money, you could be potentially missing out on hundreds of free dollars a year in the form of points to use for gift cards, hotel rooms, or airline miles. With the vast competition of credit cards out there, you have your options to select the best rewards card to use to start saving money now.
Not Taking Advantage of Coupons
Just because the days of sitting down with the Sunday paper and clipping coupons may be over (although it is still around), that doesn’t mean saving money is out the window. Retailers such as grocery stores are offering digital coupons that you can add to your shopper’s card by signing into the website so they can come off at the register. You may need a printout of all the items you added though, so you remember what to purchase. While it may be an extra step in your normally busy day to day, once you see the balance go down at the cash register, you just may take more focus into using coupons.
Spending Full Price for Clothes
To be blunt, no one cares which brand you’re wearing, so why spend top dollar on clothes when you don’t have to. There’s nothing wrong with shopping at Target for clothes, not to mention looking at discounted stores such as Marshall’s or TJ Max to find previous season’s now on sale. Even if this is not how you normally shop, when you see the savings and realizing how much you were wasting on full retail price, there will be no going back.