Are you having issues with debt? The best thing you can do it try to reduce your expenses. While income might not necessarily fluctuate, you can still take action to control your costs.
- Cable Television
With as many streaming television services as there are today for a low cost, there’s really no reason for most people to have cable television. Many streaming services can even be used directly on a television if you have a smart TV or DVR. While land line phones can be necessary for those with children, cable usually isn’t.
- Coffee
A daily coffee may seem like a minor expense at $4 a day, but add that up over the work week and you’re spending hundreds of dollars a year on a luxury. Instead, consider buying a thermos and making your coffee at home. Not only will you save money, but you’ll also be able to tailor your coffee to exactly what you want!
- Dining Out
Sometimes it can seem exhausting to make a good home-cooked meal after work, but there are ways to make it easier. Consider buying a crock pot; simply throw a few ingredients into the slow cooker before you leave home and you’ll have a meal ready by the end of the day.
- Membership Services
Do you have a gym membership you’re not using? Perhaps subscription services that you always mean to cancel? A debt reduction expert from Faber Inc recommends taking some time to follow through with cancelling these memberships and subscriptions. Too often we tell ourselves that we will cancel “the next month” when we really should be canceling the service immediately. If you haven’t used a service in the past fewmonths, it’s likely that you won’t be using that service any time soon.
- Bank Fees
Go over your last few bank account, credit card and utility bill statements and tally up your bank fees, NSF charges and late fees. Odds are that this is adding up to hundreds of dollars a year! By scheduling your payments to be made on time, you can get ahead of this problem. And if you really don’t have the money, you might want to consider calling your companies and discussing the problem with them. Sometimes they can arrange to get you back on schedule.
Try to track your expenses for a month to see areas in which you can reduce your expenses. You might be surprised to find out how much you’re actually spending in some areas.
Image credits to: Stuart Miles – freedigitalphotos.net
