When it comes to personal finances, most of us face a common challenge – determining the best ways to spend less. And, one of the easiest ways to meet your goal of spending less is to figure out how you can cut down on your regular expenses. Although some of your monthly bills may seem insignificant and small by themselves, they can have an enormous cumulative effect over time and easily become a huge drain on your resources that you may not even realize.
To try and minimize the damage that’s caused on a monthly basis, many people look for ways in which they can cut expenses that are both easy to implement and effective. Whether you’re looking through your bank account to find regular expenses that you don’t really need to be making, or updating your home to decrease the amount of money that you need to spend on it on a regular basis, here are some of the best ways to try and save money that aren’t too much hassle, but can potentially save you a huge amount of cash in the long run.
#1. Save Money on Your Car:
Let’s face it – if you have a car, then it’s probably going to be one of the biggest drains on your finances. However, the good news is that there are several things that you can do to save the amount of money that you spend on getting around every month. If you have access to public transportation, then getting a bus or train whenever you can will help you save a substantial amount on gas, parking and car maintenance over time, even if you decide to keep your car for some journeys.
Additionally, you may also want to consider using a bicycle or walking more often; not only are both of these free ways to make short journeys compared to driving, but they are also excellent for your health both mentally and physically.
If you rarely use your vehicle, consider selling it. When you need access to a car, you can take advantage of car sharing or hourly rental schemes instead, which will still be far cheaper compared to the regular costs of keeping a car that you barely drive.
#2. Invest in Renewable Energy:
Sometimes it is worth making an investment in order to save a substantial amount of money in the long term. Renewable energy is one of the best areas in which you can do this – investing in the best solar panel in San Jose, for example, will mean that you are able to generate your home’s energy from the sun using solar panels, reducing your monthly electricity bills to $0 – or significantly reducing them if you continue to get some energy from the grid.
Check out Semper Solaris, the best solar company in San Jose to find out what they can do to help you save money on your utility bills and make steps towards a greener, more environmentally friendly home. If you are looking for a solar company in San Jose these are a great choice, with years of experience and expertise installing solar panels and systems in the area.
In addition to saving money on your energy bills, investing in solar panels for your home can also become a great way to make money. Companies offering the best solar installation in San Jose may also be able to install a battery storage system for your solar panels, allowing you to store any energy you’ve generated that cannot be used up straight away. As a result, you will not only have this energy ready to use when solar panels are less effective, such as at night time and during bad weather, but you’ll also be able to sell any energy that you don’t need to use back to the grid.
#3. Reduce Your Debt Repayments:
For most of us, borrowing money is difficult to get away from. Whether you’re making regular monthly payments to a mortgage, a bank loan, car finance, hire purchases or credit cards, paying off debts can easily start to take out a large chunk of your monthly income and contribute to a large majority of your regular expenses.
The good news is that there are several things that you can do to reduce the amount of money that you are paying towards debts each month. If you are seriously struggling, then it may be worth getting in touch with a company or charity that can help you out with a debt management plan – you will pay one monthly payment to them and they will distribute this amongst your creditors, so you’re still repaying your debts but at a reduced rate. However, bear in mind that this can take its toll on your credit score.
Another option would be to refinance your home or car. If you think that you may be eligible to refinance your mortgage and lower your monthly payments, then it may be worth getting in touch with some lenders to see your options. And similarly, if your credit has improved since you purchased your car, you may be eligible for a better deal with lower interest rates.
Finally, consolidating your debts may be an ideal option if you have a lot of small lines of credit that you are paying to each month. Rather than paying them all separately, you can take out one loan or credit card that will cover the cost of repaying them all in full. Then, you will only need to worry about making one singular payment each month which is likely to be less than you were paying in total before.
#4. Reduce Entertainment Expenses:
Fun and entertainment is a key part of life – after all, you don’t want to work hard every day for nothing – but many of us are spending far more than we need to on entertainment without even realizing it. Go through your bank account and look for any expenses that you’re still paying but rarely ever use, such as club memberships or streaming subscriptions. If you have a gym membership but visit only once a week or less, for example, then it’s probably not worth paying the monthly fees for. You might want to look into pay-as-you-go gym options instead.
Check out your cable bill, too – many people don’t realize that there are cheaper ways to gain access to their favorite shows. You may be able to downgrade from a premium to a basic plan, or even eliminate your cable bill entirely and use cheaper internet streaming services instead like Netflix and Hulu.
Finally, look at all the other services and subscriptions that you pay for each month and seriously determine whether or not you really need or even use it. For example, if you pay for a newspaper or magazine subscription but don’t really read them when they arrive, cancel your subscription and get your news for free online instead. Or, if you’re paying for a service such as home cleaning or gardening, could you save money by doing it yourself instead?
When it comes to saving money, examining and cutting down on monthly personal expenses is often the best first place to start. You may not even realize how much you can save by simply making a few small changes.
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