Seven simple life hacks to rescue your monthly budget.
Earning and spending seem to be all we do as an adult as our life roams around it. When I was a kid, my parents use to lecture me on how important it is to live in the balance when it comes to our finances because too much or too little, both can do harm.
Having command of your budget is difficult if you make it so, but if you will take care of little things on a daily basis and make it your lifestyle, you would be astonished by the results. It is exactly as switching from a full junk life to healthy eating.
From my life experience, following are the seven simple life hacks to rescue your monthly budget.
Unnecessary payments
You must be laughing and saying that for you all the payments are unnecessary and you would love everything free. Well in a parallel universe? Sure. Here? Can`t.
With the phrase unnecessary payments I mean all the stuff that we do not use but we pay for it. Like the Wi-Fi that is plugged even when no one is home, that phone service you got even when you know you are not going to use the date you ordered for yourself.
I mean please plug in the wiFi when you are home but be conscious of stuff like this as these small things also consume the amount of electricity you have to pay later. As for the phone service, I encourage people to get the highest paid services if that is what their need is but if your service data exceeds you need that cancel that subscription. Because living in extremes is not the right way to live.
Here is a link for you to explore for financial awareness.
Avoid plastic money
The idea of plastic money is becoming so popular that we almost have forgotten the face of paper money. I do not blame any of us, plastic money gives us security and brings easiness as we do not have to stand to the counter and count every buck to make the payment and it also saves us from the embarrassment of the time when we run out of cash.
Despite all these advantages, we cannot neglect the fact that plastic money is making us look thing differently. Once we hated to be in debt but now because of a credit card it all seems reasonable. If you are someone who just can`t accept to go back to cash payments, then try a debit card instead of credit but keep yourself at a distance with any sort of debt.
Cook at home
This fast pace life is making us compromise on so many things that including our health. A cup of coffee to go or a hamburger for lunch and a pizza for dinner is the easy way to life, but the effect it has on our health and budget is not good.
Cooking at home will reduce your expenses to almost 50% and the money saved on your hospital bills are also to be kept in mind. If you are a busy bee and cannot cook then prepare your meals on the weekend and freeze it, that way you just have to microwave it and enjoy without any further do.
Benefit yourself with technology
While the modernity is making us question the bad things it also requires from us to acknowledge the things that bring good to us. There are several apps on the stores that you can download for making your life easier.
Applications like mint and other let you update your plans once and keeps on track for the rest of the period. You do not have to input all of your energy into it.
Seek for discounts
It is needless to say here that I love discounts because who does not? But do you love it to the extent that you keep a hold on the thing you want to buy until you see that it is for sale at a discount? No? Well, to be honest, it is more about being a smart buyer than being in love with discounts.
I always prepare a list of thing that I need to buy, but it could wait for a month or so and during that time I hunt for the discounts that are to offer in the market and go for the best on. I ask to do nothing less.
Set an allowance for yourself
You must be thinking that the lady is going mad, but she is not, she is just talking with experience. Setting an allowance for yourself every month motivates you otherwise you will buy recklessly throughout the month and will say that you earn for spending.
If you will ensure yourself that your earning will benefit you in the long run and will also treat you adequately in the shorter run than only you can be motivated enough to go with your budgeting plan.
Update more, renew less
Here is another thing we have to blame for our busy lives. We tend to ignore the stuff lying around us that needs our attention and when it is completely depreciated we renew it without realizing that we are in loss of 100%.
Update things around you to use it to its maximum life, this way you can also be a little more creative and could spend some time with your family in doing that work.
Author BIO
Sarah Smith has been a personal finance author for the last five years. She is also, an independent and very passionate finance and investment advisor. She regularly posts at PersonalIncome.org.