You can easily give advice to a friend seeking your help with ways to save money this year but is it really that easy to apply these things to your life?
For some people, 2019’s new year resolutions list includes setting aside money for better things in the future, like retirement or settling down and starting a family.
Assuming you’re one of those people, have you started already? If not, there’s nothing to worry about – it’s just February, which means you can still keep up with your promises for a better life.
Maybe last year you’ve spent your entire savings account in unnecessary things that by Christmas, you had no money left to buy presents for your loved ones.
Or perhaps a family emergency made you realize how important it is to save money. So now you made a promise to change old habits, even though you feel they might die hard.
With that, you might think it’s going to be a hard, long year, but it’s really easier than you thought. Here are things in your budget to sacrifice this 2019:
Disposable Household Items
If you have the extra moolah, you tend to miss the little things that can make you burn a hole in the pocket in the long run. You just don’t notice it because as we said, these are small things that are generally cheap.
These are disposable items like paper plates, paper or plastic cups, and even paper towels. Sure, they’re easier to use and won’t take time to clean because you’ll just throw them away after you use them but are you sure you can’t just opt for something reusable?
Plus, in opting for washable and reusable household items you are saving the environment because you’ll not contribute to the garbage problem we now have.
What’s more, you’ll notice that you now have spare money to use for more valuable things when you don’t spend on disposable products.
Clothes Shopping
This year, make a difference in the way you shop for clothes. If before you don’t want to be seen wearing the same clothes twice in a month, learn to accept the fact that you’re not a celebrity who is always snapped by paparazzi, therefore, you don’t always need new clothes.
Heck, even some stars repeat their outfits because hello, it’s 2019 – basically when people are smarter than ever in making wiser decisions.
This also goes to those who buy a shirt or jeans in all the color there is – some may laugh this off, but there are others who get a piece of clothing in every hue available just because.
Consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow said that people tend to wear their favorite color so the other purchases are usually forgotten in the closet.
Along with the money you’ll save, you’ll help the environment as well because it’s more sustainable to repeat clothes rather than to buy more that you don’t even need.
Coupons
Your first thought may be: coupons are there to help you save, duh – that is half true and half not. But there are coupons that just convince you to spend even on things you don’t need.
Sometimes, you get the itchy feel to use one just because you’ll save this percentage or because you’ll get this freebie, but in fact, you don’t need them – you’re just there for what you can “save.”
However, in hindsight, you’ve technically spent and not saved anything. On the other end, using coupons is also great in other circumstances as these can help you lower the bill only if you use it to buy things that you actually need.
Daily Expenses
Then we have come to this: the small things we purchase every day that we don’t notice to be adding to the list of splurges. For example, coffee – getting coffee from Starbucks is less-hassle for sure but it’s one thing that we can do ourselves before we leave for work.
So if a day you buy two drinks that total $8, that’s more than $2,000 a year, Widener University psychology professor Ross Steinman said.
Coffee is not the sole culprit, that chewing gum or mint and even that lottery ticket you religiously get every day maybe costing you more than you ever notice.
