As the prices of, well everything, rise, it’s time to look at your budget and make the necessary adjustments to still easily afford the necessities, like your rent, mortgage, and food.
The bad news is that financial advisors recommend each household have a savings equal to 3 months salary for emergencies. This is really hard to do, especially for low to median income families.
But, the good news is there are free or very low cost budgeting apps available to help you get saving, as well as super simple ways to cut expenses.
Here are 3 Simple Ways to Save Money this Year:
1. Check Monthly Subscriptions to Save Easy Cash
You can always cancel subscription services like overpriced cable packages, Netflix, and other trials you may have signed up for and forgotten about.
To get started, print out the last 30 days of your bank statement. Take a highlighter and highlight every monthly auto-pay bill you see.
Some may be unavoidable such as healthcare or car insurance, but others, such as Netflix and Xfinity may be tweaked or cancelled altogether.
2. Try a Budgeting App
Budgeting apps have sprung up all over the place and finding a good way may be difficult to do! Budgeting apps like Truebill find and cancel recurring unnecessary subscriptions for you!
And budgeting apps like EasyBudget come very highly recommended for sheer simplicity and ease of use!
Check your Google Play or Apple App stores to find these downloads and more to get your budget on track!
3. Save 10% of Everything You Make in a Savings Account
A good rule of thumb for saving money is to save at least 10% of your net pay in a dedicated savings account. Most direct deposit companies allow the choice to put a certain percentage of your paycheck into a savings account automatically!
If you are self-employed, simply transfer 10% of each deposit to your bank account.
If you happen to run out of cash before getting your next paycheck, don’t dip into savings, GET CREATIVE!
You can feed a family of 4 for under $10, walk or bike to stores nearby instead of using gas, or take on a quick side hustle for extra cash, such as Instacart shopper, Doordash delivery driver, or even take paid surveys!
The possibilities are endless!
Synopsis: Super-Simple Budgeting for the New Year
No matter whether you choose to save using the cash envelope system or Dave Ramsey’s snowball bill pay-off, these simple ideas for saving extra money will help you and your family with peace of mind! Which is priceless!