8 effective changes that can help us save at least $500 a month!
Saving $500 dollars a month seems very difficult doesn’t it? Yea, I though the same thing too. Until I asked myself an important question. What do I want, but don’t need? When I asked myself that question, I was able to look through my finances and unsubscribe from things that I did not need. Our wants can hinder us from taking care of our need sometimes, but when we focus on our necessities, we can find ways to save money. Also, if we make changes to our spending habits and become discipled with spending on our credit cards, we can find ways to save money as well. If we combine the different changes below, we could potentially save $500 or more. Here are 8 effective changes that can help us save at least $500 a month.
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1. (Strict) Budget Groceries-
We have all been guilty of making a grocery list but then buy more items than we expected. The unexpected items we buy can add up to be an additional $50-$100 on our bill. Creating a strict budget for our groceries can help us save money and help us to be disciplined. I would also add looking for deals to this tip so you can save money on the items you purchase. Also, beware of buy one get one free deals. Buying something just because it’s on sale that you may not use adds up over time, especially when it stays in the pantry for months and expires.
2. Dining out too frequently-
I believe in supporting small businesses and restaurants are part of that. Some of us love to go out for a nice dinner. However, dining out 3-5 times a month can cost hundreds of dollars. I remember years before the pandemic my wife and I would eat out 3 times a month. Our average bill would be around $124 which adds up to $372 dollars a month. We have been able to save A LOT by not eating out all the time. We still get takeout here and there from the businesses we’ve supported over the years but are now more mindful of our spending.
3. Cut Down on Cosmetics-
Ladies…you know this is where a lot of your money is going. The Youtube makeup tutorials has some of you spending a lot of money on makeup. Now I will not dive too
deeply into this topic and will be careful to tread softly but all I am saying is you can save some money if you don’t buy 15 shades of lipstick that are so close in color no one can tell the difference…
4. End those subscriptions-
I wrote in an earlier post that I saved over $50 just from cancelling my music subscriptions. Sometimes we have a lot of apps that give us limited features. We end up giving in and paying the $4.99-$9.99 to unlock the additional features we want to use. That subscription money can add up and you could save close to $50-100 just by canceling unused subscriptions. This includes other entertainment subscriptions like HBO Max or Netflix….well maybe not Netflix. Netflix is life lol.
5. Credit card clean up-
Keeping a big balance on your credit cards overtime will turn into a cash cow for your credit card companies. When we carry a large balance on our credit cards the interest on the card can cost us hundreds of dollars each month. I remember when I carried a balance and began to pay down the amount by paying more than just the minimum payment, my larger than normal payment was actually less because of interest. So out of my $200 payment only $146 went towards the actual balance. This made paying off the balance more difficult and a more prolonged process.
6. Transportation reform-
Do we really need two cars? I remember asking myself this when I began having problems with my car. Everyone’s situation is different, and I understand that. I saved $90 on car insurance, $64 on gas, and $200 every other month on repairs. Totaling to $1354 saved annually. Depending on where you live, taking the bus may not be an option due to not having a busing system. Not to mention taking the bus can be an unnecessary extra expense when you are paying a car note each month. However, if your spouse’s job is close to yours or one of you are working from home indefinitely, scaling down to one vehicle might be something to consider to free up funds if a vehicle is having issues.
7. Shop for lower insurance with the same coverage-
This was something that I learned recently over the years. I mentioned earlier that my car insurance was $90. However, Before, that I was paying $184 with another car insurance company that I was with for years. I remember shopping around and saw that with the same coverage I was saving over 45%. So, after trying to get the car insurance company I was with to match or go lower I ended up switching to a new and better company because my old company couldn’t go lower than $120. We can find saving in home and health insurance as well. There’s always another company that could have a better deal, but our carrier will not share that information with us for obvious reasons..
8. Lunch bags for everyone-
Some of us don’t have to worry about this as much because we are working from home. However, some children still report to school and so $25 for lunch each week adds up to $100 a month. If you have more than one child that could add up to even more. So here’s an idea, pack their lunch. There is nothing wrong with packaging lunch. The family saves a lot of money and we can allocate some of that money we are saving to the grocery list to invest in more packed lunch items.
*Bonus Breakfast and coffee adds up over time stick to budget.
If you are like me and love coffee, you could save a lot more money by buying a Keurig and getting the pods to start making coffee at work. Or if you have a Keurig at the house…use it and save yourself the long lines and money at the coffee shop. This can be said about breakfast as well. Chick Fil A’s cost for breakfast will add up!
Thank you for reading my post 8 effective changes that can help us save at least $500 a month. By using all or some of these ways we can save $500 a month or more each month. The $500 we are able to save can help us to invest, add to our emergency fund, pay down credit card debt, make an extra payment on a car note, make an extra payment on the house principal, or save a portion for a family trip. What are some more effective ways that we can save $500? Have you tried any of the ways above? If so, how did it work for you? Please comment below and let us know. Also, if this post can help someone please feel free to share and if you are new to Millennial Oaks please subscribe 😊.