With the new year right around the corner, everyone is searching for new ways to better themselves as well as their lifestyles for an incredible year. While jotting down your new years plans filled with wishes of exercising, dieting, and getting a new job, one thing you do not want to forget is saving money. Make this next year sensational by applying essential frugal living tips to your lifestyle so you can save up more money for an amazing Christmas next year.
1. Set A Goal For Yourself
Much like everything else in life, setting a goal is an important part of making something happen. For instance, those who are on a mission to lose weight will often have a weight goal they are trying to obtain, which will help them to keep going until they reach their goal. This same principle applies to frugal living. Setting a goal for yourself will ensure that you have something you are trying to obtain. Make a goal that is moderately difficult yet still approachable, such as saving at least one hundred dollars each month. When you reach your monthly goal, have a prize lined up for yourself. This will also help you to keep striving to reach your goal.
2. Make A Plan For Yourself
Making a plan for yourself is an essential part to living frugally. The basic reason for this is that you do not want to walk into a new lifestyle blindly. Instead, write down a thorough and well executed plan that you can stick to. Do not make your plan too hard, as you will most likely end up failing. Instead, make a plan that is easy to follow and is either daily or monthly.
3. Pay Off All Credit Card Debt
Starting out the new year, you do not want to have any hang ups from the last year. One thing that you will definitely want to have with the new year is a clean slate of credit. Before the new year begins, make sure all of your credit card debt is completely paid off. This will not only give you ease of mind for a great new year, but will also allow you to have some credit in case something happens in the new year and you find yourself in desperate need of some money.
4. Find New Auto and Health Insurance
Auto and health insurance can be extremely expensive, depending on the company you choose as well as the policy you have. However, you can dodge high prices this upcoming year by searching for brand new auto and health insurance. Do plenty of research to find out which company has the absolute best price. An important thing to note is that some companies will offer both insurance policies, while others will offer them separate. Keep this into consideration when buying a new plan.
5. Compare Phone, Internet, Television, and Electricity Plans
Besides costly auto and health insurance, other essentials that can be extremely costly include phone, internet, television, and electricity plans. Much like insurance, you can search around for companies that offer a much cheaper service without any substitution of quality. After researching for the lowest cost insurance, take your researching skills to the areas of phone, internet, television, and electricity. Most companies will offer bundle packages that include three or four of the aforementioned things at a discounted price, which not only means a lower overall cost per month, but less bills to pay.
6. Start Couponing
We all know those people that can go to a store, have a full cart full of items, and end up paying little to nothing at all. While you might not be able to get that much of a discount at first, you can spend a considerably less amount of money simply by the use of coupons. You can find coupons in the newspaper, certain magazines, and of course, the internet. Cut or print the coupons and take them into the store with you and notice a significant decrease in the amount you will have to pay at check out. This is definitely one easy way to spend a lot less at grocery stores, convenient stores, and even retail locations.
7. Delay Buying
Impulse buying is definitely something that happens to all of us at one point or another, and some people may find that this type of buying happens a lot more then it should. If you are a victim of often impulse buying, this next tip is for you. Simply try your hardest to delay buying, even if it means you wait only a few hours. Think hard about it, maybe even sleep on it. Ask yourself some basic questions: 1. Do you need the item? 2. Is it essential to your well being? 3. Do you have the money for it? 4. Is it something you will regret? If you can answer these questions and feel positive about the purchase, then at that point it would be okay to purchase it.
8. Wait For Sales
At one point or another, almost everything goes on sale. Most of the time companies will inform customers about upcoming sales. Keep track of all sales coming up in the future and wait until the sale date to purchase the items you want. By doing this you could save 20 percent, 50 percent, possibly even 90 percent, which means a significantly lower price at check out. With such an easy way to save a ton of money, who wouldn’t want to follow the simple sales tip?
9. Buy Generic Brands
There are two types of items: generic items and brand name items. While most of the time brand name items will have better ingredients or will be built to last (such as makeup and clothes) there are some items you can buy generic. Buying generic does not always mean you are substituting quality. Find generic items that have the exact same ingredients or materials as the brand name item, and choose the generic instead. Purchasing the generic brand item is a sure fire way to lower your bill at the end of the shopping trip.
10. Shop Online
The last, and probably one of the greatest frugal living tips, is the tip to shop online. Shopping online comes with a load of benefits. The main benefit of shopping online is that you will most likely find a discounted price, unlike the price you would find online. Even when items are not on sale in the stores, they can still be for sale online. Buying online can save you a lot of money and time and is a wonderful option; that is, if you are willing to wait for shipping and handling time.
