How You Can Save $100 Every Month
Money is kind of like calories – you can cut back here and there for a nice net result. Have you been wondering how you can save each month? Here are some tips on how you can save $100 every month.
Where Is the Money?
Think about it – $100 a month is about $3.35 a day. Start looking for items you spend money on daily. Lunch? Coffee? Parking? Snacks? Movies? See if you can come up with $3.35 a day that you can cut back on. If you are only counting weekdays, look for expenses totaling around $5 a day.
Utilities
Take a hard look at your utility payments. Is there a way to cut back? Maybe you can switch internet providers or telephone companies. You might also be able to downgrade your cable bill, or – horrors – get rid of cable altogether. In fact, you might want to get rid of your land line, too, and go with just cell phone service. That all depends on what the service is like in your area, and how happy you are with your provider.
Going Green for More Green
Speaking of utilities, take a good look at your energy bills. Electric, water, sewer, and gas are what most people have to pay each month. Can you cut back your use of these utilities by $25 a month? How about $10? Here are some quick tips of shaving bits off your utility bills:
* Hand-wash dishes in a sink of soapy water and use the dishwasher as a drying rack.
* Check for water leaks around your home and seal them up, or place a jug under them to use the water elsewhere (such as refilling pet water dishes or watering plants).
* Make sure your home’s insulation is up to par.
* Change your furnace filters every 60 to 90 days.
* Use fans instead of air conditioning whenever you can.
* Don’t heat and cool rooms you aren’t using. Close vents in rooms that are unoccupied.
* Insulate your pipes with foam wraps in the wintertime.
There are lots more ideas – do an internet search and start implementing all the energy- and money-saving tips. Once you get a handle on what you are saving, you can put that into your $100-a-month fund!
What Do You Do with It?
Probably the best thing to do with the money at first is…nothing. Once it’s accumulated enough to open a savings account with it, you can do that. You might want to discuss the money’s final destination with a financial adviser – there are a lot of savings options available, such as IRAs and Money Market accounts.