We live in a digital world where everything is at our fingertips.
From dining out, to chatting with friends overseas, to online shopping, all with the click of a button.
It’s no wonder people often find themselves strapped for cash when we can’t physically SEE the cash we’re spending,
Gone are the days of pulling out your $50 note for dinner, it’s tap and go!
So I’m going to share with you 5 expense cutting techniques to help you keep on top of your spending, and how you can find yourself with more dollars at the end of your month, rather then the other way around!
1- Check your subscriptions, do you need them all?
One of the worst ways we are losing money is by not cancelling our subscriptions!
When’s the last time you went to the gym?
Do you need Netflix, Stan AND Disney+?
Did you sign up for a 30 day free trial and forget to unsubscribe?!
Well now’s the time!
Pull up your bank statements for the past 12 months and have a thorough look through your spending.
I can guarantee you there’s some monthly, six monthly or yearly subscriptions that you don’t need to be paying for anymore!
Pick up the phone, open your email, wake up your carrier pigeon if need be! But get unsubscribing!
2 – Pay your utilities monthly
It’s much easier to budget for a month then it is to budget for a year.
Have a look at your utilities and insurances and see which ones can be switched to be paid monthly.
A lot of the time utilities are charges on an estimate of what you’re going to use, so if you make an effort to pay a little extra each month, you’ll be set up to receive a nice little credit at the end of each year!
Insurances can be a little trickier, sometimes the monthly price makes the yearly total more expensive in the long run. But, if you’re not capable of saving for your insurances each year, this will save you a lot of anxiety and heartache.
In the grand scheme of things, knowing what’s coming out of your account monthly allows you to keep a closer eye on what’s due and when, and you won’t have any unexpected surprises when a bill you’ve forgotten about is direct debited!
3 – Drink water when you dine out
Alcohol is a huge expense. Even one glass of wine a day at $4.50 a glass (and let’s not lie, that’s cheap!) adds up to $31.50 a week.
And for me, that’s a week’s worth of petrol!
There’s no reason for you to stop going out for dinners or drinks, but just change this one thing.
If you’re going out for dinner, swap your beverage for water.
And if you’re going out for drinks, swap every second drink for water.
This is going to save you an INSANE amount of money by the end of the year.
Don’t believe me?
I challenge you to put the money you’ve saved from not buying that drink into a saving’s account, but don’t look at it until the end of the year.
The total amount will blow your mind!
4- Change banks – no fees at ING
If you’re still using a bank that charges you bank fees it’s time to change. Those monthly fees can be spent elsewhere. Or even better, put away for savings.
Banks like ING and NAB don’t charge you monthly bank fees, and are still able to provide you with everything a bank that will charge you does.
Bank fees can be a thing of the past.
Now, I know that it can be a pain to change banks, but it’s only a job you need to do once, and you’re saving yourself $50 or more at the end of the year!
$50 isn’t much, I hear you say?
Well, how long have you been with your bank for?
10 years? More?
That’s $500!!
It’s worth the change.
5 – Unfollow and unsubscribe from everything that makes you want to spend money
Do you follow certain people and pages because of the eye candy?
The pictures make you feel good.
The food makes you hungry.
The outfits are a must have?!
Unless it’s a weight goal, a special occassion or an income goal.
Unfollow! Unsubscribe and change your news feed and email listings!!
If you’re ‘Treat Yo’Self’ing’ more than you’re saving, then it’s time for a new perspective.
This is going to be like a detox, but you can do it! The end result will make you much happier than the triple choc nutella cookie that’s making you drool right now.
I can assure you, once you apply some or all of these techniques, you’re going to notice a significant, AMAZING change in your cashflow.
You just need to decide to make the change.
