The cost of food, utilities, and rent are going up, and we know your dollar is not stretching as far. According to a Lending Club report, 62% of adults said they are living paycheck to paycheck.
Boston 25 News set out to find five ways you can save right now.
TIP 1: Track your spending – use an app to keep track of where you are spending your money each month.
“The big challenge for everyone right now is that prices across the board are higher. We want to look for places you can cut back because everything is more expensive. Basically, it means we can’t keep spending money,” says NerdWallet’s personal finance expert, Kimberly Palmer.
TIP 2: Cutback on “Convenience Spending”: Instead of buying things at the vending machine at work, bring them from home. Save the drive-thru coffee for a treat and bring your travel mug most days.
“Without making it a change to your lifestyle because nobody wants to do that. You can have the same things and have more money at the end of the day,” said Rob Burnette, CEO of Outlook Financial Center. Burnette also suggests packing your lunch instead of going out, saying lunches from home tend to be healthier as an added bonus.
TIP 3: Prep for grocery shopping. Palmer says it’s best make a list and stick to it, so you don’t spend extra on impulse buys.
Tip 4: Set up auto-transfer from your checking to your savings.
“Paying yourself first by automatically transferring money from your checking account into a high-yield savings account every single month,” says Palmer, is a great way to save. She says saving 20% of your take-home pay each month is a good rule of thumb.
And TIP 5: Cancel unnecessary subscriptions. Do an audit and get rid of everything you just don’t need!
“I’ve had people come in. We do this kind of work for them. And, they’ll say they haven’t used that in two years. Well, you’ve been paying $19,99 a month for the last two years for something you’re not using,” Burnette said.
If you can’t remember where you have your credit card stored, you can call your credit card company and ask them to manually remove it from every site it’s attached to.
“All these ideas are not to change your lifestyle. We’re here to change your cash flow in a positive way. So, at the end of the month, you have more money to do things you want to do. And things you should be doing like saving for retirement,” Burnette said.
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