Money Monday: Three Ways to Save Money This Week!

I don’t know about you, but I am having a hard time sticking to a budget. I check all of my accounts regularly and have developed a habit of reading through all of my statements with a fine tooth comb more consistently after I noticed weird deductions from my checking account. I’ve been really trying to stick to budget, which has been a hit or miss depending on the month. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m swiping my debit card too frequently and know I need to check my accounts, but I’m afraid of what I’ll see lol.

Luckily I don’t get that feeling too often, but I’m human and it does happen lol. Lately, I have been a lot better with saving. I’ll talk about my detailed savings plans in another post, but here are three simple tips that you can incorporate this week to begin saving money.

When I did a close examination of my finances I realized that I was spending too much money on food at work. Whether it was breakfast or lunch $5 at Dunkin really starts to add up. I also became a little lazy and stopped cooking on Sunday. I realized that If I don’t cook on Sunday then I will spend about $50 or more on lunch. Now I make sure I bring my breakfast to work as well as my lunch. Previously I would save Friday as my day to buy breakfast or lunch and Friday turned into Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday lol. Now I bring my breakfast, lunch, and snacks every day of the week.

When I am planning my weekly schedule, I take out a certain amount of money for the week based on my plans. So if I need to get my hair or nails done, I take out the money I need for that and tips in addition about $30 dollars for whatever I want to spend for the week. This prevents me from overspending and over swiping my debit card. If you take out the cash you need for the week, you can carry a credit card for emergencies and leave your debit card at home. If you don’t have it, you can’t use it. This is an extreme measure to save, but if you have self-control just tuck your debit card in a place that’s not easily accessible. You can use your cash for breakfast, lunch, or for a drink after work, but just remember that is all that you have.

The last few times that I reviewed my checking account I saw about three weird charges that I never noticed before. There were deductions from places that I never heard of. I knew it wasn’t identity theft, it was just me being neglectful. I would sign up for a free trial for something and forget to cancel and then I would get charged, or I would make an order for one product and forget to cancel the recurring payment option. One time I say a charge for a product that I’m sure I was charged for over the last few months, but never payed attention. Once I saw these charges I called the companies immediately to cancel all subscriptions and luckily because I noticed within a day or two of the transaction, I was able to get full refunds. I also checked the interest rates on my most frequently used credit card and called to get it lowered. I even had service charges from my bank because of the type of account that I had. I switched the type of account I had and was refunded my money. If you do not pay close attention to your finances you can be getting charged for things that you may not be aware of. So this week go through all of your accounts and see if there are any charges that you are not familiar with and call to see if you are able to get a refund.

These are just simple steps that you can use to save money this week. I will have more tips because I have big goals for 2017 and 2018 and I need to be diligent with my savings!

What are some simple tips that you have for saving money?