Saving Money For The Unemployed
Written on 1:02 PM by Robert
One of the things I've learned soon after I was laid off was how to cut back on expenditures. Some of the things I'm about to mention I've implemented years ago, and some I'm still working on. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I have had with respect to all of these tips.
1) Get rid of that car! If you live in a large metropolitan area (like NYC), do you REALLY need a car? I live in Brooklyn and have not needed a vehicle on a day to day basis in over 6 years. This saves you on car payments, insurance payments, gas purchases, and maintenance. Can you calculate how much money YOU would save monthly just by cutting back on a vehicle? I can imagine owning a car can easily cost over $500 a month.
Use mass transit to get from place to place. It will become second nature. If you want to go away for the weekend or go on vacation, you can rent a car for that time. It will be much cheaper in the long run.
2) Combine your bills. If you watch cable (or satellite, or FIOS), combine that bill with your phone and Internet services. You will definitely be saving money on a monthly basis. You will also have less bills to pay, making this a lot simpler for yourself. If you can combine your gas bill and your electricity bill, go for it! Combine your car insurance (if you decide to stick with one) with your home insurance (if you own a home). If you have multiple loans or credit cards to pay, try to consolidate them (assuming the interest rates wind up being better).
3) Start shopping with coupons. Cut supermarket coupons before going shopping and stock up on the sale items to last a few weeks. Do you need to buy something online? Then search the Internet for online coupons. There are tons of merchants who accept online coupons - why not take advantage of them?
4) Stop eating out as much. This is something I still need to work on. Cutting back on eating out for lunch and dinner will save you the most money per month. If you haven't done so already, estimate how much you spend a week eating out. Then multiply it by 4 weeks. This monthly expenditure is scary! Cut back, if you can.
If you can think of any other money saving tips, please post and share!
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