Find $1,000 by the holidays
October 11, 2009 · Tagged with Banking and Budgeting, Family and Home
Two months of savings = $200
4. Eat out one less time per month. Dining out can be a real budget buster. But there’s no need to go cold turkey. Resolving to eat at home just one time more per month than usual can make a big difference. Considering a meal at a casual dining restaurant costs about $20 per person, you would spend $80 for a family of four to eat out. Instead, you could cook a family meal at home for less than $20 total, saving you at least $60 each month.
Two months of savings = $120
5. Put on a sweater. For every degree you lower your thermostat, you save 5% off your heating bill, according to the Alliance to Save Energy. So on a $300-per-month bill, dropping your thermostat just two degrees and donning a sweater will save you $30 a month.
Two months of savings = $60
6. Examine your phone and cable use. Do you really need all those cable channels? Drop your premium channels and you could save $15 per month or more.
Then there’s your phone bill… Do you really need caller ID? Call waiting? Voice mail? Internet service on your cell phone? Dropping one or more of these extras could shave $5 to $50 off your phone bill. You might even consider dropping your landline phone service altogether in favor of your cell or a free online service like Skype. That could save another $20 to $50 per month.
Two months of savings = $100
Total savings by December = $1,090
A Personalized Savings Plan
These six simple ideas only scratch the surface. There are dozens of other ways you can cut your spending for the next couple months, from re-shopping your auto insurance to getting a rewards credit card to finding cheaper movie rentals. Keep up the strategies year-round to pay down existing debt and to get yourself on more solid financial footing.
And next year, plan ahead for an even more painless approach. For instance, I set up an automatic savings program with my online bank to sock away $40 per month into a separate savings account I reserve only for holiday spending. Come December, I always have close to $500 waiting to soften the financial blow of the season. And because the $40-per-month is such a small amount — and it’s taken out automatically — I don’t even miss it.
Happy savings!