7 Ways to Spring Clean Your Budget

When spring rolls around, most people get into a serious cleaning frenzy. Clearing out their garage, going through their cupboards or overhauling their health and fitness regime.

One area that tends to get ignored though is money. It’s easy to see how our finances can get overlooked. Most people are on a fixed wage or salary, with similar amounts of money coming in each month so slipping into bad habits of regular spending and inconsistent saving can become almost habitual.

The best way to get on top of your finances is to give them a spring clean, just like you would your garage or linen cupboard. Here are a few tips to get you started…

1. Go over your credit card bill from last month

Go over your credit card statement each month and see if there are any unnecessary expenses. Think about things like gym memberships, music or television subscription services and premium memberships to websites – these types of reoccurring payments can really add up. If you pay $7 a month for a music service, $80 for a personal training session you keep cancelling at your own expense and $24 for a monthly coffee bean delivery that you never use, that can very quickly add up to money down the drain. Make sure you scan your credit card statements for these sorts of payments and if you no longer use them, cancel them as soon as possible to save yourself some serious coin.

2. Buy your fresh produce from markets

Markets can often be cheaper than supermarkets so stock up on what you need for the week at your local market. Do keep an eye on specials though – sometimes supermarkets discount certain types of produce so look out for competitive pricing.

3. Choose three things to stop spending money on

If having a takeaway coffee every day brings you joy, you should absolutely keep doing it. If you get the same buzz from an instant coffee at home and you can’t really tell the difference between the two, it might be time to ditch your daily latte habit. If you have a $4 takeaway coffee every day that’s $1460 over the course of a year and there are dozens of other things like this you can stop buying to save yourself money. Have a look through your spending habits and choose three things to cut back on or cut out completely. You could save yourself a few thousand dollars to put towards that house deposit or new piece of furniture.

4. Commit to a savings plan

Long-term savings accounts may have a higher interest rate than regular accounts and you sometimes get rewarded for putting money in it regularly and refraining from withdrawing funds. The longer you leave your money alone in the account, the more interest you could potentially earn.

5. Set a weekly grocery budget

If you go to the supermarket every week and just buy whatever you feel like, you’re probably spending a lot more money than you need to. Resist expensive snacks, fancy cheeses, packaged meals and beverages and only buy what you went to the supermarket to get. Set yourself a budget and challenge yourself to stick to it, that way you won’t be tempted by the teaser item displays at the exit of the store.

6. Buy in bulk when you can

If you have a bulk buying store near you, try it out. Things like toilet paper, dishwasher tablets, garbage bags, long life milk and pantry staples can be purchased in larger amounts and often for a fraction of the price. Make sure you have a good idea of what price you’d pay for a particular item at different stores so you can easily identify when something is cheaper or not.

7. Pay cash where possible

It’s a good idea to try and pay cash for what you can, including big-ticket items, so you avoid potential interest charges.

Would you like some more tips on how to save money for a house? Send me a message HERE, and I can send through some information to assist you.

The above information has been sourced from Realestate.com.au. To read the full article CLICK HERE.