If you have a monthly budget that you try to stick to, you probably know what areas of your spending that take up the majority of your money. But for those who don’t keep track of their money too closely, it can be surprising to see just where all that money is going each and every month. For most people, at least a portion of the money their spending is ending up going to waste, whether it’s because they’re not using what they’re buying or they’re overpaying for something. So to help keep this from happening to you, here are three things you’re likely wasting money on each month and some ways you can start to trim that waste.
Food
According to Alex Morrell and Skye Gould, contributors to Business Insider, most people spend the majority of their money on three things: housing, food, and transportation. For most of these people, food is going to be the area that it will be easiest to stop wasting money on. Your money can be wasted on food by buying more than you need and having it go bad, not eating what you’ve bought, allowing pests to get into your food, or spending money eating out. But by making a few changes, like only buying the amount of food you’ll actually eat or spending your money on groceries rather than at restaurants, you will begin to see that you’re spending less and less money on food each month. One way to lower the costs would be to use coupons any time you eat out, like Subway discount codes .
Heating and Cooling
Depending on where in the world you live and what type of housing you live in, you likely are spending at least a portion of your monthly budget on heating or cooling your home. However, if you live in a large home or in a particularly drafty house, you’re likely spending a lot more money on heating or cooling than you should. The money for this utility is likely not being well spent if your home isn’t well insulated. For this reason, Jane Scearce, a contributor to LifeHack.org, recommends taking steps to better insulate your home, like getting airtight windows or doors. You could also try only heating or cooling the rooms you frequently use, which could cut down on your bills significantly.
“Sales”
One of the biggest tricks that gets you to spend more money than you should is the idea of “sales”. According to Kit Yarrow, a contributor to Time Money, when people see that something’s on sale, they’re more likely to justify buying it even if they ordinarily wouldn’t. However, if you weren’t planning on making this purchase in the first place, you’re not saving any money by buying it when it’s on sale. So rather than being deceived by “sales”, try to only buy the things you actually need from the store.
If you’re looking for ways to spend less money each month, use the tips mentioned above to help you do just that.
