Personal Finance Advice

Fill in the blanks to this statement:  “I would give up _________ to save some money, but I just don’t think I could live without it.”

The truth is that unless you filled in the blank with something like food or necessary medications, you can probably live without it.  If you are truly trying to cut back on expenses and save some money, however, expenses that aren’t necessary should be some of the first to go.  After all, it’s pretty silly to run around your house turning lights off in an attempt to save money on your energy bill if you’re visiting the Starbucks drive-thru twice a day for $5 coffee drinks.

Here are some areas that you should really take a look at when you’re trying to save some money:

Your addictions:  Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol can all be bad for your wallet and your body.  It’s one thing to occasionally indulge in some wine with friends or a caffeinated beverage with a meal, but if you find that you start to rely on these things to get you through the day or to wind down at night, you have two good reasons to quit: You’re addicted and these things cost money.

Your hobbies:  Start replacing some of your more expensive hobbies with some less expensive ones.  For example, Instead of buying a new set of golf clubs and paying for the membership fee to the local course, take up hiking.  You will still get to walk around outside but you’ll save quite a bit of money with the trade.  If scrapbooking is your vice, then start creating your own decorations instead of buying expensive pre-made decorations at the store.  There’s nothing wrong with having hobbies, but if you’re trying to save some money then it gets harder to justify the expense.

Your habits:  A weekly habit of visiting the mall to buy new releases can be easily replaced with a trip to the library to borrow movies.  Your trip to an expensive fitness center every few days can be replaced with jogs outside or home workouts.  If you take the time to look, you’re probably going to find a cheaper version of the habits you have.

This is not to say that your life should be completely devoid of fun and indulgences, but the problem arises when the indulgences become the norm.  You shouldn’t have to scrimp and save for groceries when you have a cleaning crew come and scrub your house once a week.  In other words, sometimes you have to scale back on your indulgences in order to make the rest of your finances fall into place smoothly.

Figure out what you can live without, and then give it a try.  You may be surprised to find that you can actually live without certain things quite easily, and the money you save may allow you to indulge in something a little less costly.