subject: Cutting Down On Personal Expenses To Save Money [print this page] Personal expenses are discretionary because they are very flexible. Due to this, people don't consider them thoughtfully when it comes to budgeting. Perhaps unconsciously, they don't really want to know how much cash they are wasting.
However, if you truly wish to save money and secure your future a little more, you should definitely look at your personal expenses and plan on how you could cut down on them. In this article, you will learn about some ways on how to do just that.
According to survey, an average person spends close to $2,000 every year for clothing. You can dramatically cut this cost if you start shopping at auctions, thrift stores, and consignment shops. Sure, shopping in them may seem quite unglamorous, but the items in them are not! In fact, you can find a lot of fashionable clothing in these stores and the great thing is you won't have to pay much.
Now, if you need to buy something new, buy it during off season. If you have kids, then you should do this all the more. As you know, they usually go up a size every year so you can shop ahead for the coming seasons even if you'd have to wait sometime before the kids eventually wear them.
When choosing clothes, you should go for ones which have less cost-relation for maintenance. Watch out for the sign that says "Dry Clean Only". Instead, pick clothes made from materials that are easy to care for and can be maintained at home.
Another biggest personal expense that an average person pays for is communications, more specifically, cellular phone bills. Mobile phones are just very convenient so you tend to abuse them. When the bill comes, that's when you wonder how you ended up spending so much time on the gadget.
If it's not very urgent, you can use e-mail instead of calling. Most likely, you have an internet access at home, at the office, or both. Anyway, grab this opportunity because e-mail is for free. By sending emails, you can save a lot of cash on paying for long distance calls. If you can't help but make use the phone, it is best to compare different long distance plans. Then, choose the one which suits your calling style best.
When making a call, try to consciously keep track of your minutes. Don't go beyond your allotted time. Most cellphone companies charge quite high for extra minutes. If you notice that you keep on exceeding your plan's minute allotment, you'd better go for an upgrade. The extra cost you'd have to pay for this is often much lower than the extra charge for the exceeding minutes you keep on using.
You may also consider changing cell phone companies. Go for the one which offers the most practical and affordable package. Before switching though, you should call your current phone company and inform them about your plan. You'll never know, they may be willing to beat the competitor's offer.
Cutting down your personal expenses can surely help you save money. Don't think that these things are insignificant because in reality, they are very important and can save you a lot of cash.
by: Dan Cavalli
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