Other than negotiating for a big raise, there’s not much you can do to increase your monthly income. The best method of taking back some of your hard-earned cash is to cut out some of your unnecessary costs that rack up each month. The problem is that most people don’t want to significantly change their lifestyle in order to save some cash. There are, however, several monthly expenses that you can easily take control of and quickly lower, so you can get more money into your bank account each month without impacting the way you live.
1. Utility Bills
The first thing you should take a good look at is the amount of money you pay each month to your utility company. During the hottest or coldest times of the year, it’s important to make small adjustments inside of your home, so you can lower your utility costs a bit. One easy thing to do is to simply adjust your thermostat. Lowering or raising the temperature in your home one or two degrees is a small and immediate action you can take that can make a lasting impact on your monthly budget. Using a programmable thermostat makes this easy. Another great idea is to simply turn off the lights in rooms you aren’t occupying.
2. Credit Costs
Next, it’s time to closely analyze your credit cards and whether or not you’re paying excessive costs such as annual fees or high interest rates. First, if you have any balances that can’t be paid off, consider transferring them to a card with a lower interest rate to save some money. If you can’t transfer your balances, try calling your bank and negotiating a lower rate or the elimination of the annual fee if there is one. Of course, the best thing to do is to avoid racking up high credit card balances in the first place.
3. Tax Tips
Another helpful tip to give you more money at the end of each month is to focus on the money you pay in taxes. Before you analyze the amount of taxes you pay at the end of every year, take a close look at your withholding allowances. If you haven’t adjusted your withholding for a long time, you may be due for an update. Allowing the government to borrow a piece of your paycheck each year isn’t the best use of your salary, so you want to make sure you’re not withholding too much.
4. Insurance Savings
Lastly, you can add an instant boost to your income by checking out your insurance coverage. Most people need several different types of insurance, such as car, homeowners, or renters insurance. Instead of finding several different cheap policies offered by various companies, a smart thing to do is to go with one insurance agency and bundle your policies. With a bundled packed of insurance products, you can get the lowest rates and save the most money, without downgrading any coverage.
If you want to maximize your income potential each month, it’s important to look for small changes that you can adopt that can make an impact on the amount of extra money you have left over each month. While it’s difficult to increase your salary, the only real option is to cut back on something. It’s easy to follow these simple tips and watch your savings grow, giving you even more disposable income that you can choose to spend on the things you enjoy in your life.
As a final note, to be a really effective saver you need to be part of a supportive community. One place to find this community is on online forums. For savers specifically, a good spot is the Savingadvice.com forums. It’s a community of savers who pretty much just want to talk about saving money. Check it out here.
Are their ways to cut down on entertainment costs? I have been doing that since the last two months and am actually able to “see” my savings!