Sigh! That is exactly the feeling when we get whenever it is that time of the month and for some of us the week to pay our bills, so life could go on smoothly. Unfortunately it never ends smoothly as we want. It is more of pulling hair and lots of tears. If you have just moved out of your parents house and are now setting up your own home and at the brink of realizing that nothing is really free (unless your parents pay for it!), well, here are a few tips to help you manage your costs and to live within your means. Keep in mind that becoming thrifty or frugal in your spending does not necessarily make you into a boring person with no life. Hopefully, these tips will also help you to become more creative in finding better solutions to control your costs than to go for the normal options that are beyond your means at the moment.
Use of credit cards/debit cards and ATM cards
Although use of credit cards seems like the much easy and sophisticated way to get about making your payments, you won’t feel it so when you get your monthly payment bills. And if you are the kind who thinks, you can pay just enough to get by and never completely settle your bills, well think about the interest that you will be paying. Or if it is your debit card that you swipe, have an app downloaded onto your phone that would alert you on your bank balance that will ring all the bells for you to steer yourself out of that shop. Switch to cash payments. You will not feel too comfortable in spending when you see how fast your cash is reducing. Also consider cutting down on your many trips to the ATM, instead with draw a chunk every two weeks or monthly.
Keeping those bills under control
You can start with small things like switching those lights off when you are not in a room or fixing those pipes that leak. What you could also do is to work on replacing your bulbs with energy saving ones, consider investing in steel water tanks for domestic use, and even work on a simple low cost rainwater harvesting system. You could do your own laundry using cold water at home. Bundle up your internet, phone and cable prices purchasing all your services from one provider. You could also completely take off cable and stream your favorite shows through the internet.
Purchasing any product
Go for the non-branded, generic names in just about any of your purchases. If you are worried about the quality check the label. You will find that most and almost everything is identical. Be smart when you clip coupons. Clip ones that you know you need and not good to have because it’s less. And look for thrift shops; you could get not only great deals but also lovely stuff. Again, don’t go crazy.
Keep yourself organized
Pay your bills on time! Remember to attend to your car tires on time and have them inflated properly, and it is amazing how you can cut down on gas. Make your grocery list before you visit the grocery. And visit the grocery once a week or once in two weeks and not when you get hungry or when you are bored or whenever you remember things. Haphazard purchasing can be costly. Keep a notebook with you and make a note or put it down on your smart phone.