How to Save Money Every Month!

Saving some money every month doesn't have to be brain surgery. It's an everyday attitude. Just by changing a few spending habits you will be able to see a difference in your bank account (for the better!) at the end of the month...

Coffee is indispensable to me and I bet to many of you as well. I just can't seem to start my day if I don't have at least two cups of coffee. It's no different when I'm at work. I need coffee to keep me going every couple of hours. But many of us prefer hitting our local coffee shop every time the need for some "java" arises.... "It's only a dollar", we think. We are not going to get any poorer by buying a cup of coffee! Of course not. But add one dollar, times three or four everyday, five days a week, and at the end of the year you spent 960.00 dollars in cups of coffee! That's almost one thousand dollars!
Calm down! I'm not saying we have to give up our daily fix........ Absolutely not! But there are a few alternatives....
Instead of buying coffee four times a day, you can invest in a nice thermal bottle for example and brew your coffee at home. Then take it with you to work. Of course if you work in an office chances are you don't need this advice.......... They usually have coffee available for free! (And you wouldn't dare going outside for coffee if you can drink it for free in the office right???) If that's the case, skip to the next step...

There are several ways to save money when it's time to go grocery shopping. The most obvious one is taking coupons. If you don't have the patience (I don't...) to do it, just by switching some brands you can save dozens of dollars every time you shop.
I always go for the store brand. It saves me almost 50% in every item I buy.
Besides buying the generic brand you can try and always pay cash for your groceries! If you take your credit card you will be tempted to spend twice more! Trust me! Take cash and stick to your shopping list!

Driving everywhere to many of us is almost as necessary as breathing...... We drive to work, we drive to school, we drive to the store, we drive to the doctor, we drive to the dentist, we drive our kids to friend's houses, we drive to the movies, we drive to the beach, we drive and drive and drive.... But do we really need all this driving? Or are we just plain lazy? I honestly believe that we could cut down on at least 50% of our driving if we really wanted to.... "But what would I do instead?" asked me a friend. "Buy a bicycle!" I say. Riding a bicycle can be a lot of fun and besides saving you a lot of money in gas, it's also a great exercise! If you are going to the beach, or the movies, or to a friend's house that lives fairly close to you, why not ride your bike?
You would be amazed at how much money you can save just by riding a bicycle instead of driving....

With our hectic lives and busy schedules, eating out or ordering in becomes almost automatic. We just do it! Who has time to cook?
I know it's way easier to eat out every day, but it is definitely not healthy for you or your pocket! Seriously, if you could take the time to write down how much money you spent every single day just with your eating habits, you would start screaming! We spend thousands and thousands of dollars a year with junk food! Then we complain we are broke, we are in debt, we can't travel anywhere because we don't have money, we don't have a savings account..........
I'm not saying you can never ever eat out again, but why not do it once a week, as a treat? Your health and your pocket will thank you later!

Many times we go shopping with friends and family and we end up spending a lot of money on things we don't really need. We do it because we see the other people buying things so we "have" to buy something too. But before you reach your wallet, stop, take a deep breath, and then ask yourself: "Do I really need this?" I guarantee you that 90% of the time the answer to this question will be "NO"! So why not save your money for something you will actually need to buy? You can do it! I know you can!

Keeping a nice and cute piggy bank in every bedroom can be a fun way to save money! Your kids will love the idea and you will be surprised at how much money you can save just by doing that! Have your kids and husband drop all coins inside the piggy banks everyday. Once a year you open all of them and you will have a nice surprise........ Have fun saving your money!

We all know this........... But it's always worth mentioning.... Run away from credit card debt!! Do not accept more credit cards! Have only one or two in your wallet and only use it for emergencies! They are not "friendly"! They are out there to get your money! Be smart!
You don't have to be radical and cut up all of your cards. Leave one or two and cut up the other ones!

We've all heard this before...... "Pay yourself first!"
But what does it really mean?
It means saving a percentage of your paycheck before paying your bills.
It could be anything. Ten percent is great, five percent is ok too.
I have a friend that was able to retire at the age of 50 just by doing that. He told me he always saved ten percent of his salary since he was 17 years old! Talk about discipline here! That's the only thing he did. And at the age of 50, still young, he was able to stop working and just enjoy his life with plenty of money in the bank! How great is that?
So when you get your next paycheck, no matter how big or small, pay yourself first!

If you were able to incorporate one or two tips on how to save more money every month I guarantee you that your savings account will be a couple of thousand dollars bigger at the end of one year. It is a great feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction! You can't wait to do it all over again the next year can you? Good for you! Keep up the good work and happy saving!!