Help! Gas prices are killing my budget.
May 13th, 2008The price of gas keeps going up and up. I spent $50.00 to fill up my Honda CRV. Is gas expense killing your budget. How much more a month are you spending on gas? $50, $60, $70, $100
What are we suppose to do?
Look for ways to cut expenses in other areas of the budget.
Here are a few ideas I had for my family:
- Drop family membership to the health club. (Save $123.50/month)
- Limit going out to lunch to once a week. (save $60/mo)
- Limit Starbucks to once per week. (save $40/mo)
- Change TV programming from U200 to U50. (save $30/mo)
- Ride my bike to work twice a week. (save $20/mo)
- Lower my long distance phone plan. I use my cell phone for long distance calling. (save $10/mo)
- Drop text messaging from my cell phone features (save $30/mo)
All of these items are small items. But they sure do add up. If I actually dropped the items above from my budget I would be saving $313.50/month. I know these are lifestyle changes. But, wow what a difference these changes can make.
Make a list of things you can do to cut your living expenses. Put everything on the board. Here are a few more ideas:
- Drop Netflix
- Borrow videos from a friend instead of renting from Blockbuster.
- Drink ice tea rather than diet coke from the vending machine
- Car pool to work
- Run the whole house fan at night and do not run A/C during the day.
- Plan your trips around town.
- Do I need a hair cut every month?
- Do I need a pedicure this month?
There are lots of ways to save money. Nothing is sacred. Make a game out of it. Who in the your family can come up with the best idea for saving money?
Have you ever heard the phrase “buy term, invest the difference”? It isa life insurance phrase. I first learned it while working with an insurance company called A.L. Williams.