Learning how to put more cash back in your pocket to use this week is a smart strategy anyone can learn. By coupling a few of the weekly techniques below with some monthly savings, you will not only get over a temporary money pinch, but position yourself to save big money going forward. By the time you've read to the end of this article, you will have learned tips enough to put at least an extra $50 to $150 back into your pocket this very week.
Everyone's situation is different, but get a pen and write down a list of your usual weekly expenses. As an example, let's say that during a normal week you spend $250 on groceries, $50 on gas for the car, $3 a day on lunch, and $40 a week on sundries like video hire, magazines, coffee with friends, clothes or shoes. Let's see how much of these things we can save on.
Tip 1. Take Inventory of The Pantry, Fridge and Freezer. Time Cost: 30 mins. Saving: $100?
Get a pen and list all the food items you already have in each of these places. Take note of any fruit and vegetables that might be wasted if it is not used up right away. On a table in front of you, group things together that might form a complete meal, like some left over boiled greens, if put with that ground beef, and if that bit of carrot was diced and mixed with the half jar of curry over some of that rice, there's one meal.
That pumpkin you were going to have with the baked dinner last week and forgot about, steam that and blend it with some soup mix to make a tasty broth to serve with some buttered bread or buns. That's a second meal. Warm up those cold potatoes, mash them with a bit of butter an egg and those few bits of vegetable and grated cheese and fry them as patties with a bit of sauce. You see the idea - get creative, then write down these meal plans and use them.
Tip 2. 'Shop' With Food, Not Cash. Time cost: 5 mins. Saving: $10?
Now that you have made up many of the week's meals, there are probably just a few necessaries like milk and coffee that you still have to go and shop for, right? Wrong! You may have found during the above exercise that you have duplicates of things you stocked up on when they were on special, or just won't use.
Check with your neighbour, friend, aunt or whoever if they can spare you some milk and coffee in return for a packet of dates, two cans of beans and that frontloader washing powder you bought by mistake. Now you've saved the cash for these few things, and you've possibly also saved a trip to the shop.
Tip 3. Check The Itinerary. Time cost: variable. Saving: $10?
Make a note of the essential travelling you will need to buy petrol for, and only put that much in the tank. If you filled the tank right up instead you may be tempted to make more trips. Plan to get a lift with a friend, use public transport, do more things on one trip instead of making two trips, ask someone who you know is driving in to town to pick up something for you, walk or ride your bike. If you have already fuelled up, ask a work colleague if you can give him a lift this week for a share of petrol costs, and get some of that money back.
Tip 4. Make Lunch Once A Week. Time cost: 40 mins. Saving: $15.
You're so rushed getting to work in the mornings that it seems easier to buy lunch than find time to make it, right? And at night you are too tired to bother, right? Okay, set aside 40 mins on the weekend to make the week's sandwiches and freeze them into separate bags - lots of types of fillings can be frozen, just check the internet.
Here's another 'free' and easy lunch idea: Most workplaces have a microwave where you can warm up food, so get into the habit of making an extra serving at dinnertime, place into a takeaway container and put into the freezer for taking to work. And it's cheap and easy to put a single serve soup mix packet into your workbag, too!
Tip 5. Movie Hire Next-door? Time cost: zero. Saving $5+
Like to hire movies? So does your neighbour, workmate or brother. Swap your own movies with those of someone else for the week so that you both get to watch something new without the hire charge. If you've already paid out to hire, offer your movies to the neighbour for a week for half the usual hire cost to get some cash back.
Tip 6. Thrift Shop At Home. Time cost: 60 mins. Saving $10+
Like you, your friends like to declutter their house, and like you, they spend money buying clothes and shoes on sale or at thrift shops, and like you, they probably don't have enough stuff or time to organise a garage sale. Hold a Non-Garage-Sale, where a small group of just friends get together and bring bags of items they would normally give away to charity.
There's those perfectly good aerobic shoes Sally bought just before she decided to take up swimming instead, and that brand new pair of jeans Brian's grandma sent that were a size too small. Swap around, without cash, and find the items you would have spent money on.
Tip 7, 8, 9 etc. Other Ways To Save. Time cost: zero Saving $10+
Suggest 'Coffee In The Park', instead of coffee in the mall, and take your own. Or still have a coffee with friends in the cafe but ask the proprietor if you can bring your own 'gluten free' cake. (He will think it's for the sake of your diet, but it's for the sake of your purse!) Be mindful of your weaknesses. If you and your friend both regularly buy a car magazine, or fashion magazine, offer to buy this week's issue and pass it on when read, and let your friend will buy next week's issue, read it, then pass it on to you.
Deliberately leave your wallet at home, or just pocket enough money for the errand, and no more. If you normally smoke a whole pack during the work day, deliberately ration yourself by taking out a few cigarettes and leaving them at home so that you eventually have a 6 packet week instead of a 7 packet week, saving $10. Work out what activities are associated with your drinking, and do a different activity instead.
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