It may not seem like a lot of money to cut out of your budget a day, but $5 equates to $150 a month or $1825 a year! That $5 really adds up quickly, and making a few simple changes to your daily routine will help bring you closer to you $5 a day goal.
Make it at home
This is probably the first thing people think of when they want to cut back on expenses, but it can be tough. Making things like your own coffee, breakfasts, snacks, and lunch items at home, instead of purchasing them while out and about, takes a lot of preparation and organization at home. First, you must go out and purchase all of the ingredients separately, then you need to prepare your meals at home, preferably at night before you go to bed, to ensure that you aren’t too rushed in the morning.
If you are a coffee fan, invest in a quality coffee maker and to-go cups. If you are an iced coffee drinker, here is a great recipe for Easy Cold-Brewed Coffee. Even with all of the syrups, creamers, etc., it will save you a lot of money in the long run!
Watch those utilities
Things like leaving a light or TV on all night really adds up on your monthly utility bills. Try having one night a week where electronics are turned off for all family members. This is not only great for your utility bills, but it is nice to disconnect once in awhile and appreciate all of the non-electronic pleasures of life.
Entertainment expenses
Do you pay for cable/satellite, Netflix. Hulu+, Redbox, Amazon Prime, etc.? Look at all of the extras that you pay for each month and get rid of the ones that you don’t need. For instance, if you have Netflix or Amazon Prime and Hulu+, do you really need cable? Probably not. If you want to keep the cable, then invest some time programming your DVR and make sure not to miss any of your ‘must watch’ shows. Also, scan for future movies that you would like to watch and program your DVR to record those as well.
Cell phone
Saving on your cell phone bill is simple: pay only for what you use. Check out your usage over the past six months to a year, and see how much data and minutes you really use. If you are well under your limit, consider downgrading your plan. Also, make sure to shop around for the best price for your chosen plan. You might even benefit from using a prepaid cell phone plan. Some will let you keep your current phone and number.
To make sure that you use $5 less a day, put yourself on a daily budget and watch is carefully. Take that $5 and put it away every day or at the end of the week, until you’ve accomplished your goal. If you can actually see the savings adding up, it will encourage you to work hard to accomplish your goal. For some, shaving an extra $5 a day off of their budget is easier than it is for others.
If you are still having trouble meeting your goal, consider blogging at a site like Bubblews, that pays you for every view, like, and comment. It is fairly easy to make an extra $150 a month, and earnings are deposited into your Paypal account (there are other methods of payment as well).