By Evan Vitale
As I write this, it is hard to believe that June 2017 is just a few days away. Which begs the question: How are you doing on your personal budget for this year? Making progress? Struggling a little or have you totally discounted creating and sticking to a new budget?
Don’t give up. There is hope and here are some ideas that you can use to either create a personal budget for you or get back on track.
Ready? Here you go:
- During the month of June, create a plan – a good plan – with the idea of moving into the second half of 2017 of sticking to a new budget for yourself.
- Review and give full consideration in all areas that you can possibly think of in order to cut extra spending and save money. For example, review your cell phone bill, cable tv service and other regular monthly expenses. In many cases, a quick call to your cell phone or cable TV provider can save you some money quickly.
- Start eating more meals at home. While eating out at restaurants or fast food places is fun (and yummy), you’ll quickly burn through any extra money that you can be saving for a rainy day. A friend of mine and his wife plan to eat one (and only one) meal out per week.
- Take your lunch with you to work. Again, this will keep you from eating lunch out and will help you save money and time.
- Take your coffee with you in the morning. Consider how much are you spending at Starbucks or other fancy coffee houses every money. By taking your own coffee, you’ll save money and time.
- Other ideas include: forming a car pool; using public transportation; find a cheaper parking lot (if you have to pay for parking), etc.
Regardless of where and how you cut your budget and start saving, there are many areas in which you can review and start trimming the fat. It might be a little painful at first, but the rewards are greater in the end.
