Are Your Daily Decisions Supporting Your Financial Goals?
Reflect on what you buy during your week. Is there a chance you could be spending more than you need to on your regular purchases? If we spend thoughtfully and try to save whenever we can, we are more likely to stay on-budget and progress towards our goals for the future.
To determine if you can tweak your habits and create even more savings, assess the cost-effectiveness of your spending in these three areas of your life:
- Wise Dining: As easy as a delivery meal or dinner out is, the convenience is reflected in either higher prices or lower food quality. Consider setting the goal of preparing a few basic, healthy meals ahead of time for days when you are on-the-go. Spend a week buying basic produce and grocery staples and eating away from home as minimally and strategically as possible. Compare your final receipts with weeks when you were eating out more frequently. You may notice you spend less money when you set time to prepare your own food. These funds can create much-needed savings growth.
- Drive or Ride: While some days we may be lucky to work from home, we all have to navigate ourselves from point A to point B at some point. If you are not making as much progress as you would like on your financial goals, this may be an area of your life where you could find more savings. If you drive, find out if there are ridesharing programs in your city. In addition, many municipalities are expanding their public transportation systems. After you include the cost of gas, parking, insurance, and car maintenance, you may be encouraged to hear that trains, buses, and other programs will majorly cut costs down from your transportation expenses each week!
- Reduce Debt: If you have more credit card debt than you can afford to pay off at the end of each month, your balance is likely gathering interest. This interest is essentially making these purchases more expensive than they were initially. Even if it’s a matter of a few dollars, that money could otherwise have been saved. Consider setting your credit cards aside until you have paid down this debt. If you find yourself buying groceries and other necessities on credit, you may benefit from pursuing additional income to help you get out of debt and make reassuring savings progress.
If we do not control our spending, we may not notice the potential savings we have lost until it’s too late!
Learn more ways to build financial security at www.syncis.com/blog/.
