5 New Year’s Resolutions That Can Save You Money

5 New Year's Resolutions That Can Save You Money from North Carolina Lifestyle Blogger Adventures of Frugal Mom

January 1st is less than 45 days away.  Many people make New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight, go to the gym more, and eat healthier, but according to Forbes.com, only about 8% of New Year’s resolutions are kept. This is why, while most people are getting ramped up for the holidays, I always do an evaluation of what my New Year’s resolutions will be in the coming year.  This allows me to make preparations over the next month and a half to actually be successful in accomplishing my goals.

If you haven’t even considered the upcoming New Year here are five New Year’s resolutions that can help you spend less money.

Build a Budget

A study conducted by Gallup showed that only 32% of American households utilize a detailed budget. If you are a part of the 68% that doesn’t use a budget, you should make a New Year’s resolution to change that.

Creating a budget has several benefits: it shows where you money is going, it shows areas that you can save more money, and helps you determine what you can and cannot afford.

As the New Year rolls in, budget your monthly expenses versus your monthly income. Every dollar that you spend during the month should be listed on your budget sheet.

Eat Out Less

The average American goes out to eat for lunch twice a week and spends $10 on each meal, which translates to almost $1,000 a year. If you’re married or have a family, these numbers can double or even triple in some cases. If you want to save more money next year, avoid the fast food and restaurants.

Taking your lunch to work or cooking dinner instead of dining out will save you thousands of dollars, and it will also save you thousands of calories. Some studies have shown that eating out increased calories by as much as 50%.

If you have kids and need to catch a quick meal out, consider going to places where kids eat free. Half the time my kids decide they don’t want to eat what I buy them anyway.  So why not pick a place where it didn’t cost me anything to buy the food they won’t eat?

Stop Smoking

Research has shown that smoking can have negative effects on long-term health, but smoking can also cause serious problems on your wallet. The average smoker will spend anywhere from $1,500 – $3,000 a year on smoking.

Quitting smoking will not only save you money by not buying cigarettes, but it can also save you money on your life insurance. Most life insurance companies require the applicant to be tobacco free for 1 – 2 years to be eligible for “non-smoker” rates. Smoker’s life insurance rates will typically run as much as 20% more than non-smokers. If you quit smoking for more than a year, be sure to get re-quoted for your life insurance.

If you’re looking to kick the smoking habit, it can be difficult, but there are a few simple tips to help increase your chance of never touching a cigarette again. Quitting “cold turkey” is the best way to go. Quitting all together will increase your chance of stopping for good instead of trying to wean yourself off. Set a date that you want to quit by, having a specific goal increases your chance of quitting.

Review Fixed Expenses

Speaking of life insurance, make a resolution to review all of your “fixed expenses.” Many people have been paying their fixed expenses for years and don’t think about them anymore. At the beginning of the year is a great time to review all those fixed expenses like life insurance, loan payments, or gym memberships, you might be able to find areas where you can save money by eliminating some of those expenses. Life insurance is one area that many people can save money by reviewing their plan. Cell phone bills or cable bills are another areas that you can typically trim down.

Pay Off Those Loans

Paying off debt is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions, which means is also one of the most commonly broken ones. Paying off debt feels great, it saves money on interest that would be compounding against you, and can have great benefits to your credit score.

Spend any extra money you have to tackle those outstanding debts. Things like student loans, credit card debt or car payments can add a difficult burden to your finances. Simple debt like credit card loan interest could add an extra $350 – $500 to your payments every year. Car loan interest will cost the average car buyer around $3,000 every year that they carry the debt.

No matter what resolutions you choose, you can have a much greater chance of holding to that resolutions if you prepare yourself ahead of time both mentally and physically.  So get started now and make that big change in 2016.

 

5 New Year's Resolutions That Can Save You Money from North Carolina Lifestyle Blogger Adventures of Frugal Mom

Paul Moyer is a proud husband and father of three young children.  Paul blogs regularly at SavingFreak.com about personal finance and how to save money.

 

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