How to Tweak Your Budget

    So you have a loose budget put together but you want to know how you can tweak it so you can save even more money during the month.  The best way to do that is to dissect each little section of your budget.  In a separate section of your budget notebook, make a detailed listing of these two areas: eating out and grocery store visits. 

1. Eating out.  Take a look at your bank statement from last month.  Make a list of all the times you went out to eat including date, amount, and place.  Total it up for that month.  Write out a page for the current month.  Make a promise to yourself you will but it down by half.  I saved $140 by keeping in mind the amount I had spent the previous month.  Make it like a game where you are trying to beat your old habits and the previous month’s numbers.
2. Grocery store visits. Every time you go to the store, especially those unscheduled trips during the week after work, you are wasting gas and money. I don’t know about you, but I can’t go into a store for groceries without picking up some kind of snack food each time. You have to make a deal with yourself to only go a maximum of 2 times per week. Get used to using a price book and make it so that you only have to go once a week.  I can attest to the fact that it is very difficult. In my first month of monitoring my trips, I was only able to save $54.61, but that sure is a healthy start. 

     Eating out and grocery bills are among the biggest expenses that we are able to control with an adequate amount of discipline.  Some things that are partly out of our control are the price of monthly utilities and the amount we spend on gas.

1. Utilities.  One can get pretty extreme when it comes to water and lights.  But for the moderately frugal person, there are little things that can cut down on the electric bill and water bill.  Minimizing use of lights, the air conditioning/heating, and hot water heater can save significantly.  Keeping your thermostat high in the summer or even off when no one is home helps.  Taking showers every other day cuts down on electricity and water.  You can do as much in this area as you can tolerate.  Remember, it’s not forever and you can scale back little by little as finances get better.
2. Gas.  Again, implement these changes slowly.  It’s not easy to just stop going places, just make a plan to go fewer places.  Stay home at least one day over the weekend and enjoy outdoor activities with family.  Watch those Netflix movies that have been laying on your DVD player.  Finish that household project that has been half done for 6 months.

What do you do to cut back on expenses?