Budgeting can be a tough to swallow, especially if you have lived a period of careless spending and now you have put yourself in timeout in sort of a financial jail in order to free up extra money. While you’re making the necessary cuts, it can feel like sacrificing and put your mood in a funk, like all of the fun has suddenly been removed from the room because you can no longer open your wallet at will. Since it is more important to cut finances in order to put your hard-earned income elsewhere towards more important areas such as an emergency fund to give yourself a financial cushion, paying off debt, not to mention building up savings, there are easy ways to save without feeling like you’re sacrificing.

Grocery Items

The first step to save extra money when it comes to the food budget is to avoid going out to eat.  Whether it’s grabbing lunch at the cafeteria at work, picking up carryout for dinner, or taking the family out to dinner, the costs can add up quickly, even stopping for coffee every morning. By going grocery shopping instead, you can look to save hundreds of dollars a month compared to eating out, but you can take a step further and find the best price on groceries.  One thing the digital age is brought us is online shopping and now you can compare multiple sites for the best prices, not to mention signing up for coupons to maximize savings at the register.

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Cable Plans

Finding the best deal on TV comes two-fold.  First, you have those that remain with cable, while others have opted for the popular ‘cord cutting’, saying goodbye to traditional cable and going with streaming. While you may just be a number when it comes to the big cable companies, they still want to avoid losing a customer so it’s a good idea to escalate with a representative as high as you can go to get the best deal, even emailing leadership if you need to get a response.  When it comes to streaming, there are many services that offer different channels and pricing, but within minutes you can have all the sites up and weighs the pros and cons to meet your channel surfing needs.

Insurance

You may not think about comparison shopping for insurance, but there are so many car insurance companies that getting quotes from one place is almost a necessity when it comes to maximizing savings. Companies are looking for your business so there is no reason to remain loyal to a customer because you have a history of being their customer, when they won’t provide you with the best deal. No matter if it’s home, auto, or life insurance, shopping around to secure the best rate will save you the most each month and over time. Remember, the ball is in your court so if a company is not offering the services you need at a fair price, then simply move on to the next one until you have finally reached satisfaction.