Most people are pretty ignorant when it comes to determining the expenses they need to cut back on. But once you have lost your job (and that’s not impossible in this pandemic), you will be forced to take a long hard look at the way you spend what’s little left in your savings account. The key to surviving a financial setback is to lessen your spending. Cut back a little on each area. You’ll see a huge difference in your finances.
Shop Smart
You need food, of course. It’s harder to cut back on your grocery expenses, especially if you love indulging yourself in snacks. But instead of buying tetra packs of your favorite juice, why don’t you get a bottle of mango puree and make your own juice or shake from it. Because it’s pureed, it is more concentrated. You’ll get more from a big bottle than from those tiny tetra packs.
Watch out for sales and discounts on your favorite steaks and meat. You can get rib-eye steaks for less than its original price if you wait for the weekly sales happening in your local grocery store. Learn to adjust your menu according to what’s on sale. Don’t force to have roasted chicken if poultry is particularly expensive that week.
Cut Back on Your Bundled Phone and Internet Services
The three necessities of modern life are your phone, TV, and internet service. All of these use data either bundled or separately. The costs depend on how big the bandwidth you availed of. If you need to cut back on your expenses, look at your data service. Choose a more affordable bundle or better yet, cut the service that you haven’t been using that much. If you already have an unlimited internet data plan for your phone, why don’t you connect to it instead of needing a separate line for your TV or home?
Hold off Getting a Pet
If you’re thinking about getting a pet, you should probably hold off that plan until you find a stable job. And if you have one, try to be moderate with the way you treat it. You can groom your dog yourself instead of paying between $20 and $80 for the service. Aside from that, you also have to spend around $500 a year for food and veterinary services.
How many memberships do you hold? Are you a member of a club or a gym? These are recurring bills monthly that you can take out of the equation. Ask for your membership to be suspended. How about your monthly subscriptions to Netflix and Apple TV? Can you ride on someone else’s account for now? Ask a friend or a relative if you can use their account to access some of your favorite shows. Plenty of them would want to help you cut back on your monthly expenses.
Start DIY Projects
For now, you’ll be staying mostly at home because you’re out of work. Instead of stressing yourself out wondering when prospective employers will call you, try doing some DIY projects. For example, you can make your own face mask and face shield instead of buying one. You can also plant an herb garden.
Who knows? Maybe you can start selling your creations to friends and family and then, to customers. This little project could turn into a business venture. Besides, with your own vegetable or herb garden, you can grow your own food. Vegetables, herbs, and fruits are amazingly expensive. You can save on the cost of buying them if you’re growing your own food.
Reduce Electricity Use
Unless you’re going to live cut off from technology, you’re going to need to pay your energy bills regularly. But what you can save on is the amount of electricity you waste. Vampire power is when the appliances keep drawing power even though it’s turned off. Why is that? Because it’s still on standby mode. As long as it’s plugged into the socket, it will keep using a small amount of energy. So plug off chargers, television, kitchen appliances, workout equipment, and other things from the socket. Only plug them in when you need to use them.
Stop Your Vices
Not only do you have to stop smoking because of what it does to your health, but think about what it’s doing to your pockets, too. You could be spending over $200 on cigarettes a month. In a year, that’s about $2,400. What a waste of money, right? Stop smoking. Refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages. Now more than ever, take care of your health because you cannot afford to get sick.
Losing a job is scary. But after grieving something you’ve poured your heart and soul into, stop dwelling on it and get to work. Pool your resources. Figure out how you can cut back on your expenses. And then, once you’ve got a handle of how to spend these coming months, go and find a job or start thinking of a business.