Technically your check looks like it should be enough to cover your bills, expenses and even saving up for a rainy day, doesn’t it? But then something happens, and you end up eating dry cereal and the occasional can of tuna waiting for the next check to arrive.
So what is going wrong? Mostly the planning. When we make a budget we normally subtract the bills and reoccurring expenses, and figure that the remainder gives us a good enough cushion to splurge on the rare luxury. But we are forgetting about the small stuff. For example, you should also be factoring in the power bar every morning at the gym, or the beer after work, or the cab fare after a night of partying, and most of all you should include the amount of times we usually eat out that we don’t event think about.
Same goes for when you want to save: little stuff first. To stop the paycheck-to-paycheck way of life you should start off cutting back on the expendable small daily things: the morning starbucks (make coffee at home), eating out (pack your lunch for work)..etc. Never should you try and cut down on the amount of money that goes towards your 401k, health insurance, or paying bills and debt.
Another thing that could help would be to try and “lower” some of the expenses. For example if you normally spend $300 a month on food, try getting the generic-brand or store-brand products instead and you might be surprised often they are just as good and save your money. It might take a few tries to figure
out which brand you like best. Another example could be your transportation/gas expenses. Try and see if there is an annual public transport pass that can save you a couple of bucks each month, or if you drive think of car pooling as an option to save gas with co-workers.
Trying to save on the little things each month will let you have more money for the occasional big purchase (such as paying for new classes, headshots…etc) can be very worth some power-bars or snacks.
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