6 Ways to Save Money on a Tight Budget
Living on a tight budget? These 6 ways to save money on a tight budget can help you stop living from paycheck to paycheck.
You’re caught in the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck. You stress each time the bills come in.
Will there be enough to pay all of them this month?
Did we overspend on the credit cards again? How much will our balance have grown this month?
You know if you could only get ahead a little you could feel more secure and have less sleepless nights worrying about money.
It’s hard. I remember living paycheck to paycheck. I remember the worry about how to get by or what if an unexpected bill came in or worst yet, something broke. It was stressful.
It makes you feel hopeless like you’ll never get out from under this heavy weight of debt.
When you have a cushion, an emergency fund, that stress can be relieved. But how do you save money on such a tight budget? There doesn’t seem to be any wiggle room at all.
These tips below can help you find that wiggle room, that little bit of money here and there to build an emergency fund. And finally get out of debt.
6 Ways to Save Money on a Tight Budget
Make a Budget
When you first get paid, make sure you allocate where each dollar should go for the month. Hoping and praying isn’t a way to handle money. If you don’t plan where the money will be spent or saved, it will just go to the wrong things.
You might be thinking I know I need a budget but it seems so very hard. If you need help setting up a budget.
Go through the steps lined out in this series. It will take a little work but in the end, you’ll have a budget you can live with.
Stop Using Credit Cards
Yes, it’s super easy to swipe your credit card and be on your way.
But if you’re not paying off the full balance every month, you are paying a lot of extra money in interest. That is money that could be going towards your future instead of the future of the credit card company.
Switch to using cash for most purchases. It will take some getting used to but if you pay with cash you can’t go over your budget because once the money is gone, the spending is done.
Please don’t dismiss this tip without trying it. I know when our family started using cash for almost everything we purchased it really changed our spending.
Give it a try for a few months before you decide it’s not for you.
Stop Impulse Buys
It’s easy to see something in the store and throw it in the cart without thinking. A pack of gum, some mints, a yummy carton of ice cream. All of those little small seemingly innocent purchases all add up.
Go to the store with a list of what you’ll purchase and stick with it. Try using the self-checkout lines to keep from being tempted by items near the cash register.
Don’t Eat Out
At the end of a long trying day, it’s easy to want to eat out. After all, fast food can be cheap only a few bucks for dinner.
If you really need quick dinners for those trying days. It’s better to stock your freezer with convenience foods instead of eating out. They are cheaper and just as easy if not easier than a trip through the drive-thru.
If you need a few cheap dinner ideas that are easy to make check out 7 frugal dinners for under $1 a serving.
Save Your Change
Instead of letting your change stay in your pants pockets and go through the washer, place your change each night into a jar. When it’s full deposit it in your savings account.
It might not be much but it can help you build your savings account. Every little bit counts.
Save with a Purpose
When you have a reason to save it becomes easier to save and easier to get everyone in the family on board with saving money.
Having an emergency fund when you are on a tight budget can really improve your financial outlook. It can be there to bail you out when you have something break or an unexpected expense comes up.
It gives you a little breathing room so you don’t have to use a credit card when a true emergency comes along.
It can be hard to save money when you are on a tight budget. But little small changes can make it easier.
Get a budget set up and resolve to stick to it.
Build your emergency fund with intention.
Start using cash. It will keep you from overspending and the change you get when you break a dollar can help to easily build your emergency fund a coin at a time.
What other tips have you found that help you to save money when on a tight budget? Your tips can help another reader. Scroll down and share your wisdom!
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These are all great tips, Shelly! Thanks for sharing them. 🙂
Thanks, Sandra.
Eating out is the thing that always ruins our budget each month. We try to schedule just once restaurant meal each week, but it usually ends up being like 2-3 times each week. I need to plan better for lunches on the weekends, since that is when we tend to eat out most.
Thanks for all the great tips!
Eating out is hard to avoid at times, especially when you are busy. I try to have a few convenience items we can make quickly for lunches on those busy days. It helps to keep us from eating out too much.