Take The Frugal February Challenge To Save
January 27, 2022
Need a jump start to get your finances on track in the New Year? Consider starting a Frugal February challenge. Here’s how.
To begin your Frugal February challenge, try a no-spend month where you only spend money on necessities, but not on anything extra. This means still paying your rent or mortgage, food, utilities, and other bills, but eliminate online shopping, eating out, or making other unplanned purchases. At the end of the month, see how much you have saved. You may be surprised.
Then, add the money not spent during the month to your savings account. You may find you don’t miss those extra items and can make it a permanent spending freeze.
Next, review your budget. Your budget not only provides a picture of where your money is being spent, it can help you determine areas you may want to cut back, such as eating out or a coffee each morning.
Then, take a look at your energy bill from January. To reduce these costs in February, consider turning down your thermostat, especially when you are not home. Also, turning off lights when you leave a room and switching to LED bulbs can save you money.
Review some of your monthly bills and see if you can reduce costs. This might include insurance rates, financial account fees, automatic subscriptions, and refinancing auto or home loans if you have good credit. Refinancing loans for lower rates can possibly save you thousands of dollars.
Finally, add to your emergency fund. Maybe in February, you make it a goal to double the amount you usually add to your fund. If that's too much, make it a goal to add an extra $50 or $100 to it by the end of the month.
Frugal February challenges are about reviewing your current financial position and looking for ways to improve it. You may end up keeping some of the changes and having a better overall year financially.
Tags: Savings, Tips and Tricks, Money Management