5 Lifestyle Budgeting Tips

5. Make Your Own Morning Coffee & Tea – It may seem like a couple bucks here and there but do the math. Say for example you buy 1 coffee or tea a day at Starbucks (and depending on what you buy of course!), you could be spending anywhere from $2-$4 per day. For a full month you would be looking at anywhere between $50-$130. Consider buying a tin of coffee, box of tea, whatever you love to drink in the morning. As an example, I buy my name-brand coffee in a large tin for $15, and it’s a HUGE tin that lasts me about 2 months having a full pot per day. That is $7.50 per month vs. what would likely cost me $200 for the 2-3 coffees I have per day!

4. DIY – Need the house cleaned? Need a fresh coat of paint on the walls? Need the car cleaned? DO IT YOURSELF! All of the money you pay someone else to do things for you … consider learning how to do it, or just take it on and get it done. The costs will be a fraction of what it would be to have someone else do it for you and it could add up to hundreds of dollars a month!

3. Travel Local – Guaranteed you can find some of the best travel hotspots within a couple hours drive from your house. Whether you’re looking for adventure, relaxation, beach sun or the care-free nightlife, to save your dollars look local. Obviously weather permitting, if you live in a wintery place & want to hit the beach, THAT may not be possible at this particular moment, but consider something different. Maybe there’s a hot-spring spa, or a cleansing sauna experience you haven’t even thought of. There are always getaways, you just need to look for them & save the thousands of dollars needed to fly away somewhere else.

2. Date Night In – Whether its date night with your best friends, or the love of your life, fact is … having a good night out on the town can break the bank! Consider this… Dinner, drinks, entertainment can all be relatively inexpensive at home. Even splurging on take out or delivery can drastically decrease the overall cost for your evening. Invite your people to your house, cards or board-games, grab a few bottles of vino, a little Netflix w/ homemade popcorn, take out & that’s the recipe for a $40 night vs. the $150+ dollar night at a restaurant + movie theatre/snacks & then drinks at the bar! How much do you go out? That could be a serious savings.

1. Don’t Eat Out – Sometimes the easiest thing to do when you’re busy, on the go, etc is to just grab food out, order in lunch/dinner or even take your hubby for regular meals at your favourite restaurant. If the funds are low this month, consider doing a little research, what are your favourite foods, look up some recipes and do some at-home prep! Not only will it be MUCH more nutritious, but it will also save you dough! Make more than you need to eat at one meal time & enjoy leftovers as well for those extra busy days.