5 Easy ways to Cut Your Monthly Expenses

With prices for fuel and food rising faster than most of us can easily cope, many millions of Americans are looking for ways to cut back on their monthly expenses without seriously affecting their lifestyle. Fortunately there are things that most of us can do that will help to alleviate the strain on our pocketbook every month without seriously affecting our standard of living.

1. Start with your driving habits. While it may pay you to sell your gas guzzler and buy a more fuel efficient vehicle, especially in the ling run, before you rush into that decision it may be wise to sit down with a pencil, paper and calculator and see exactly what your savings will actually be.
When you have calculated in the low price you are likely to get for your gas guzzler and the cost of a new, more fuel efficient vehicle, you may find that even with the high cost of fuel it will take you years to overcome the deficit you will incur.
A better way to save on your monthly fuel bill may be to simply cut your driving. Try to combine trips. Walk when possible. Use public transportation whenever possible. And when you do drive, be more conscious about saving fuel – don’t idle for more than 1 minute (all cars built since 1999 use less fuel to start than they use to idle), use a light foot on the gas pedal, don’t tailgate and just generally be more conscious about your driving habits.

2. Cut back on some types of insurance. Check your car insurance to see what parts of your current policy you can possibly eliminate without drastically affecting your peace of mind.
For example, every year your car loses value, yet many people continue paying for collision and comprehensive coverage based on the value of their vehicle in previous years. Often you can cut down on the amount of comprehensive coverage without affecting how much you would receive in the event of a claim in any event. Talk to your agent about this and other ways of trimming back on your auto insurance costs each month.

3. Check your cell phone plan. Many times when we are in the heat of buying a cell phone plan we agree to purchase features which it later turns out we don’t use at all or use only seldom – and yet here we are, paying through the nose of them month after month anyway.
Review your cell phone plan and see if there is anything you can cut back on that will allow you to cut back on monthly expenses without affecting your actual cell phone needs. Often a cell phone company will be willing to make slight alterations in your cell phone plan without forcing you to pay a penalty if you go to their offices and plead your case in person. Hinting that you will be looking for another provider if they don’t meet you at least half way can also go a long way toward lowering your costs each month.

4. We all love our TV and we have come to feel that we absolutely positively must have every cable channel there is. But the truth is that we develop habits over time and it may be that we don’t really need all of the channels and services that we thought we would use when we first signed up.
It may also be that in order to save money every month it will be necessary to forego some of your favorite cable channels and reduce your subscription to basic cable – at least for the time being.

5. Refinancing your home may still be an option, especially if you have not done so in more than 3 years. It should hardly come as any surprise that there is a credit crunch going on, the truth of the matter is interest rates have dropped and banks actually do have money to loan.
What banks are looking for are qualified borrowers. If the value of your home has dropped over the past year or two but you still have equity in your home, you are probably in an excellent position to take out a second mortgage or an equity line of credit.

Yes, the times they are a’changing and some of those changes affect the pocketbooks of almost every American. But if you don’t panic, if you sit down and rationally consider your alternatives, you can make changes that can reduce your monthly expenses without terribly affecting your lifestyle.