Do you spend the weeks after the holidays resetting and getting your life back? Even with the best of intentions and planning, our finances often take a hit during the holiday season.
End the year with this in mind to minimize the damage the holidays can sometimes bring. And then, start next year off with small and manageable ways to save money.
1. Declutter Your life
How many times have you bought something only to find that exact same item in your house a few months later? Does your closet contain clothes that you have never worn? Or maybe you have recently walked into your child’s room only to find an embarrassing number of toys that have not even been touched for months.
Decluttering not only boosts your finances by saving money, but also aids in stress relief, helps with positive family relationships, and provides a lift in self-confidence. If you need inspiration, check out these motivation to declutter tips for more!
2. Review Your Insurance
We recently got a new insurance agent who promptly called us to discuss our plan. This one 15-minute discussion saved us almost 3,000 dollars in house, property, and car insurance. This is absolutely worth the time to check out if you have not recently.
3. Meal Plan & Prep
It’s 5:30 pm. Do you know what you are having for dinner?
If the answer is no, it is highly likely you will be getting takeout. Make a realistic meal plan for the week, shop for the supplies, and stick to it. The key to meal planning is to be realistic. If you do not have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, make it a point to plan simple but healthy meals.
Pack your lunch instead of buying lunch. If you take time at night to pack a lunch, you will be more likely to actually follow through with taking it than if you wait for a busy morning to pack one. Cook a little extra at dinner time so that you have leftovers to pack for lunch to make it especially easy.
4. Plan Your Family & Date Nights Ahead
If you like to go out regularly with your family or significant other, purposefully plan a few nights in a month to save money. Cook a favorite meal and catch up on a movie you have at home. Host a family game night or find a local event you can attend for free.
5. Cancel & Unsubscribe
Netflix, Audible, Spotify, gym memberships, paid apps, and the automatic subscriptions you have can become a significant expense. Cancel any subscription you are not regularly using. You will most likely find that you don’t even miss it. And if you do, you can always re-subscribe later if it fits into your financial plan.
Are you an online shopper? It can be hard to resist the many deals and offers that are thrown at you if they are constantly arriving in your inbox. Go through your emails and start unsubscribing to take the temptation to impulse buy away. You’ll thank yourself in a few months!
In Conclusion
In the chaos of the holidays, don’t forget to take care of yourself and keep your long term goals in mind too!