| Terry Rigg is the editor of the Budget Stretcher Newsletter. The
Budget Stretcher Newsletter is published monthly and is loaded with
information that will save you time and money everyday. Go to
http://www.homemoneyhelp.com for more information. |
If
you are like most of us you have areas in your budget that could be
trimmed by at least 20%. What about your grocery bill? Unless you
are using every cost-cutting method available, then you could even
beat that 20% on your food bill.
Each area of your expenses has room
to be trimmed. Let's just briefly discuss a few:
Housing - This includes your
housepayment, insurance and taxes. The best way to cut your
housepayment is to refinance. This would only benefit you if you can
refinance and cut at least 2% off your current interest rate. This
could possibly cut your housing expenses a few hundred dollars a
month. You can also check around for cheaper homeowners insurance.
If you rent, about the only way to cut this expenses is to find a
different place to live. There are a lot of other considerations in
moving so you may want to try cutting expenses in other areas.
Other Bills - This is the area where
you could possibly find the most cost cutting. This covers
everything from your electric bill to your credit cards. 
Household - When you are talking
about saving money on your household expenses you have to be careful
not to cut too much. This covers groceries, car gas, and everything
else it takes to run a household. Very often when bills are made
there is no money in other areas to make the payments so people tend
to take the payment from their household expenses. In most cases
this is what leads to serious financial problems very quickly. NEVER
short change your household expenses. You can do what ever you can
to save on things like groceries but make sure you have enough to
live on, even at the expense of other bills.
Savings - Yes, savings should be
considered an expense. You need to have a nestegg to ensure that
your future needs are met. Try not to cut your savings below 10% of
your total take-home pay. Believe me this could save you a lot of
problems later.
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