How many times have you heard someone say that they want to start saving and investing for their future, but they just don’t have any money left over after paying their bills each month?  Maybe you’re the one saying that and using it as an excuse.
Well I’m here to tell you that you can easily find money to invest if you take a good look at your expenses and trim the unnecessary fat.  I’m going to use myself as an example and show you how I cut my expenses by over $200 per month without cutting anything that really mattered to me.
Shopping Around for Cheaper Home Insurance – Monthly Savings $61
I wrote a full article about this on my own blog, but I’ll give you the short story here.  I consolidated my insurance policies under one carrier and managed to cut my annual bill by $734.  If it’s been awhile since you’ve comparison shopped you may want to get some new insurance quoates and see if you can save yourself some money.
Trimming My Own Hair – Monthly Savings $14
I like my hair really short so I usually just get it buzzed every month or so.  When it gets a bit long I spike the front, but otherwise it’s about as low maintenance as you can get.  But buzzing is so easy and takes only a couple of minutes.  For $25 I bought myself a hair trimming kit and I just buzz it right in my own house (my wife helps since I can’t see the back of my head).  Now I get to trim it even more often since it doesn’t cost me anything, and the trimmer set paid for itself after just two uses.
Eliminate the Cable Movie Package – Monthly Savings $18
My wife and I love to watch movies and when we first signed up the cable company gave us all the movie channels for free for one year.  That year expired a few months back but we kept the movie package thinking it was still worth it.  Well, between work, kids, and other activities we realized we on’t have time to watch as many movies as we thought.  It’s cheaper for us to just rent something through redbox or onDemand rather than paying for the extra movie package.
Car Pool to Work – Monthly Savings $112
I’ll admit I’ve never been a big fan of carpooling.  I don’t like being tied down and I prefer the freedom of being able to come and go as I please.  If I want to leave work a little early, I don’t want to be stuck waiting for someone else to be ready.
That said, getting to and from work has gotten expensive.  Since we moved last year, my roundtrip commute is now 85 miles every day.  Add up the cost of gas and tolls and I figure it costs me about $14 a day to drive back and forth from the office.  I already work from home every Friday, but now I’ve started carpooling with a coworker Monday through Thursday.  We take turns each week so I figure I’ll save $14 eight times a month, and that doesn’t include the wear and tear on my car.
What about you?  What expenses could you cut without feeling any pain?

Mike Collins

Mike Collins

Mike Collins is obsessed with building new streams of income and achieving financial freedom so he can live life to the fullest with his wife and 3 amazing children. Read more about his adventures at WealthyTurtle.com.