Expensive lifestyle purchases

The cost of living in America is pushing many families to the brink. Simple lifestyle choices and purchases can make a substantial difference in our financial wellbeing.

We live in a material society where we all have far too many bills to pay. Due to this, many of us put ourselves in bad situations by taking on too many financial obligations. It isn’t a problem when you make a ton of money, but that isn’t a given. It is also not a given that your income is going to always increase. Let’s take a look at some of the most impactful lifestyle purchases we make and where we can save money.

Not eating out

It can be tempting to not cook at home and go out to eat at restaurants or do take-out. With all of the meal delivery apps out there, it makes to almost too easy to order food at our fingertips. The thing is this is incredibly expensive. Sometimes we need to order a meal or go out, out of necessity or convenience. However, buying groceries and taking the time to cook at home absolutely will save you money. Sometimes we choose not to prepare meals at home because we don’t know how to cook, or we think it takes way too much time. However, the thing is there are very inexpensive services where you can order fresh food and have easy recipes regularly delivered. If you are looking to save money, maybe look to cut back on the amount you eat out and try whipping up some recipes a few days a week.

Take advantage of lower mortgage rates

For most Americans, their home is the greatest financial investment and asset they will ever have. Therefore, the loan and the interest rate you pay on that loan for the home are extremely important. If you can reduce the interest rate on your mortgage by even just 0.5%, you can save yourself tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. There will be closing costs which can vary. But if you plan to stay in your home longer than a few years then you should definitely be considering refinancing your home. Right now, rates are probably as low as you will ever see them in your lifetime so shop around for how low of a rate you can get. And don’t forget to make sure your credit score is as high as possible!

Change banks

Most people choose one bank and stay with it forever, because of convenience and the hassle of moving accounts around. But you need to pay attention to maintenance and annual fees because banks will hide these. If you need a new checking or savings account shop around for which bank has the best interest rate and lowest fees. Many have zero fees and offer very competitive savings rates as well. Some of these are even online where you never need to visit a physical branch.

Cut the cord on cable

With all of the streaming services you can get today, there is really no need to pay for expensive cable. You have the option to pay for whatever services you want, unlike cable where you pay for everything that you don’t use. Of course, you have to pay for the internet and the monthly fee of whatever streaming services you want but it still comes out to be much cheaper. Another great thing is the flexibility to cancel video streaming services, unlike cable where you generally have 12-month contracts.

Choose your credit card wisely

Credit cards these days offer everything under the sun. From airline miles to shopping points, it is easy to get stuck with a card that isn’t a good suit for your needs. However, one simple and effective card you can go with is one that offers cash back. When you get cash back, it is direct savings you don’t have to work for. Most people take this in the form of a statement credit, so it lowers your monthly bill. With a cashback, you are saving anywhere from two to four percent on every purchase. That might seem small but in the long run that adds up to thousands of dollars in savings. If you have regular purchases you are going to make regardless of having a credit card, then put them on a cashback card and save easy money.

Resist the urge to splurge

The thing about shopping online these days is it is everywhere. If you go on social media or make even just search in Google, there are ads calling out to you to buy something everywhere you go. It can be addicting to just look around on things you might want and put them in an online shopping cart. The urge to buy them with a quick click of a mouse can be strong as well. Normally if you were stuck at home then you were probably saving money because you were not out at the stores. Now the stores come to you.

Sometimes in our need to buy essential items on sites like Amazon, we tend to go overboard and start buying a lot of things we don’t need. You also have the fact that these stores remember our credit card information so there isn’t that mental barrier of having to enter our card number before buying something. You just click a button. You can ease this urge by not storing your credit card on sites you know you will be tempted to buy from. You can also make the commitment to wait 24 hours before making a purchase. If you don’t truly need it, don’t buy it.

Summary

You might not be in the best financial position today, but one day you might. If you follow these simple pieces of financial advice you will be much better off either way. It really comes down to not being wasteful with your hard-earned dollars. If there are easy ways to spend less, why wouldn’t you do them?