When everything comes at a cost, it is always a good idea to manage your budget, and especially your expenses. Unfortunately, we are all guilty of having a budget blind spot, an area of expenses that you never take fully into consideration. It is often the little reward at the end of a long day that you do not count – you only remember why you needed a reward!
While they might seem harmless, these blind spots can easily escalate and make it difficult even to afford the rent at the end of the month. Naturally, you could be looking for a more affordable accommodation, or negotiate your rent payments with your landlord. However, in the long term, you would be better off if you would identify and control your budget blind spots. It’s time to find out where your savings are going and to maybe discover a new way of rewarding yourself, a way that would be savings-friendly!
You needed that new pair of shoes
Shopping is one of the favorite hobbies of millions of men and women – even though the popular wisdom believes that only women enjoy a little trip down the mall. The problem with shopping is that it can easily escalate from buying one item to sending your credit cards on fire. Do not blame yourself: It is only human. We do love a nice thing… or several nice things!
Shopping is one of the main reason for credit card debts, and as https://consolidation.creditcard notes, you need to find the best way to consolidate your debts into one payment. The reasoning for that is that consolidation makes it easier to manage. However, the first step to stop the shopping blind spot from costing you your savings is to limit yourself to one credit card only.
You like it hot
A warm and bright home, that is what every homeowner wants. Except that, it does not have to be synonymous with leaving the heating system on to the max and switching all your lights on at the same time. http://lifehacker.com has been looking at the most common energy blind spots in the USA, and you will not be surprised to know that it is all about temperature. From servicing your A/C to keeping the heating a few degrees cooler than usual, there are plenty of simple and applicable solutions to reduce your energy bills without sacrificing your comfort.
You don’t cook
Whether you’re a takeaway addict or you prefer to buy processed meals that are easy to prepare, you need to understand the impact your diet has on your savings – let alone your health, but that’s not the point of this article. When you do not cook, you rapidly become dependent on other sources, which means that you cannot accommodate leftovers in a lunch box for the next day. Comparatively speaking, people who cook can prepare their weekly meal for less than $1/meal. That is not what you pay at your local takeaway! Maybe it is time to buy you first book of easy recipes and to save money in the long term.
There you have it; the most common budget blind spots are shopping, energy, and eating. Do not try to keep a note of all your expenses. Instead, you would be better off learning better habits and changing your lifestyle to avoid your blind spot in future.
