5 Painless Ways To Put An Extra $100 Back Into Your Monthly Budget…and Pay Off Your Debt Faster!

Rising gasoline prices have wreaked havoc on folks’ monthly household budgets across the nation. What could have been saved or put towards credit card bills is instead, being pumped into gas tanks just to get to and from work. Finding an extra few bucks in an already lean household budget doesn’t have to be hard, it just takes a little common sense and planning.

1.Make your own coffee at home for your office commute. Sounds obvious, but with an average cost of $1.65-$1.85 per cup at your local premium coffee shop, the savings can add up quickly. Go ahead and purchase gourmet coffee at the grocery store if you want to still be spoiled, but brew it at home (only what you need!) and use a re-useable travel mug. Monthly Savings - $25

2. Pack your lunch instead of going out. Again, another obvious one, but let’s do the math…let’s say you spend anywhere from $7.00-$10.00 on your lunch each day - that’s a weekly cost of $35-$50. If you packed your lunch each day, the cost would decrease significantly, down to about $3.50 per day and that’s without skimping. Figure a sandwich, piece of fruit, crunchy snack and a can of your favorite soda. Monthly Savings - $70 to $130

3. If you have cable with the ‘In-Demand’ Movie feature, stop going out to rent movies. New Release movies usually hit the cable network as soon as they are out on DVD. Renting a movie through your cable company solves two dilemmas: the first is driving to the video store and back – twice – which not only consumes gasoline but adds wear and tear onto your car. If the video store is 2 miles away and we’re using IRS mileage standards of $.43 per mile, that two time round trip just cost you at least $1.72. The second dilemma is if you return the movies late. We won’t even factor in the extra fees! Monthly Savings – About $10-$15

4. Participate in your local grocery store’s gasoline “perks” program. These programs vary, but the general gist is like this: for every $50 you spend at the grocery store, you get $.10 off a gallon of gas at participating local gas stations. Doesn’t sound like much, but if you spend $200 per week on groceries, that’s $.40 off per gallon. You’ll save about $7.50 on one fill up per week. Monthly Savings: $30

5. Consolidate Errands. Not only will this save you money, but time, as well. Plan a block of time each week to run errands like dropping off film to be developed, going to the dry cleaners, picking up a birthday gift, etc. Make a weekly list and then map it out creating the shortest driving distance in between points. We are so used to the convenience of jumping into the car to go pick up whatever doing it whenever, yet the fuel and vehicular wear and tear costs add up. Monthly Savings: $15-35 in fuel.

At a minimum, you can save $150 each month with these little tactics. Since there’s an extra fifty bucks in there, treat yourself to a nice dinner or throw it towards your credit cards to be debt free that much sooner!

By: Lisa Ross

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Lisa Ross is the author of OneStopKnowledge.com and has been helping people for over 10 years in financial planning, credit report repair and personal budgeting.