Saving Tips for Meital & everybody

How can possessing a car affect your annual expenses?

By substituting public transportation for a car may cut transportation expenses by 50% as well as carbon emissions.

Meital's financial situation:

As 95% of Meital’s expenses are covered by her father’s income, we focused on how to reduce the amount of spending no matter where the money comes from. The main result was that her father could save huge amounts if Meital stops using her car in Chile.

Per year, her expenses rise up to $22,000, of which $3,400 (15%) are spent for the car. Till the age of 45, she and her father could save $47,500 by neither using nor possessing a car anymore and $22,000 for all the remaining expense positions.

Have a deeper look on Meital's annual expenses.

 Tips for Meital

•  Going by bus will reduce your expenses for transportation by at least 50%.
• If you are not sure whether to buy a certain piece of clothing, let the staff put the product back and reflect for at least one night whether you really need it.
• Try to buy on sale!
• Try to find the cheapest home media package (internet + TV + telephone) which fulfills your and your flatmate’s needs the best.
• Buy at the cheaper supermarket further away rather than at the expensive one at the corner of your street.
• Compare prices between products of different brands and in different shops.
• Try no-name brands to investigate whether the usage would really affect your living standards.
• Buy fewer drinks while going out.
• Reduce your photocopying and printing costs by using the cheapest place to print only. Alternatively, invest in your own printer.
• Start writing on both sides of the sheets! (Mother nature will be grateful.)
• Stop buying a cup of coffee daily. Instead, buy a thermos bottle and prepare the coffee at home.

10     General Tips (I am following myself)

1.     Stop using credit cards! Only pay by cash!

2.     Start using websites like these http://www.smoneybox.com (I am using it!) to keep track of your expenses.

3.     Having wasted money on one thing yesterday, doesn’t give you the permission to waste money on another thing today!!!

4.     Make shopping lists.

5.     Ask friends to make useful gifts and tell them what you need.

6.     Learn to say no! Think over at least one night whether you really need this shirt.

7.     Sign up for free customer rewards programs!

8.     Clean out your closet before going shopping! You may find it not necessary to buy clothes anymore and it may inspire you in new combinations.

9.     Keep an idea notebook in your pocket and use breaks (like in public transportation) to plan your next shopping.

10.  Use coupons and by on sale!