The Rachel Cruze Show - 8 Mistakes You’re Making with Everyday Expenses

Starting point is 00:00:05 Everyone's financial situation is different, but whether you are a CEO of a company or an hourly employee, there's one cost that everyone has, and that is the cost of living. So today I'm going to share eight ways to lower the essential costs in your life and in your budget, just so that you have more margin and more peace with your money. All right, before we dive in, make sure to subscribe this channel and share this episode with a friend. Okay, so really your essential costs, I consider your four walls, which is food, shelter, utilities, transportation. So when you look at these, utilities, it's going to be, you know, things to keep your house running. Housing is going to be rent or mortgage. Transportation is making sure that you have transportation for where you need to go,

Starting point is 00:00:44 whether that's a car, making sure you have maintenance and gas and all the things, or maybe it's public transportation. And then we have food. And food, again, you, obviously, it's a need, but I'm not talking about, like, extravagant going out to eat all the time, but just like your basic food, groceries, what you need to survive. Those are the things that everyone needs in the world today. So let's talk about cutting some costs. For utilities, let's start there. Number one, cut or combine streaming services. So this is one part of your bill that you're going to see every single month. And for many of us, you kind of just keep adding on subscription. So take a moment and be like, hey, what do we actually watch? And if we only watch one show on one thing, maybe we can

Starting point is 00:01:23 eliminate it for a few months, and that's going to save us some money. So again, combining some of these services or cutting them is going to be your best bet. Number two is reduced. You utility usage. So when you think about your water, for instance, right, taking some shorter shower, or when you're brushing your teeth, turn off the sink. Think about electricity. Like, if you have lights on all the time, you're going to be paying for that. So maybe turning off some lights, adjusting the thermostat when you're not home. So there's some elements here that is going to get money back in your pocket when it comes to your utilities. And if you pay for any of your utilities online, an easy way to save yourself from losing money is to protect your online privacy from hackers.

Starting point is 00:02:04 And this is one reason I love Delete Me. Delete Me is an incredible service that goes in and removes your data because so much of your data you don't realize is out on the internet. And this is everything from your job history, your address, your phone number. There's so much that is out there. And so data brokers will gather this information and then sell your data to other companies so that they can spam you, sometimes scam you, and we don't want that. So, protect your online data with Delete Me. You can get 20% off your DeleteMe plan by going to join DeleteMe.com slash Rachel. All right. Next up is transportation. So the very first way, the biggest way for you to save money when it comes to your car is getting rid of your car

Starting point is 00:02:44 payment. So the average used car right now, their payments is around $500. And new car is up to $7 to $800. So it is insane how much money your car payments are taking from you. So what do you do? Well, sell your car. And if you only make like two to three, you know, $1,000, go buy a car with cash. Save up some money and maybe buy a $5,000 car. If you're underwater on your car, which a lot of people are, then just say, okay, go take a small loan from the bank and let's say you have a $25,000 car loan, but you can only sell your car for $20,000. Then go take a $10,000 loan from the bank or a $8,000 loan, pay off the car loan, get rid of the car, and then go and buy a really cheap car because I would rather you be $8,000 in debts than $25,000 in debt. So again,

Starting point is 00:03:32 finding that way to get rid of that car payment is going to be huge. And listen, that crappy car that you buy, you're not going to drive it your whole life. Drive it, save up on the side, sell it, put your money together, and step up in car. But you're going to do it slowly over time. But putting $5 to $800 back on average into your budget is tremendous. Number two, I would also say go crazy with the coupons. So when you think about your routine maintenance, from oil changes, tire rotations, all of that. There are so many coupons online. And you want to keep up with your car maintenance

Starting point is 00:04:01 because you want your car to be running for a long period of time, so take care of it. This is one issue that's tough for me. I'm like, I don't keep up with all the details of my car. But when you're taking care of your car, it's going to avoid bigger issues later on. It's going to cost you a lot of money. All right, up next, let's look at housing.

Starting point is 00:04:18 So one great way to save on housing is to check insurance coverage. So when you look at your coverage on your home, maybe you can bundle your home and auto and you can save some money that way. Also, when it comes to your home, a great way to save some money is to make an extra mortgage payment. This is a great way to save a lot of money. Now, this is for the long haul, but when you look at this, it's crazy. When you just make one extra payment a year, you guys, the math is insane. So to see how much you could save with your mortgage over time when it comes to interest and all of it, make sure to go

Starting point is 00:04:49 to our mortgage payoff calculator. I'll put the link down below, but go check it out, put in your numbers and just kind of mess around with it and say, okay, what if I did 13 payments a year or 14 or 15 and you'll see how much interest you save over time? It's a beautiful thing. All right, last but not least. Let's talk about food. So a great way to save money in this category is cut eating out. And this is hard. This is a very hard one because it's so convenient. It is so easy. But we spend so much money going out to eat, especially if you go down to a restaurant, you sit there and it's a sit-down experience. You know, you're tipping on top of that. The food again, it's great that it's made for you. It's wonderful, but you pay for it. And so you do end up

Starting point is 00:05:27 saving so much more money when you eat at home. And this doesn't have to be forever, but if you are at a point that you need more margin in your budget, cut going out to eat for a month and see how much money you save. It's an incredible amount. And number two is to buy generic. So when you're going to the grocery store, a great way to save some money is to buy generic things, buy the store brand of what you can. And mostly, we say it all the time, but it's true. A lot of these things are made in the same area, like even in the same factory. And so get a cheaper label because you're going to save money that way. Now, all of this means nothing if you're not budgeting the money that you're saving. So make sure to check out my episode on four ways you're ruining your budget without

Starting point is 00:06:07 realizing it. That's coming up next. You can click right here to watch that. Or if you are listening on podcast, click the link below. All right, you guys, remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.

The Rachel Cruze Show - 8 Mistakes You’re Making with Everyday Expenses

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