Resolve to Reduce Spending

By JENNISE VENTURA

New year’s resolutions can be so daunting, especially when it involves money. It’s understandable to feel that making changes to your spending habits doesn’t sound great at all. But what if I told you that you don’t need to make a lot of changes to grow money in the bank?

The first thing you need to do is look at your spending habits every month. Look at your bank statements or your bank ledger. How much do you spend every month? Rate the importance of your purchases. Obviously, rent/mortgage, utilities and groceries are the top priority. Based on your household’s needs, look at your phone bill. Do you need to switch phone carriers for the best deals?

What about electricity? Do you have the best and lowest plan? Go to PowertoChoose.org to check out the variety of companies and their plans based on your zip code.

Do you have decent coverage with the best rates for car and truck insurance? Insurance rates are very competitive so it’s possible to find better rates. Go to NerdWallet.com or PolicyGenius.com to see side by side comparisons of different companies and rates.

Taking the time to look into lowering costs on your utilities could potentially save you hundreds every month! What if it saved you $150 each month? Even $200? Save that $200 for 12 months and you’ll have $2,400 in the bank. The only sacrifice you made was time to look into lowering your utilities. You are still doing the same thing, using the vehicle to and from work, using the same amount of electricity and typical use of your phone. No compromise or changes.

Now, let’s save money on groceries!

While looking at your bank statements, look at how much you spend on food. Create a goal to spend less. Start out with saving 10% of your bill. So, on average you spend $300, your goal is to spend no more than $270. If you achieve that easily, focus on saving 20% instead (goal is no more than $240). With the money saved, if you pay with a debit card, take that $30 or $60 and transfer into a savings account where you won’t see it and won’t be tempted to spend it. If you save $60 every month, multiply that by 12 months, that $720 for the year!

$2,400 + $720 = $3,120 saved. So how do you save money without compromising your grocery list? With coupons. Couponing has gained a lot of popularity in the digital aspect because it has become so simple, even for the most basic learners. All you need is the store app.

If you shop mostly at H-E-B, you’ll need the MyH-E-B app to start savings. The app has digital coupons that you can clip and they come off at the registers. You can also make your grocery list in the app. While you add groceries to the list, it will show you if there are any deals and coupons for the items you add. If so, clip the coupon.

While shopping, if you find an item that is not on your list and you want to see if there’s a coupon for it, open the app, scan the item and it will show you if there is a coupon. If there is, clip it and add items to your grocery cart. When you arrive at check out, there’s a barcode on the app for the cashier to scan. This barcode is attached to all the coupons you clipped and all the coupons will be applied to your purchase.

Walmart has an app with similar features. The only difference is that it doesn’t use digital coupons. Instead, Walmart has digital cash back offers for paid subscription users. It’s like a little Walmart savings bank. You can build the cash all year long and use it to buy holiday gifts or that big Thanksgiving dinner you are planning. Walmart has a great subscription program that would be a true investment. If you do a lot of online shopping, most items have free shipping. Have you checked out the huge array of items they sell? Just like Amazon, there are third party sellers and most accept returns inside Walmart, instead of going to the post office or UPS store. Another saving to the Walmart subscription is free delivery of your groceries. There is no price increase if you do delivery or store pickup. If you prefer shopping in store, there’s a scan-and-go option. Bring your reusable bags, scan items as you put them in your bags in your grocery cart. When you are done, you scan the QR code at the register from your app, pay and go. You already bagged your items so you are ready. I like the idea of knowing what the grocery bill looks like as I scan items. Walmart also offers a variety of perks such as a discount on Whoppers from Burger King and free Paramount+ streaming.

If you buy personal care items at Walgreens, CVS and Target, there are store apps for them and they also offer digital coupons to save more.

You can also be brand specific yet save money. If you only use Huggies diapers, use the Flipp app. You type out Huggies diapers in the search box and it will show all the stores that are offering deals in your area.

If you need extra guidance on couponing, follow Savealotmom on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for the latest deals and breakdowns.