Winter, if you aren’t a winter sports lover, is not exactly the most fun season. Gray skies, low
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| Small wonder we want to stay in. Image: Toa Heftiba. |
light, wind, cold, rain, snow, or both… bears knew what they were doing when they decided to hibernate!
Experts say that quiet weekends at home, for example, are good for your health because they help you relax and de-stress. In winter one doesn’t need a lot of excuses to stay in, but me personally, I often feel like I should be doing something productive even if at home. And so, here are six things you can do taking advantage of being a winter home-buddy, and that will help you save money the rest of this year.
1. Your budget
Many people think -mistakenly- that making one’s budget means deciding how we’re going to spend our money. Rather, your budget consists of examining your income and your expenses so that you learn what you’re spending your money on. It’s the starting point for the effective management of one’s money, because it helps you see objectively if you’re overspending on things, so that you can correct that and save money in the process.
If you have a quiet Sunday at home, why not make your own budget and see how things stand? With your receipts from last month and this article, which includes an Excel spreadsheet where you enter your expenses, you have everything you need. In the article I also explain how to read your budget’s results.
2. Your contracts
Everyone has long-term contracts for things that we contract for years at a time. I
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| Your budget is the foundation to proper financial planning. |
recommend that you check out the following ones, to see if your stipulated time for each contract has expired, in which case you have the chance to renew for better terms and/or price and if not, to change to another company.
Your cable services. Do you watch something every month on all the cable bundles that you’re currently paying for? If you’re one of those who sticks with HBO for Game of Thrones or other shows that only last two months of the year, know that you can cancel those bundles and most cable companies now allow you to hire a specific channel -or bundle, if not- for a specific period of time, and it’s something you can do almost instantaneously. Why not stop paying for channels you aren’t even watching.
Phone services. If you have a home land line, it’s time to think seriously of its utility and if you don’t need it, cancel it. And with your mobile phone, if your contract expired and you’re paying month to month, you have the upper hand when looking for a better contract, because you can go with another provider now.
Electricity, gas. In large cities the possibility exists nowadays of changing provider for your home utilities, and the competition between various companies allows the consumer to get better rates in the process. However! If you’re looking to change, when it comes to
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| Every expired contract is a chance to negotiate and save. Image: Nordwood Themes. |
electricity, pay attention to the other fees that you’re going to be paying every month; there are companies that will show you a lower per kilowatt price, but that’s because they’re planning on charging you a “connectivity” fee every month or something of the sort. You have to ask, specifically, what connection charges are, and what fees you will be paying every month.
Insurance. If you haven’t had any claims on your home or car insurance the past 12 months, if you’ve installed alarms, made home improvements (insulation, general upgrades, new plumbing or you’ve purchased A+++ appliances) or car improvements (new tires, no tickets, you perform verifiable regular maintenance) it’s time to call your insurance to ask for a discount on your insurance. By the way, also know that if you can pay a whole year of insurance at a time, it’s a lot cheaper.
3. Planning your year
Do you have plans already, or ideas for things you want to do this upcoming year, and that require saving? Now that you have your budget in hand, it’s the perfect time to see how you’re going to come up with that money. Now is also the time to look at your retirement savings plans, how your funds are performing if you have investments, and to consider opening a retirement savings account or fund if you don’t have one.
Speaking of plans for the future; there’s still time for you to open a Holiday Club account; transfer a little bit of cash to it each month, forget about it, and you’ll have some nice extra funds just in time for the holidays at the end of the year.
4. Big expenses
While you still have time, think of any major expenses that you want to make or need to make this year: appliances, a new computer, or hiring a carpenter to build you a closet organizer… these unusual expenses need funding. If possible, it’s good to try to budget at least part of the funds needed from savings, be it by starting to save now or by setting aside some of your currently saved funds; or maybe you can do a combination of both, and this
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| Having tangible goals helps us save. Image: Andrew Neel. |
way try to avoid taking out a loan.
5. Second hand
A good mental and financial exercise for each year is to look at our clothes. If there’s something you haven’t worn for at least three seasons and it’s not one of your classics (a favorite item, or something that is timeless and good to have for when it comes in handy), then it’s time for that garment to go. And used clothing can’t just be donated; you can sell it online in your local area on one of the many online groups that exists just for that reason. There’s always Craigslist, but if you really want to go local, go to Facebook and on the search field write “buy-sell” or “second hand” followed by the name of your city or, if you live in a large city, the name of your neighborhood or area. You’ll find many places to sell your stuff. Plus, if you join several of these Facebook groups and want to sell, the platform allows you to post your sale on all those local groups with one post.
Keep in mind that you can also sell old electronics, music and books this way.
6. Extra work
If, at the end of the day you feel that you aren’t saving enough, or that your income doesn’t stretch enough to do all the things you want to do, nowadays there are many ways of doing side work, be it as a contractor, or through online platforms.
Do you have any skills that can be hired out by the hour? Zaarly and other online platforms
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| You'd be amazed how much people will pay for well-made macaroons. Image: Eaters Collective. |
allow you to “sell” all sorts of personal abilities: office work, translation, data entry, and any specialized work. Similarly, TaskRabbit hires out people with specific physical skill sets: plumbing, home repairs, baking, etc. Finally, FancyHands allows you to work as a personal assistant online and via the phone and get paid by the hour, without ever leaving your house.
Or maybe you know subjects that others need to learn? In high school I made very good money tutoring English and math. And nowadays you can find a tutoring platform online that pays very good money.
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