As the new year approaches everyone has big plans and new resolutions to accomplish in the following year. Along with losing weight and eating healthy most individuals plan to spend less and/or save more money.

If that sounds like you, then you’re in luck! Today we are going to talk about thirteen ways you can trim your budget and save more of your money.

Build A Budget

If you haven’t already done so, step one is to build a budget. If you don’t know exactly where your money is going how do you know where you can save? Building a budget will immediately allow you to identify where money is being wasted and cue you in on hidden expenses. If you need help building your budget I recommend using Mint. It’s a user-friendly site that also has an excellent mobile app.

Cut The Habit

Are you a smoker? Drinker? Chew tobacco? Maybe it’s a habit you turn to as a way to relieve stress. No judgment here but what better time to kick the habit than right now? A pack a day smoker can easily spend 160 dollars per month on cigarettes, that’s nearly 2000 dollars per year. Drop the habit and consider your car insurance paid for.

Eat Out Less

It doesn’t take much. Eat out just two fewer times per month. At an average price of 20 dollars per meal that saves an individual 40 dollars per month, almost 500 dollars per year. Double the savings if you have a significant other.

Stop Paying Five Dollars For a Cup Of Coffee

To get rid of your Starbucks or Dunkin’ habit altogether would border insanity I’m with you on that. But if you are making daily trips to your favorite coffee shop you are likely spending over 1800 dollars a year on coffee. Make your coffee fix a weekly treat instead of a daily one and go get yourself an awesome coffee pot. You will thank yourself later.

Take Your Lunch To Work

Stop paying 10-15 dollars Monday through Friday to go buy lunch. Feel free to treat yourself to a nice lunch every once in awhile but don’t make it a daily habit. Prep some meals on the weekend to eat throughout the week or take some leftovers to work.

Consolidate Credit Card Debt

If you have large amounts of credit card debt your budget can take some serious blows. I recommend using a balance transfer card to consolidate your debt and even eliminate your interest payments altogether. Check out How To Avoid Paying Credit Card Interest to learn how to pay 0% interest on your credit cards.

Pay Your Debts On Time

If your schedule is as busy as mine it’s easy for little tasks to slip through the cracks, like paying your debts on time. With late fees typically hovering around 30 dollars a pop, one or two late payment charges per month quickly turns into hundreds of dollars annually.

Cancel Those Old Subscriptions

This might require a little bit of digging, but take the time to sift through your monthly expenses and get rid of those old subscriptions you don’t use anymore such as online gaming, magazines, music apps, etc. These little monthly subscriptions could be nickel and diming you without you even realizing it.

Consider Ditching Cable

If you are shelling out 100 dollars a month for television you rarely watch or for just so you can see the latest episode for your favorite show every week, consider switching to a provider like Netflix, Hulu, or HBO to get your weekly entertainment. If it’s the news you are after, check out your favorite news stations website and download their mobile app.

Turn Your Junk Into Cash

Ladies, let’s be honest. You know your closet is packed full of old shoes and clothes you don’t wear anymore. For the fellas, you probably have plenty of old video games or useless nonsense lying around. Free up some space in your home and make some cash by selling old items on Craigslist or Ebay. If that seems too daunting of a task check out one of these sites that have a mobile app like OfferUp or Letgo. Mobile selling apps are simpler than online sites and very user-friendly.

Refinance Your Home

Chances are your credit score has gone up over the years, that’s something to be proud of! Put that higher credit score to use and try refinancing your mortgage.

Refinance Your Vehicle

Did you guess this was next on the list? The same idea applies here. A higher credit score means a lower interest rate. Do a little shopping around and you are bound to find a better loan than your current one.

Turn down the heat

Remember those ugly sweatpants you got for Christmas? Well now is the perfect time to put them to use. Turn your thermostat down a couple degrees and put on an extra layer of clothes. Lowering your thermostat one degree can save you between 1-3 percent on your energy bill. Turn it down a little more at night when you are able to get all wrapped up under the covers.

Following these tips is not going to eliminate all your monthly expenses but you could save a few hundred dollars a month with any combination of these thirteen tips. Even if you only save twenty dollars a month I’m glad I made a difference. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below or click on the contact tab at the top of the page to email me any other questions and as always thanks for reading and have a great day!