Three Financial Moves to Make at the Beginning of the New Year

Keeping our financial situation solid and sustainable is a worthwhile goal for anyone. Yet even the simplest personal budgets are very complicated, and there isn’t always a lot of fat to trim. Indeed, most of what we are paying is for things that we absolutely have to have.

So what is the solution if things are tight? We all run into those situations where an unexpected bill arises or overtime gets curtailed. We need to know what to do to fight through those bad breaks and keep our financial ship upright.

The good news is that there are things you can do that will save you money without creating any undue hardship and without any significant changes to your lifestyle.

We can all find ways to strategise our expenses in a way that lowers the bills without reducing the goods and services we use. It is just a matter of digging through all that complication and picking the budget apart to find ideas.

Look for ways to save on medication

Many of us have at least a couple of regular medications for someone in the household. We typically have them for years and don’t pay a lot of attention to how much we’re paying for them. After all, we have to have them, so there’s not much point in fretting over it. Or is there?

For example, assuming that we can’t get a better Adderall XR Price is a mistake. There are lots of online pharmacies that can get you a better price—and ship the medicine right to your house. This is true for countless other drugs.

And don’t forget to check on generics. Sometimes doctors write prescriptions for brand-name only, but they’ll gladly change it if you ask.

Find out how you can cut back on utilities

This is one area where we can experience a lot of leakage—in many senses of the word. Attack each utility individually and review your usage, provider, and cost.

Start with water. Make sure everything in the house is turned off before you leave for work one day—no dripping faucets or dribbling garden hoses. Go to your meter and write down the reading, and check it as soon as you get home before anyone uses water. If the number has changed, you have a leak somewhere.

Check leakage of electricity, too. Upgrade to LED bulbs. Make sure unneeded lights are off. Get a smart thermostat to reduce HVAC usage when no one is home, and draw the blinds on hot days. Talk to your cell phone provider about what new plans they may offer that could save you money. Many are now offering big data packages that will save you from costly overages while still costing less up front.

Reviewing your insurance

We all need several types of insurance if we want to avoid financial disasters. Car insurance is among the most common because you are required to carry at least liability insurance if you own a car.

Start there. Some people continue to carry full coverage on a car that is paid off, just as reassurance that they’ll be able to afford repairs if they cause an accident or experience a hailstorm. But once your vehicle reaches a certain age, the benefit of full coverage drops dramatically, and you’re better off to save the difference as an emergency fund to replace the car. Talk to your insurance agent about options.

Check health insurance too. You may be able to change plans and cut premiums without sacrificing coverage, saving money every month.

It is incredibly easy to waste a lot of money without realizing it. We often just assume we should continue doing things the same way we always have, but the various companies we do business with are constantly developing new options that can create opportunities to save money. Keep watching for these all the time and you’ll cash in on some of them sooner than you might think.