It’s summertime and a great time to cull your expenses by going through your bank statements and finding items you can cut out or cut back on. One of the most common culprits is monthly subscriptions, so look for recurring charges and cancel any services you don't use often. This is also a great time to negotiate any services you pay for on a monthly basis, such as cable, internet, or insurance and shop around for a better deal.
I updated our entertainment budget in light of the reduction in spending over the past 14 months. Our emergency fund levels are high, so I took the budgeted entertainment funds and excess emergency fund cash and put that toward our mortgage. You may want to check with your lender if you can make “principal only” payments to drastically reduce your mortgage. We’ve reduced our mortgage right down to zero!
A yearly reoccurring expense is my property insurance. I recently met with David who takes care of our home-owners insurance. He reviewed our coverage – increased the amount of coverage due to rising replacement costs – and we still saved $900/year on a new policy. The two appointments that totaled no more of an hour of my time was really a great investment! Schedule your appointment with your property & casualty (home & auto) agent to review your coverage levels and they may find some savings for you as well!
So, reexamine your spending and budgets. What have you given up in 2020 that you can keep giving up in 2021?
#2021BestFinancialYear #InvestorsChoice