Are you finding that there’s very little month left at the end of every month?

Rising prices and inflation are really hitting Americans hard right now, and with no relief in sight, here are some ways you can relieve the financial pressure NOW. These are concrete ways to slash your expenses by hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Switch from whole to term life.

Having good life insurance is crucial, but did you know that some policies can cost you 15 times more than others?

I’m talking about whole life policies and why you should seriously consider cheap term life insurance instead.

The trap consumers fall into is thinking that their life insurance policies has to include a bunch of bells and whistles, when really you just need a solid product that provides a generous payout in the event of your death. That’s it. Salesmen will try to convince you that life insurance is a wealth-building proposition or an amazing investment opportunity, but that translates into high premiums.

Buy what you can afford and opt for cheap term life insurance instead. You’ll be fully covered, have peace of mind AND a much smaller monthly bill.

If you’re curious about just how much you could save on monthly premiums. try this term life calculator.

Get rid of budget busters.

Whether it’s a ridiculously high cable bill or too much eating out, take the ax to the most common expenses that sabotage a family’s budget. You’ll have more money at the end of the month to do worthwhile things with, like paying down debt or saving for upcoming expenses.

It just takes a quick meeting of 15-20 minutes with your spouse to go over your monthly expenditures and find out what’s killing you financially.

Change your vacation plans.

The further you go, the more you’ll spend on fuel or flights. Try a something more local, like unexplored areas of your own home state. Visit friends or family members that can offer you a free place to stay.

Last year, we took all 10 children on a 1-day jaunt to Kansas City. It’s only an hour and fifteen minutes from home. They are still talking about it and are begging to go back. What did we do that was so amazingly fun? Shopped at a huge Chinese grocery store, rode the KC Streetcare (100% free) all over the city, met Spiderman in The Link and visited lots of beautiful fountains.

Another favorite cheap vacation spot is to stay in a cabin at a state park. Nightly rates are from $60 to $100 and include everything the park has to offer – trails, fishing, swimming, etc.

Turns out, it doesn’t take much money to make children happy and vacations memorable.

Slash your subscriptions.

Surely I’m not the only American that has a bunch of magazines and newspapers lying around that don’t always get read. The fact is, many of us don’t really get our money’s worth when it comes to subscriptions.

Pare down to just one or two favorites, or cancel all of them, at least until money isn’t so tight anymore. The local library is full of free periodicals for you to enjoy.

Take a second look at your mortgage.

For most of us, house payments are the biggest expenditure on the books. But there are different ways that you can potentially lower your monthly mortgage payment.

• Check to see if you’re unnecessarily paying PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). If so, request that it be dropped from your monthly bill.
• Check your residential property tax valuation for this year. If you feel it was inaccurate, or artificially inflated, you can appeal.
• Are you a good candidate for a refinance?
• Shop homeowners insurance policy rates and see if you can get yours lowered.

Share the ways that you’ve saved significant amounts of money in the comments below!

 

 

 

 

 

This post is made possible by a partnership with Responsival