Spring Cleaning Your Budget

Spring is here. This is when everyone cleans their house to get ready for the summer. We get rid of items we don't want to have a yard sale and to free up more space in the home.

Here's a new idea: spring clean your budget. What this means is to find ways to get things off of your budget so that you have more free money available. Or in some cases, it may mean you are able to just break even!

Here are ten ways to spring clean your budget and save money this spring!

1. When you go shopping, make a list before hand and stick to it. Many of the reasons people go over the grocery budget is for spontaneous purchases made at the store. The grocer knows this, and that's why there are all of these displays right up at the front counter where you check out! Do not buy anything not on your list. If you see something you want, put it on the list for the next trip!

2. If you must shop without a list, then take only cash and no credit cards. This way, you will only spend what you are able to afford. The problem with credit cards is that we think that we can always pay them back later. Then later comes and you don't have the funds!

3. Look at your phone bill and see if you could save some money. For instance, if you are paying $5 extra each month for extended free times, like at 7 pm instead of 9 pm, you could take of this feature and wait until 9 to call people. Or you could just make less calls. Or, with your home phone bill you might be able to save money with a package. You could call the phone company and ask what they recommend for you to save money on your bill.

4. Take off extravagances from your current bills. If you have HBO and Showtime on your cable and are spending $20 per month extra, just give it up. You can find plenty of good movies on stations like TBS and USA, and for women Lifetime and Oxygen!

5. Take $10 off your monthly gas budget and walk two places this month that are five miles or less. It will be warmer this spring, so you don't have the excuse of the winter frigid weather to stop you from accomplishing this budget-reducing idea!