I audited our family budget to save us $2,367 in the next year! Here’s how to audit your budget.
What do you think of when you hear the word audit? Does it raise your blood pressure? Do you think of IRS agents showing up at your house with your tax returns and demanding receipts? White audit frequently has a negative connotation, it doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Auditing something just means systematically reviewing it. Auditing your spending, with a tool like CountAbout can be a great way to see what you’re spending your money on and if it aligns with your money goals.
We are in the middle of a tight financial season right now due to multiple reasons. I pulled back our already trim grocery budget even more for a couple of months, but I knew there was more that could be done. That’s why I decided to go through our budget and look for ways that we could be saving.
~Stephanie, Six Figures Under
In this article, Stephanie of Six Figures Under walks us through her recent budget audit. She trimmed over $2,000 of spending on her budget for next year. Facing a tight financial season with the loss of rental income and other unexpected expenses including a nearly $1,000 water bill, Stepahnie was determined to cut spending. She was able to negotiate some better deals on services she uses each month and was able to cut some non-essential spending. While each savings amount was small, the total added up to a significant savings. If you haven’t looked at your spending for a while, take advantage of CountAbout’s free trial and see where you might be able to save.
We Ran the Math on Never Getting Another Raise
It’s easy to think about a getting a raise as a chance to get ahead. You’re making more money. You’re finally going to be able to get to that next level in your life. Except… what if you don’t? What if getting that raise just keeps you at the same spot. Since the pandemic, we’ve all become acutely aware of inflation. Each year, things have been getting more and more expensive, and that money has to come from somewhere. Luckily, many people have gotten raises that can help offset (or exceed) these cost increases. But how bad of shape would you be in if you never got another raise?
If prices rise by an average of 3% annually, something that costs $100 today will cost about $134 after 10 years. After 20 years, the same purchase will cost roughly $181.
~Brandon Marcus, The Free Financial Advisor
To illustrate just how raises impact your standard of living, this article goes through the extreme example of what would happen if you never got another raise. While the math is a simple exercise in compound interest, thinking about lost wages makes the impact of missing out on a raise seem even more acute. For example, if inflation averages 3% over the next 10 years, something that costs $100 today will cost $134 next decade. And if you earn $60,000 this year, you’d need to earn $80,600 to match inflation over that time period. In other words, inflation would make your salary feel like $44,000 instead of $60,000. The article is a great motivation to advocate for yourself and look for ways to increase your salary.
Your Dad Taught You to Change Your Own Oil — Does It Still Save Enough to Bother?
Do you know how to change your own oil? I remember learning to change the oil when I was a teenager learning how to drive. We never took our car to the mechanic for anything, let alone oil changes. Some of my earliest memories were going to the library to photocopy pages out of the Chilton manuals with my dad so he could figure out how to fix whatever problem we had with the car at at the time. However, at this stage in my life, I don’t think twice about taking the car in for an oil change. I felt like the last time I changed the oil, the cost of all of the supplies was an eye-popping amount and on top of that, I had to change the oil and then take all of the waste oil to the city dropoff site. It just didn’t seem worth it anymore.
A person who already owns a drain pan, funnel, filter wrench, and suitable equipment has a head start. Someone starting from scratch must buy the supplies and tools before pocketing any savings.
~Brandon Marcus, Clever Dude Finance
If you’re someone who sometimes changes their own oil and is wondering whether it is a good way to save money, you’ll want to check out this article from Clever Dude Finances. In it Brandom Marcus looks at the cost differential between the engine oil and filters and list prices for a full-service oil changes. Marcus notes that within the last decade AAA estimated that supplies needed for a home oil changes were about $10-$25 less than the cost of a full service oil change. In other words, the labor on an oil change is less than $25. You can then do the math on whether your time spent on an oil change is worth more or less than that. While simple, oil changes can take a chunk out of a Saturday morning, especially once you consider the time needed to buy the oil and filter and dispose of the waste oil. If you’re still on the fence, check out the article for a more detailed breakdown.