The holidays are over and you blew your budget, so now your New Year’s resolution is to cut back on spending and figure out how to pay those bills. We’ve got some great tips to share, including a few that you likely hadn’t considered!

1. Switch your cable to a subscription service – cable is expensive, and if you’re not fully utilizing those hundreds of channels why not cut back to a couple of streaming services that you love.

 

2. Cut back a bit on some of your favorite habits – take a minute to total exactly how much you spend on soda, coffee, junk food or lottery tickets and consider how much money cutting back even 10% could save you.

 

3. Sell stuff – got anything sitting around that you really don’t need? This is a great time to declutter and make some money on the side. Furniture, jewelry, clothes, household items. There are lots of apps that make it easy. If it can go, you’ll make some dough!

 

4. Borrow free books from a library or rent one of their audiobooks—they’re free with your library card and available online.

 

5. Pack your lunch – even if you just buy a frozen meal from the grocery store, you’ll save a few dollars. At minimum, cut back the number of days you eat out—it all adds up to savings!

 

6. Eat leftovers – if you went to all the trouble to make or buy a meal, why throw out perfectly good food? You can also cook a little bit extra and pack it for lunch.

 

7. Bring your own snacks to the movies – it’s not a crime, and have you seen the price of a soda at the theater? You can find your favorite snacks and beverages much cheaper at the grocery store.

 

8. Search online for free events – spend a few minutes online searching for local concerts, art and wine festivals, fairs, and more. You never know what you’ll find and it’s great fun discovering new things in your own neighborhood.

 

9. Unsubscribe from emails that tempt you to spend – enough said.

 

10. Replace disposables with reusables – save money and protect mother earth too! Mop heads, dust cloths, grocery bags, water bottles, liquid soap, straws, K-Cups, makeup remover pads. Imagine the savings!

 

11. Use your grocery store’s gas rewards program – you can typically save 10 to 20 cents per gallon and it costs nothing to register and save.

 

12. DIY manicures – okay, so it won’t be as easy or pretty as going to a professional, but it’s certainly a lot cheaper and you’ll get better with practice.

 

13. Freeze your credit card – this is extreme, but depending how badly you need to cut your spending it’s definitely an option. You could simply leave your card in a drawer, or find the freeze/lock option on your bank’s app.

 

14. Improve your credit score – a high credit score is key to unlocking the best interest rates on auto loans, credit cards and mortgages. Click here to learn more about improving your credit score.