Buy Or Sell: Saving Cash Can't Happen If You Ignore Big Picture

The notion of saving money and not overspending is something that consumes consumers to the point that they're not sure exactly how to get started. The other typical pratfall is settling on eliminating various expenses without taking a step back and surveying their budget the way Peyton Manning eyes a football field. You wouldn't see Manning hurl a pass with his eyes closed so why are so many people adopting that same blind ambition when they're cutting costs across the board? The most flagrant foul when figuring out what you can eliminate from your spending is giving up something you don't enjoy, anyway. Even worse, what if the cut-back is barely a scrape? For example, you constantly hear about people canceling their health club or gym membership in the hopes of saving money each month. If you're not going, then why keep paying? In theory, that thinking isn't flawed. No matter if it is a gym membership or a jelly of the month club, if it's not something you take part in, then get rid of it. That being said, the average gym membership has dropped drastically in recent years as most barely reach the $20 per month barrier. That is roughly only a little over $200 per year in savings. Meanwhile, your cable bill probably averages somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 (that's the low end) to $200 per month. Forget about the gym; you need to watch five movie channels at once, right? Cable bills eat up your budget faster than that same consumer who ditched their gym membership gobbles up pie, but that is easily fixable on both fronts. The gym membership promotes a healthier existence and, in turn, could lead to money saved based on eating and shopping for food with a better mindset. Cable and satellite TV companies compete ferociously for business to make them sweat a little. Ask them about bundled packages or ways you can save money compared directly to their competition. Pretty soon, that cable bill will seem modest, and you'll be better off from a cash flow standpoint. The key in this example is significance. Cutting a cable bill by bundling could equate to $600-$1,000 saved per year, which crushes the “cancel my gym membership” theory. The same goes for the budget hungry heavyweight who decides to rid themselves of buying a coffee every other day but spends $50 per week every Tuesday when the latest CDs or DVDs come out. Granted, coffee doesn't come cheap but think of it this way: if you drink a $3 coffee three times per week, that's roughly 36 dollars per month. One Blu-Ray DVD alone is usually $30, and if you're a movie buff gone berserk when the new releases hit the shelves, you had better have a Robert Downey Jr. like bank account in tow. Why not just pick a favorite CD or DVD and maybe hit the coffee bar sporadically instead? Shifting from heavy spender to streamlined superstar shouldn't be too drastic but also should be an exercise in practicality and paying attention to the big picture, rather than only concerning yourself with insignificant sources for saving money.