save money at work, these 12 tips show you how

Saving money and reducing costs can be easy. The best way to start is to look at things that you can easily change yourself. Our philosophy is start with the simple things that will make a difference and then move on to the other things. Listed below are 12 money saving tips, some of them simple changes, that you can do now to start saving money at work today!

Tip 1: Bring your lunch to work: Try and bring your lunch to work three and four times a week. This will save you around $20 a week. Over the course of a year (48 working weeks you will save around $960). Ok first up this is an obvious one and not so out of the square. But we had to include it because it is such a good money saver. I know making your lunch is a hassle; I hate it, but try and sub-contract this work out to your spouse or kids. They will love you for it!

Tip 2: Eat at the employee café: On the days you don't bring your lunch into work, eat at the employee café rather than going out (if you have one of course! If you don’t, hassle the boss). Employee cafés are generally subsidized and will be a lot cheaper than eating out somewhere else. Some businesses will offer meal vouchers in lieu of a cafeteria.

Tip 3: Bring your snacks into work: Brown bagging it is a good start, but bringing in your own snacks will save you a lot of money as well. The cost difference between buying museli bars and chocolate bars in the supermarket (or in bulk) compared to a vending machine or café is huge (often around 50 to 75 percent different). So stock up when you do your normal shopping and avoid the need to buy these items at a heavily inflated retail cost.

Tip 4: Know your hourly wage: Once you work out your hourly wage, every time you think of buying something, work out how many hours you have had to work for it, and then consider if it is worth it. It is amazing the effect that this will have on your buying habits.

Tip 5: Work out what you are spending: Keep every receipt for everything that you buy for a month (it’s a pain but it’s worth it), and then add them up at the end of the month. You may be surprised at where your money is going, but more importantly, you can look at ways to reduce the amount spent.

Tip 6: Eat a good breakfast before you go to work: Eating a good meal at breakfast will help you to control snacking throughout the morning, and will also help you to concentrate more and become more efficient. It’s amazing how many people forget this one; it’s the most important meal of the day.

Tip 7: Avoid shopping in your lunch hour (or only take a small amount of money): While it’s a good break, it can end up costing you a lot.. So try and avoid shopping during lunch where you can. Just browse or read a book or go for a walk.

Tip 8: Make use of free newspapers at work: If your place of employment has free newspapers, take advantage of this and read them at lunch. A lot more cost effective than buying one in the morning.

Tip 9: Work isn't a fashion parade: Keep this in mind when choosing your outfits. It definitely pays to be neat and well dressed (regardless of what people say appearances do matter at the office), but you don't need to blow the budget on the latest Prada bags etc. Let the office show pony get all togged up and then listen to him/her whining all week about how they have no money.

Tip 10: Check out your payroll department for all benefits: Organizations often have a range of different products or accounts where you can move money into before you are taxed. It may be a flexible savings account or your superannuation, but whatever it is, spending time to see what they can offer is definitely beneficial and will save you money.

Tip 11: Tuition fees: Over 75 percent of large organizations in the United States offer reimbursement of tuition fees for their employees. Not only does the employee get the benefit of obtaining a higher degree, they also have the potential to increase their salary and move up in the organization. Definitely worth checking out if your employer offers this

Tip 12: Ask about discounts: Organizations often offer reduced ticket prices for movies or amusement parks (all these activities help to keep their employees happy and balanced). If you are planning to go to the movies, or take the kids to an adventure park, then it is worth checking out if you can get discounted tickets through work.

Want to learn more money saving tips then check out our website www.1000moneysavingtips.com

Cheers

Rusty O'Connor