5 Small Ways to Save Big this Year

Don’t let the New Year break your bank. Follow these tips for planning your expenses for the upcoming holiday season and begin saving money.

1. Plan your portions: The two day holiday of Rosh Hashana means a lot of meals. The best way to ensure you don’t go overboard with spending is to plan out your meals in advance and go grocery shopping with a list. Plan out a menu for each meal, including all of the ingredients and exact quantities you’ll need. When you go to the store, stick to your list. This is also the best way to save on groceries throughout the year. A little preparation can go a long way.
2. Buy generic brands: Out of habit, we tend to immediately pick up the brands we recognize from the supermarket shelves. Instead of going straight for brand names, spend a few more seconds scanning the products and compare prices. Saving a few shekels on generic items you buy regularly will add up eventually. It’s also good practice for clothing and shoe shopping!
3. Track your expenses: Keep track of how much you are spending in order to ensure that you’re not going above your capacity. If you’ve prepared your meals for the holiday, create a budget for your planned expenses and make sure you’re sticking to it.
4. Get creative: Are you sending greeting cards to your friends and family this holiday? Instead of buying cards, make your own. With the help of your children, it’s a great arts and crafts activity and adds a special personal touch that store-bought cards are missing.
5. Cancel subscriptions: If you’re still receiving the same magazines that pile up each month and don’t get read, cancel your subscriptions. The start of a new year is the perfect opportunity to do a quick review of all of the subscriptions you may have forgotten about and cancel those that aren’t relevant to you anymore.