When it comes to hotel stays or kennel visits, we think in terms of cost per day, but have you ever thought about your cost per day for cable or your car?
Cost per day can be an eye-opening or eye-popping experience because it helps you prioritize your expenses. When it comes to budgeting and saving money, calculating your cost per day is a must. You likely discover some discretionary expenses are a total waste of money.
Let's suppose your cable bill is $73 a month, that's $2.43 a day. If you look at that figure and think…I don't watch that much TV, maybe it's time to choose a less expensive cable package or save money with a Netflix streaming package for less than $10 a month.
How about your $320 car payment each month? You're spending $10.66 per day – not including gas and insurance. Cost per day gives you an entirely new perspective, and it may make public transportation look a lot more attractive.
If you're renting, and your apartment is $1200 a month that's $40 a day. My son that just graduated college, and he decided it would be more cost-effective to have a roommate and share a 2-bedroom for $1800 a month ($30 per day per person) rather than going solo for $1200 a month. Glad to see he's putting that Aggie Finance Degree to work!
Let's take a look at your electric bill. Yikes…$150 a month or $5 per day. Challenge yourself to get that figure down. Make an effort to always turn off lights and the TV when you're not in the room. Program your thermostat or get in the habit of turning it up and down as you leave and come home each day.
Spending $60 a month for your cell phone? Most people probably feel like that's worth $2 a day.
If you complain about your bills every single month, maybe you should think twice before satisfying your Starbuck's craving at a cost of $5 per day. It's kind of scary to think that you're spending as much on coffee as you are on electricity.
Budgeting is all about priorities. Cable may be really important to you and a total waste for somebody else. I might be happy with my car payment, but you can't imagine spending that kind of money when public transportation is readily available.
Set your priorities, calculate your cost per day and start the New Year with a new budget.
~~~~~~~
image courtesy of Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I love this idea! I’ve been using “cost per day” to get people to ditch cable for years. It’s super effective.
It really puts things in perspective!