When you are trying to save money and set up a budget, you may be looking for the cheapest option for everything that you do. However, there are times when paying a bit more will help you save money. It is important to think about how long you are going to use something, how it will affect you in the long-term and your personal habits when it comes to spending. Once you do this, you can find ways to save money and time that may look like they cost a bit more money.

• • 01

     Pay to Have the Store Shop for You

    

    Menu planning can save you a lot of money, but in order to stick to it, you need to go grocery shopping. This can take quite a bit of time, and it can get expensive if you are an impulse shopper and end up with extra items in your cart. You can save money if you have the shopping done for you. Many stores are offering to do the shopping for you. Depending on the store you may have to pay a fee for the shopping. Some stores will deliver the groceries to your door and others will have you pick them up. Walmart is one store that is offering free pick up of your groceries.

    The key to saving money with this is to find a store that is more affordable and to consolidate your trips into a major shopping trip once every week or two. The most expensive stores in my area have been offering the service, but it was not worth it because I would end up paying about $50 more per shopping trip. Now that the stores I shop at with lower prices are offering it, I can save time and the fee is about the same as what I would spend on impulse purchases in the store.

• • 02

     Nicer Apartment Complex

    This is a tricky area, because extra money in rent each month can add up to a significant amount each year. However, you may end up saving money on rent by choosing a nicer complex (not necessarily luxury apartments) in a better area. When you are choosing where to live, you may find that cheaper apartments are further out and the amount you spend on your commute and the time you lose in your commute is just not worth the extra savings. You can also save on things like a gym membership since nicer complexes usually offer a gym.

    To make this work, it will take shopping around and finding the middle ground price-wise. You may need to make sacrifices in space to find something fairly close to where you work. A shorter commute can still save you money and time and may be less expensive than apartments that are directly downtown or next to your office. Also, consider the public transportation and neighborhood options that can help you save on your commute and prevent you from needing a car.

• • 03

     Meal Delivery Boxes

    

    The meal delivery boxes are a great option if you are trying to transition from eating out every night to cooking at home. If you are not used to cooking they can save you a lot of money. The delivery boxes offer options that make it easy to cook at home and come with complete recipes. It is a great way to get used to cooking at home and can help you build your confidence in the kitchen. Eventually, you will want to transition to creating your own menu and save money that way.

    To make this work, you need to commit to cooking your meals at home. You end up wasting money if you throw the food away. If you are single, you can take leftovers to work. Unfortunately, these recipes do not come with leftovers, but you can always purchase extra portions if you want to take your lunch to work.

• 04

   Higher Quality Items That Last Longer

  When you are looking at items like furniture, appliances, and even clothing, it may be tempting to buy the cheapest items that you can find. However, you can save money by choosing things that were built to last and that are more classic. If you buy a vacuum that will last you 10 years for $400 dollars, that works out to being $40 a year. The cheaper vacuum may be $100, and will need to be replaced every two years, and if you do that five times you end up spending about $500 total or $50 a year and end up with a product that does not work as well.

  To make this work, you need to take time to research your appliances and look at how well they last over time. Sometimes over-engineering can end up with more expensive repairs so choosing a simple design without as many bells and whistles but a high quality and reliable brand may be the best option. When it comes to clothes and furniture, choose items that will last through trends, but are easy to add more trendy updates so that you can refresh the look without buying new furniture.

This article was taken from: https://www.thebalance.com/10-ways-paying-extra-can-help-you-save-time-and-money-4083248
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