If you are anything like me, you probably want to know as many different ways as possible to reduce your monthly expenses, thereby increasing your savings. Today I would like to outline four  really hard hitting methods to achieve this.

So let’s get right to it.

1. Adopt the “Do Not Spend” Mentality

This is the typical behavior of rich people. They hate spending money, but love to invest and make money. When you start to look at your money and the things you buy as investments and expenses, it will totally change your spending habits.

For example, buying food and paying rent do not make you any money. Therefore, they are expenses. However paying for an education, lets say in real estate internet marketing, is an investment because you get a financial return on what you pay.

So start looking at each thing you buy as an investment. If it doesn’t make a return, minimize it, or drop it altogether. You’ll find yourself saving quite a bit of money with this mentality.

2. Cut Down the “Eating Out”

I know this will be considered by many as a horrible thing that they don’t want to give up, but just ask yourself, how many times per week do you go for fast food? If you analyzed your bank statement or credit card bill, you would probably find a large percentage of the charges would be fast food or other “eating out” type expenses.

Here’s a tip to effectively control the urges. Figure out how much you are truly willing to spend on eating out every month, then pull that cash out of the bank, and put it in an envelope called “eating out”. Spend that money throughout the month, and when you come to the end of the money in the envelope, stop going out to eat. I know it takes a little discipline to do this, but it is well worth it in terms of monthly savings.

3. Guard Your Home Thermostat

One of the biggest ongoing costs to owning or renting a home is electricity and gas. Especially in places that are extremely cold, or extremely hot. And while I know it is tempting to setup your thermostat to automatically control the temperature at different times during the day, and perhaps even seasonal, you can do a lot better with a simple manual approach.

When you leave the house for any length of time, turn off the thermostat, period. If it isn’t running, it isn’t draining your utility bill. Secondly, work yourself up to higher temperatures while it is hot, and colder temperatures when it is warm. So for instance, try to kick the thermostat up to 79 or 80 degrees during the summer, and down to 65 or 70 degrees during the winter. It might be a little uncomfortable at the first, but you can get used to it, and save a lot of money.

4. Move Closer to Your Workplace

These days there are still many people that drive incredible distances to get back and forth from work. These long commutes, coupled with insanely high gas prices, make a sizable impact in your monthly budget.

So what should you do about it?

Well, first evaluate if you see yourself at this job for any length of time, and if you think you will, then seriously consider moving close to it. Now is the perfect time to land a new house near your office for a fraction of the cost, as compared to three or four years ago. There may not be a better time to buy than right now.

As you can see there are limitless options to how you can save money in your life.  All you need to do is start looking for areas where you can make changes. It is that simple!

So, how have you saved money in your life? What changes have had the highest impact on your finances? Please share.