Budgeting on a Teacher’s Salary

As a teacher, it can be tough to make ends meet. You have to budget your money carefully if you want to make the most of what you earn. With rising inflation and our current recession, it’s not a great time financially. In this blog post, we will share 5 tips and tricks for budgeting on a teacher’s salary.

Tip 1 Continue Saving for Retirement

Even though you may not feel like you can afford it, it’s important to keep contributing to your retirement savings. It may be tempting to dip into these funds when things get tight, but resist the urge! You will be glad you did when you retire. Time is your friend, when it comes to retirement saving, and skimping here, is not a wise choice. Keep saving for retirement as normal. If you are a bit hazy on the importance of retirement plans as well as pensions, watch the video below.

Tip 2 Cut the Cord

Cancel your cable and unused subscriptions. You can save a lot of money each month by cancelling your cable subscription. There are so many free and affordable alternatives available, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. You can also get a digital antenna to pick up local channels for free.This is an easy way to save money. If you’re a big TV watcher subscribe to HULU plus for all of the cable channels you’ve grown to love, at a fraction of the cost. This can save you over a thousand dollars a year, depending on your monthly cable plan.

Tip 3 Use Donors Choose and Wait

I love writing grants on Donors Choose. The hard part is waiting for my grant to be funded Sometimes, in haste I go ahead and buy the products or subscription service that I want. This year, I would recommend being patient and waiting for your grant to be funded. We love our students, and always want the best for them. That being said, we have to make sure that our families and personal finances are taken care of before we make additional classroom purchases.

Tip 4 Space Services Further Apart

If you normally get your hair cut every 6 weeks, try going every 7 or 8 weeks. You can use this tip for any regular services you received throughout the year (manicures, oil changes, etc.). By spacing your usual services further out, you can still treat yourself (you still deserve your splurges), but save some money in the process.

I recently saw a YouTube video that applied this strategy to products as well. The video suggested using slightly less of each product you use on a daily basis (toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc) not enough that the results are any different, but enough to push your next purchase of the product out another week or two.

Tip 5 Drink More Water

I know this one sounds funny but by using filtered water instead of juice, soda, or other store bought drinks you will find yourself more hydrated. In addition, you’ll save money because you won’t be buying as many extra beverages.

I recently began making iced tea at home and storing it in a large pitcher in my refrigerator. It tastes delicious, is easy to make in a variety of flavors, it’s not overly sugary, and it costs very little. This will be my second go-to beverage after water this school year.

Following these tips, you can budget your money as a teacher and make the most of your salary. Do you have any budgeting tips to share? Let us know in the comments below!

For more fun September teacher tips, check out Teacher Talk below.