6 Tips on How to Save Money
Tips on how to save more money, without necessarily needing to
make any more income. These tips are for those who need to find a way to save
on their expenses in order to retain more money at the end of the day.
6 Tips on How to Save Money
1. How to Save Money on Food
One of the most common ways to lose track
of how much money you are spending is through the purchase of food. While most
people budget for groceries and any foods they may need when around the house,
most of us don’t budget for snacking or any “little” meals we may consume
throughout the day.
To save on food, the first thing you
should do is track all the money you spend on any foods you may take throughout
the day. What did you have for lunch? Write it down. What did you purchase when
you made a pit stop while on that road trip? Write it down. Do not forget to
indicate how much it cost you. Writing down helps you put your food expense in
perspective, which basically means that it is the easiest way to make yourself
feel guilty for foods you may have avoided.
2. Carry packed lunch to work
In comparison, carrying packed lunch is
way cheaper than buying lunch, and the difference can be up to half of the
price. So, for instance, it could cost you $5 to buy lunch but cost you $2.50.
In a year, you could save up to $500 just by carrying that brown bag to lunch.
With that money, it is very possible to move out of that house with the awful
neighbor.
Planning your meals in advance, and
budgeting appropriately for what is planned for is yet another way to save
money on food.
What are you most likely to eat every day, week or month?
The answer to this question gives you a
shopping list that you can use when doing your grocery shopping. When you are
shopping with a list, you are intentional. Essentially, this means that there
is little chance you will pick that chocolate bar off the shelf because it is
not in your list.
Finally, you can save both time and money
by doubling the meals you make when cooking. If you are making dinner, the
quantity should be enough such that the food is leftover for another meal,
maybe your lunch the next day. This ensures the efficient use of ingredients as
the two meals are made with one batch of them. However, be sure to refrigerate
the food that is left over to ensure that it doesn’t get spoilt.
3. How to Save Money on Transportation
Transportation is yet another area of
spending that uses up quite a big percentage of household incomes.
In 2017, almost 16 percent of incomes
around the United States were spent on moving from one place to another. This
percentage is quite high, especially considering that you could simply walk to
your destination without ever needing to spend a penny.
This is actually our first tip on saving
money in transportation; take a walk when you can. Some distances are short and
don’t necessarily need you to get into your car and drive there. If you can,
try and shorten the distance from work and/or school to your house by moving
closer to them. Alternatively, where the distance to work or to school is too
long to walk, you can instead cycle, but only when convenient.
What are the yearly payments that you make
for your car insurance? Are you getting an affordable deal or just the most
convenient one? Every year, before renewing your car insurance with your
current insurer, check the rates offered by competing companies. Chances are,
you could make savings on your insurance if you were not too lazy to see if
there are any viable alternatives.
To save on transportation costs, regularly
maintain and service your car. What you might not realize is that issues such
as tires that have not been well-inflated or an engine that has not been tuned
use more fuel than one that has undergone these maintenance services. While the
margin by which you save might look to be small in the moment, these savings
could add up to $1000 annually.
4. How to Save on Banking, Credit, and Debt
First, budget for any debt you have and
pay off your credit cards in full every month. When budgeting for your income,
assign between 10 and 15% to pay off any debts you may have, including student
loans and mortgages. This ensures that each month, you are constantly reducing
your debt. Also, by fully paying off your credit cards, you don’t incur any
rates that would lead you to debt and cost you even more money. Plus, you get
to enjoy the cashback. I hope that by now, you have a savings account, and if
you don’t, you are walking to the bank right now to get one.
Savings accounts are how you pay yourself,
which should be done before you start spending the money you earned. Every
month, it is recommended that you direct 10% to 15% of your income towards
saving. To make saving easier, give yourself a goal.
What would you really like to do? Go for a
safari, buy a new car, or get that ridiculously huge and expensive TV? How much
will you need to achieve your goal? Also, as you try to get out of debt, you
can use free debt counseling services on how you can best do it. Simply type
“free debt counseling” on your search engine and explore the options that you
have.
These non-profit counselors can advise you
on how best to budget in order to finish off your debt, and how you can
negotiate with creditors with regards to repaying their money. Negotiating could
ensure that you do not pay extreme interest rates, and budgeting for the
payment prevents you from getting into more debt as you attempt to get out of
it.
5. How to Save on Family, Friends, and Home
Gift-giving is an expensive affair, which
is why it should be budgeted for and limits placed where necessary. When you
put a limit on how much can be spent on buying gifts and how many of them each
person can receive, you save a lot during the holidays. Also, the most
thoughtful gifts are not necessarily usually the most expensive ones. So make
sure you plan for special gifts because I can promise you, guilt is one sure
way to spend quite a bit of money.
Most importantly, when you have decided to
start a family, start saving for college and any material needs the baby might
need right from when they are born all through college. It is never too early
to start saving for that little one.
When purchasing clothes for your family,
make sure that they are affordable without being cheap. In the long-run, it
will cost you more to repair and regularly replace a garment than it would to
buy a quality alternative. Quality clothes can be used over a long period of
time, and could even be passed down to other family members.
As for your home, first, ensure that you regularly
maintain and clean it. Doing this saves on expenses that you may incur in doing
repairs for faults made by the accumulation of dirt or the lack of maintenance.
Whenever possible, refinance your mortgage for lower interest rates.
Explore and find out whether it is
possible for you to get an alternative lender for your mortgage, preferably one
who charges a lower interest rate. The savings you make on reduced interest
rates ensure that you accumulate home equity much faster, which increases your ability
to cover large emergency expenditures.
Finally, to save on your home, actively
cut down on the energy you are using and use less water when going about your
duties. To do this, cut down on any energy use that is obviously unnecessary or
pointless. For example, on hot days, before firing up the AC, open your windows
to let air in, and determine if the cooling from the air is sufficient.
Low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators are some of the ways through which you
can reduce the amount of water you use in your home.
6. Other Saving Tips
Where possible, share resources. While it might be more convenient to
own your own pool, it is definitely cheaper to set up a pool with neighbors.
do you really need your own lawnmower? Building an emergency fund is
another way of ensuring that you are saving money. Emergencies come up all the
time, and having such a kit ensures that you have a backup in case of anything.
Keeping loose change can also help you
save. Every day,
throw your loose change into a container and after a while, you can deposit it
into the bank. You will be surprised at how much you can save from that.
Use hard cash instead of cards, especially where you have a problem
with overspending. When you need to spend a particular amount of money for a
particular purpose, carry the exact amount in hard cash and leave your cards in
your house or in your car.
Always budget for entertainment and other
similar activities. When
you don’t assign them a specific percentage from your income, you are more likely
to eat into money budgeted for other things.
Use applications that help manage money. A variety of them are available for
free on any of the stores. With a money manager, you can track your spending
right from your income, and you can use it to budget. Some apps offer financial
advice from what they can observe from your spending.
Write down ALL your spending, preferably
in a physical book. It
might be tedious, knowing where your money goes but it gives you perspective,
enough that you know on which areas you need to reduce spending to save.
Having more money without earning more
might seem impossible, but if you apply the suggestions given, you might find
that it is much easier than you thought.
