With the ongoing inflation and recession, saving money has become crucial. But how do you even start with the prices skyrocketing? That’s where I will help with this content piece. Read on to find out the best five ways that will help you save more money from today.
First Things First, You Need to Make a Goal
Having no goal is like going on a journey without a destination, and that isn’t ideal. The same goes for your financial goals. You need to set clear and achievable goals.
To set a clear goal, the first thing you need to know is your expenses – how much money you are spending each month from the money you are earning. Once you know the amount you spend each month, it will become easy to set clear and achievable goals.
For example, if you are earning $5000 each month and you spend around $4000 from that, setting a $500 saving goal will become simple and attainable. You might wonder why $500 and not $1000? Been there, done that! I had a similar question in mind when I started my savings, but the thing is, you need to make the goal easy and not something that you will regret later on. So, know your expenses and then set a goal.
Create a Budget
The second step, and one of the more crucial ones you will do, is setting a budget for your bills. For this, you need to do a bit of homework. Check how much you are spending on your necessities, wants, and then you will be able to estimate how much you can save every month.
This is how I do it: for necessities, I spend around $3,000. This includes my affordable internet bill, which I usually manage by reaching out to Cox en español para pagar. Then the other necessities are rent, groceries from Aldi, and energy. As for the wants, I am a fragrance connoisseur who spends around $40-$70 on fragrances. Dining out and some entertainment bills (Netflix, Max, Spotify, etc.) are the other wants that usually take up to $100 every month.
You should note down all your expenses on a paper as this will help to effectively manage your monthly and overall budget.
Figure Out What’s Too Much
In this step of making your savings significant, you need to check what’s costing more than it should. For me, it’s usually my entertainment budget, dining out, and collecting perfumes. They consume a big chunk of my expenses, but they should not.
Anyway, you need to do the same figuring out with your expenses, you need to ask yourself whether it is something you really, really want or is it just another one of those expenses that you can cut. People usually pay for multiple subscriptions at the same time, and they don’t even know. You need to revisit your credit card bill to understand what the subscriptions are for which you are paying but barely use.
Also, sometimes people are paying more than what they need for their internet bills. I recommend calculating what you need and just paying for that. Another way is to opt for an affordable internet service provider like Cox.
Apart from the subscriptions and internet bills, there are times when you are overpaying for dining out. You don’t need to go too fancy unless that’s for a date with a girl you want. So, do keep a check on all of that as it will reduce your expenses.
Take Your Time Before Making a Purchase
This one is a pro tip that helped get more discounts as well as make sound purchase decisions. Let me explain: humans have that element of impulsive thoughts, and sometimes we do impulsive buying as well. Remember the time when you were standing at the cash counter waiting for your turn. You saw a double-bar KitKat waiting right next to you in the red wrapper that you unwrapped as soon as you saw that. This is called impulse buying, and it can cost you a lot if done for bigger purchases.
So, what can you do to avoid this impulsive decision-making? Add the thing you want into the cart and let it be there for at least 24 hours before making the purchase. By doing this, you will have enough time to think about it, and you might even get a discount coupon from the seller.
Speaking of discounts, let me talk about that in detail in the next section.
Wait for the Sales Period
Whether you want to get a new phone, furniture for your home, or anything else, waiting for the sales period is a great idea. I usually shop for the expensive items during the sales period, either Black Friday or a clearance sale. Even if I am getting a 10-20% discount, I will be saving a lot in the end because the expensive stuff costs a lot in the first place. So, start saving by first knowing your finances, then making better purchase decisions, and waiting for the sales period. Trust me, these savings will give you much-needed support during the bad times, so start now.