Do you want to get rich? Oh! How silly I am? Who doesn’t? Let me change my question how to get rich? Getting rich is not a big deal. All you need to have effective planning and a strong will to execute your plans. The simplest planning you can do is to save money.
For saving money, the most challenging task is to track your spending. If you can easily differentiate your wants and needs, your chance of success is very high.
In this article, we will share some simple lifestyle tweaks to advanced financial strategies that will for sure help you to tighten your budget. This guide will help you to take control of your finances effectively. Let’s get started…
Create Your Budget Intelligently
First and foremost, you should compare your income to the expenses you have. You should set a small goal in the beginning and stick to it firmly.
For example, if your income is $1K and your expenses are also around $1K, then you should save at least $50 monthly. If you think $50 is harder to save, go with $25. Pick any amount that can be saved easily.
The question is how can you do it? You will have to consider plenty of different ways to save some bucks. And eventually, you will see it true that “Many a little makes a mickle”. Let’s know…
1. Track Your Spending
The journey to save money begins with expense tracking. You must track all your expenses including your coffee, all types of regular bills, cash tips, and spending on your food or other household items. When you make any purchase, instantly write down where and how much you spent. Note down everything, literally everything.
After a month, you will have a detailed list of all of your spending. Now, you can categorize your entire data into two main categories:
Regular Expenses
Regular expenses are a regular part of your daily or monthly routine and you have plans for them. Some of these expenses include housing, insurance, utilities, transportation, groceries, etc. You can preplan to reduce your regular expenses.
For example, you can cook your meals yourself if you eat most of your meals at restaurants. Similarly, you can reduce your bills significantly by going with energy-efficient appliances.
Irregular expenses
Irregular expenses occur infrequently and they might happen annually or without any pre-planning. Maintenance and repair of your home or vehicle, gifts for your dearest one, and other major purchases such as appliances are some examples of irregular expenses.
These are the expenses that create a huge dent in your wallet. You can’t easily manage them because they are unpredictable. Still, you can save some bucks by prioritizing your needs over wants.
After the categorization of data, you will instantly notice that you have spent plenty of amount for nothing. Therefore, reduce or even eliminate all your non-essential costs. Soon, you will see those were the things that were eating your budget for no reason.
2. Set Your Saving Goals
Now, you know where is your money going. So you can easily set your goals to save money.
· Instead of saving more, set some realistic goals that are easily achievable depending on your income and overall expenses.
· Go with the divide and conquer approach by setting your milestone. After achieving each milestone, you will feel motivated.
· For example, deposit your designated amount for savings directly to your savings account as soon as you receive your payment.
Let’s now talk about the top 10 proven ways to save money:
Top 10 Ways to Save Money
1. DIY Project
DIY projects are not only satisfying but also amazing money-saving solutions as well. Why don’t you utilize your skills? Grown your own vegetables and other herbs to cut some costs of groceries. Do simple fixes yourself such as plumbing, painting, and small electrical works.
Similarly, you can craft some personalized gifts for birthdays and other special occasions to save hefty amount. Simply, learn as many skills as you can. More skill means higher DIY projects that will lead to higher savings.
2. Delay your “Wanted” Purchases
If you want to buy something that you don’t really need, delay the purchase for a week. Then, delay it again the following week. Eventually, you’ll either forget about buying it altogether or if you do end up buying it, this habit of unnecessary delays will help you save a significant amount of money. Another advantage of this habit is that you will literally know whether this particular thing you really need or just buying it for the sake of entertainment.
3. Make Your Entertainment Free of Cost
A large portion of our income goes towards entertainment. If you look closely, this entertainment is actually quite heavy on our wallets. From outing expenses to Netflix subscriptions, we pay for everything. Try to make your entertainment free of cost. For example, if you enjoy outings, go ahead and enjoy them, but instead of eating at a restaurant, prepare your own food. If traveling by car is expensive, use public transport.
4. Shop Secondhand
It is another great way to save money without compromising on your unique style. Plenty of things you can consider such as secondhand furniture, kitchenware, home décor items, electronic devices, books, toys, and other things you want.
5. Unsubscribe! Unsubscribe! Unsubscribe
Reading the heading, you might be thinking about what I am talking about so forcefully. Well, I am talking about unsubscribing from marketing emails and avoiding searching for your dream things on social media platforms. Otherwise, you will get many tempting offers and ads that will force you to make purchases. Eventually, you will break the timelines you set for savings. So it is an intelligent approach to unsubscribe from all such services to protect you from that captivating trap.
Wrapping Up
Saving some amount from your daily income is crucial for your financial freedom. Whatever purpose you have for money saving like building an emergency fund or down payment on a home, save money and achieve your financial goals. You can accomplish your money-saving goals with three simple steps: start small, be consistent, and watch your savings grow to keep yourself motivated. Why are you wasting your time? After implementing these effective money-saving techniques, no one can stop your wallet to say Thank You!