How to save money? It’s a question many of us ask ourselves before going out to buy something or before starting our day. In fact, in the U.S., over 80% of all households have a balance on their credit card or another type of loan with an average amount of $1700 per month being spent on them.
Why do so many people spend more than they need to? Well for one, young adults tend to have higher levels of expenses than older ones, and then there are also credit cards that offer rewards in exchange for spending. So if you’re interested in saving money but also using credit cards and rewards then this article should get your creative juices flowing and inspire you to think outside the box for additional ways that you can save money.
When trying to save money, it can be easy to get carried away without managing your expenses. You might find that you’re spending more than you realise and feel confused about what steps you should take to make savings happen.
The first rule of saving money is learning to manage your expenses. One of the reasons why many people are stuck in a financial hole is that they don’t know what are the right steps to manage their expenses. You need to keep track of your taxable income, and deductions, and make sure you spend less than your income.
The problem with managing expenses is that everybody understands the importance of it and tries to put it into practice, but where they fail is that they are unable to make it a habit. So naturally, after doing it religiously for a few days they go back to their old habits. This doesn’t mean they give up once they fail, they just keep going back and forth and try to make this their habit.
If you are someone who is trying to manage your expenses and improve your saving but dont know why you are failing then this article is for you. If you want to succeed in your endeavours then you must take one step at a time and slowly but steadily incorporate saving money into your daily life.
Here are a few small steps that will help you in making saving a habit.
Spend less than your earnings
With credit cards becoming readily available people have gotten into a habit of spending more money than their earrings. People are spending money using their credit cards and playing them in instalments. As you see, we are living in times where every aspect of life is showcased on the internet. People are spending more effort to make their life look picture-perfect on social media.
It is not a bad idea to showcase your life and share good moments with friends and family. But what is not right is spending more than you make, if you build this habit then you have to remember it would not be long before you land in trouble. So always make sure that your expenses never exceed your earnings. If fact the best idea is to always take out a certain percentage of income from your earrings for your expenses and no matter what the first thing you do when you receive your salary should transfer that expense amount to a different bank account to use only from it.
Automate your savings
One of the main reasons people fail to make saving money a habit is that they forget to save regularly and by the time they remember they are already out of money. You may argue that reminders also work best, but the problem with reminders is that when you receive a reminder in the middle of work or travel you would think you will transfer money as soon you are done with work.
But again there is a high chance that you will forget that too. Because of situations like this, you will never be able to cultivate the habit of saving more. This is why you need to automate your savings and every month the amount you decided you will transfer will automatically be transferred from your current account to your saving account. You will never again have to worry about forgetting to save money or feel guilty about forgetting to save money.
Track your finances
The first step that will motivate you in saving money regularly is to track your finances because if you track your finances you will get a chance to understand where and how you are spending your money. And when you see how much money you could have saved it will give you the motivation to take savings seriously. Even after you have started saving there will come a time when your growth will be stagnant but regularly tracking your finances will provide you with how and where you can cut off to improve your savings.
One thing that you must remember is that change is not possible within a day it takes a constant effort to make a difference. So tracking your finances will help you in understanding your spending habits better which will in turn help you in changing them. Once you understand yourself and your spending habits you will be able to make a realistic strategy to improve your savings and slowly but surely you will be able to make it a habit.
Looking for discounts
Most people don’t look for discounts or sales, if they come across one then they make a decision and purchase. Another thing is that people usually dont look for discounts for everyday essentials or groceries. But this is where they are wrong.
Always remember this, there is one discount or sale that will always be going on so if you want to truly save money then make it your purpose to look for discounts before going shopping. The clip coupons that you receive in the newspaper or mailbox can also help you save good money. All you need to do is keep your eyes open and do one quick search before ordering anything. And this simple habit will save you a lot of money.
Budgeting
In this article, we are discussing small things that will help you in making saving money a habit. However, for the last one, we are discussing a habit that should be a part of your life if you want to improve your lifestyle and save money. Budgeting is something that will help you in keeping track of your money.
You dont have to use the old brick and motor method of recording your expenses in a book, if you enjoy doing it then you can please do it. However, there are many money management apps like Mint, Monefy, Goodbudget, etc. These apps will track and also help you in creating a budget that will help you in saving money. So one thing that you must do is make it a part of your daily or monthly plan. And keep doing it no matter how hard it is.
In a nutshell,
As you have made it to the end of this article, you would have already understood all the habits that will help you in making saving money a habit. Remember that for anything to become a habit you will have to be motivated. Hope this article has helped in understanding how you can improve your lifestyle and save more money. If you are interested in more such articles about saving money, and making money then check out the zeen website.
