Today, I’m going to let you in on some creative ways of making money count. You can make your money count by saving it! You may be surprised but it’s true. Saving money helps you make plans for achieving both short term and long term goals.
Occasionally, the difficult thing about saving money is how to start. All you need to do is to be reasonable and practical about it.
KEEP TRACK OF YOUR DAILY EXPENDITURES
The first thing this helps you to do is to help you know when you’re spending money on items that are not important at the time. This way, you can easily make a priority list and purchase according to your most vital needs.
Once you have your compilation, categorize the numbers, such as gas, groceries, toiletries, etc, and calculate each amount. Use your credit card and bank statements to make sure you’re accurate—and don’t forget any.
Note: You can buy a notebook for this or use your financial diary.
ALLOW FOR SAVINGS IN YOUR BUDGET
Once you have an idea of what your expenses are in a month, you can then proceed to regulate your records into a budget you can work with.
Are you spending more than your income? Your budget should trace how your expenses measure up to your income—so you can plan your spending and limit overspending. Be sure to put in expenses that occur regularly but not every month, such as house maintenance or groceries purchase.
Note: When making your budget, include a savings category. For instance, I usually save 10 to 20 percent of every money that comes to me, depending on the needs I have at each time.
INVENT WAYS YOU CAN REDUCE YOUR SPENDING
If your expenses are so high that you can’t save as much as you’d like, or you are like me who engages in impulse buying (buying anything that catches my fancy) sometimes, this might be the time to stop.
Identify non-essentials that you can either avoid or spend less on, such as eating out. Look for ways to save on your fixed monthly expenses like television and smartphone subscriptions.
Note:
• Discover free or low-cost programs to curtail entertainment spending.
• Cancel subscriptions you don’t use—especially those that are renewed automatically.
• Reduce your eating in fast food joints and eat your home-cooked food. If you can’t help it, discover restaurants where you will not spend so much.
• Whenever you are tempted to buy an item, take a few minutes to ask yourself, “do I need this?”
SET GOALS FOR SAVING
This is my personal favorite. You do this by first determining what you want to save money for—perhaps you’re planning to further your studies abroad or get married or you plan to buy a dinnerware or save to buy a car. Then find out how much money it will cost you and how long it will take you to save it, depending on how much you earn.
Note: If you’re saving for a long term like your child’s schooling, you should think about opening an investment account. Though investments come with risks where you could loose money, it generates a chance for growth when the market rises. See HERE for my article on how to detect and avoid shady investments.
For short term goals, you get to feel really good when they become achievable. So set smaller goals which will boost you up for the long term goals.
PRIORITIZE YOUR NEEDS
Learn how to prioritize your savings goals so you have a clear understanding of where to start saving from. For instance, start putting away money before you’re given an eviction notice if you know you want to get a new apartment.
RELAX AND WATCH YOUR SAVINGS MULTIPLY
Finally, evaluate your funds and check your improvement every month. It will help you know how to fix problems quickly. This understanding teaches you how to save money in new and creative ways in order to help you reach your goals faster.
I hope this is valuable to you? Perhaps you know of more proven methods to help save money, please share in the comment section.
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