4 Tips To Save Money Every Month
It is said that “savings are the basis of luck” and there is nothing more true. Having a “mattress” set aside can be useful in a bad economic situation, to invest or think about the future. For this reason, in this article we will give you some tips for saving money each month. You can then use it as you see fit!
Why is saving good?
Being able to count on some money set aside, to be used in an emergency, to conclude a good deal or for sudden expenses, is always essential. Many people live for the day, and are a month away from economic ruin if they lose their jobs (in addition to the liquidation they can receive).
Not everyone has a habit of saving and, even worse, they do not know the benefits. At any moment, an unexpected event can occur that requires you to be able to rely on cash. How can we meet it if we have nothing but debt and our credit card is in the red?
Not only that: saving is synonymous with thinking about the future.Maybe you are one of those people who live for the day, but you must keep in mind that if everything goes well today, tomorrow things could change. We must always be ready.
This does not mean that we must stop indulging in a few whims, just that those additional and unnecessary expenses must be the exception and not the rule. There are many expenses that affect our economies: holidays, restaurant dinners, weekend trips out of town or clothes.
We also spend a lot during sales, when there are offers or promotions in the shops we visit, or when we are bored. In order not to get to the point of having to scale our expenses due to external factors, such as the increase in the price of services, it would be better if you save a little every month.
Tips for saving money
On the one hand it is about being more organized or intelligent, on the other hand it is about giving up certain “pleasures” that only try to fill a void or give us a feeling of happiness for a limited time.
For example, the whims of clothes, shoes or evening outings can be reduced to the bare minimum with the aim of saving money. We’ll give you some more tips below:
1. Make a note of your expenses
One of the best ways to save is to know your spending habits. This means that for a month you have to take the trouble to mark everything you spend. After shopping or paying the bills, enter the values in a notebook (or an Excel spreadsheet).
Be thorough when writing down to understand what you are spending the most on… a coffee on your way to work, lunch at the office, hand cream or a taxi ride.
When we know where the money is going, we will be able to cut unnecessary expenses. Wouldn’t it be better to make coffee at home and take it in a thermos? What if instead of buying lunch at the office, you cook it the day before?
2. Prepare a spending plan
If you’re in the business of grocery shopping and paying bills at home, you’re sure to know approximately how much you need each month. Take into account all fixed expenses and do not go beyond what you have planned.
Of course, you can make some changes (the rising electricity bill), but you can reduce your electricity consumption if you keep fewer lights on or do your laundry only once a week.
The spending plan can help us in many ways, since on the one hand we know how much we spend, and on the other we have a maximum threshold. Calculate how much you spend on food, transport and services, which are the fundamental pillars of the family economy.
3. Remove the amount to be saved
One of the main mistakes that those who try to save make are paying all the bills for the month and then, if something is left over, they put it in a piggy bank. This often leaves us with little money to spare.
It is advisable to save 10% of your salary every month… and to make sure that that sum arrives in the right place (a savings book, under the mattress or in a small investment) we have to remove it as soon as the salary arrives.
More: it is necessary to establish which situations or purchases are worthy of the withdrawal of a part of what has been set aside. For example, a medical emergency, a car problem, an urgent home repair etc. Saving does not mean then throwing money away “in anything”, otherwise we will return to the starting point.
4. Reduce your debts and expenses
This is essential to improve the state of your finances and to be able to plan your future. As a first measure, we suggest you stop paying the minimum credit card balance, and instead try to repay the installments of your personal loans. You will thus avoid incurring major debts for interest or penalties.
Secondly, it is very important that you reduce your monthly expenses. Do you go out for dinner every weekend? Only do this once a month. Do you buy new clothes every time you get paid? Buy them only on special occasions such as, for example, your birthday.
Do you travel every weekend? Try to stay home once in a while. In this way, your finances will remain a bit ‘calmer’ and you will be able to save.
