9 Money-Saving Ideas You Wish You Knew Years Ago
Saving money isn't easy for everyone, especially if you love check to check. It's hard to take away from what you have, stash it and try to manage with what's left over. Some people may think the salary they have isn't sufficient enough to save. While others argue, no matter what you bring home, you should always save something, even if it's five dollars. You can learn more here but right now, I'll discuss 9-money saving ideas you wish you knew years ago.
- Put ten dollars away weekly
- Save your income tax
- Set monthly goals for yourself
- Pack lunches, snacks, coffee while at work
- Use money saving apps to help you
- Set up a savings account at a different bank and don't use it
- Keep only a limited amount of money in your bank account
- Pay for stuff in cash and don't use your credit cards
- Start using coupons and frequent the cheaper grocery stores
PUT TEN DOLLARS AWAY WEEKLY
Today there are so many apps and other things that can help you in your money saving journey. There are apps that will withdraw money from your checking account weekly and you won't even realize that you're taking the money out and saving it. If you do this with ten dollars weekly, you'll have saved five-hundred dollars by the end of the year. Imagine saving twenty dollars per week. That's one thousand dollars at the end of the year. If I had started doing this when I started working as a teen, I would probably be living totally different than I am now. If only we had as much knowledge back then. How different would your life be?
SAVE YOUR INCOME TAX
If you've gone all year without your income tax, you can go a little bit longer and save it. If you get extra money from working overtime at work, or any kind of bonuses, that will also help you in your journey. Money that you didn't factor into your budget is easier to save than the money that you actually expect to use. A lot of people go out and buy large items with their tax returns. Hold off on that big purchase and save it for later.
SET MONTHLY GOALS FOR YOURSELF
Set monthly goals and challenges for yourself. Each month you can present yourself and your family with a different challenge or goal. For instance you can take one month and decide not to eat out at all, the next month you can decide to only buy what you need and not what you want. Make sure you tally up what you've saved, that way you can challenge yourself again by saving a bit more the next time. This can be done solo or with your family. By challenging everyone to see who can save the most, you’re making it a bit more fun.
PACK LUNCH, SNACKS AND MAKE YOUR OWN COFFEE WHILE AT WORK
Start saving even more by packing your lunch, snacks and making your own coffee while you're at work. I've seen so many small personal Keurig coffee machines I've seen on peoples desk. It makes it much easier to keep those items in a desk at work. You can fill your desk with small snacks that you're used to purchasing from the vending machines or the cafeteria where you work. Take left over dinner from the night before or make sandwiches. You can even prep your meals for the week if you want to take that extra step. It may make life much easier and even put some extra money in your pockets.
USE MONEY SAVING APPS
There are plethoras of money saving apps out here today. If we had the technology back then that we have today, most of us could be swimming in money.’
There are even apps for children's pocket money with many reviews out there!
You might also like: things to sell at school to make money.
SET UP A SAVINGS ACCOUNT AT A DIFFERENT BANK AND DON'T USE IT
Try setting up a savings account at a different bank than the one you regularly bank with. If you don't have convenient access to the bank, it will be harder and less tempting for you to want to withdraw any of your funds.
KEEP ONLY A LIMITED AMOUNT OF MONEY IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
Keep only a limited amount of money in your checking account to avoid overspending and stick the rest in your savings. Keep enough money in your account for your bills and your purchases like groceries and personal items and once you’ve paid what you need to pay that’s it. It will not only teach you how to budget what you really need, but you’ll be saving money in the process.
PAY FOR STUFF IN CASH AND DON’T USE YOUR CREDIT CARDS
When you pay for your items in cash, you’re more aware of what you’re spending as opposed to using your credit cards. You also know where your money is going.
START USING COUPONS AND FREQUENT THE CHEAPER GROCERY STORES
Many people swear by using the coupon method. I’ve seen many people stock up on so many items i.e. food items, personal items and makeup. They literally pay nothing for hundreds of items. Couponing can save you hundreds of dollars. Today they have grocery store chains that are much cheaper than the regular grocery store chains. You can find what you need at a lower price in many of these stores. You can even shop at grocery clubs and buy your items in bulk. That will also save you a chunk of change in the long run.
Using some of these techniques will make you more aware of what you have. You will need to figure out what’s important to you and what’s not when trying to save money. Start tracking what you spend and create a spreadsheet of everything you purchase and the cost of it. You’ll soon realize that certain things aren’t that important, thus leaving more for you to save. It can be difficult at start, but it can be done, you just need to find what works for you.
