Want to save more money but not sure how to do it?
Feel like depriving yourself when it comes to saving money?
Saving has always been a way of life for people who believed on its power. These people know that they have to save more money in order to create a brighter future.
However, as time goes by, more and more people find it hard to save money.
They contend that saving is no longer a way of life but a resolution that they have to strictly adhere to just to salt away some amount of money.
Some people even insist that it is no longer possible for a person to save more money because most of them are already living paycheck to paycheck. With all the high-prices of commodities these days, saving more money is no longer workable.
Not only that, the rise of online shopping making saving money even harder, due to attractive price and you don’t even need to go out from your home to spend money.
But the point is that people can indeed save more.
Here is a list of some nice ways that will let you save more money for your future:
1. Save a percentage from your monthly salary
Most money-savers automatically take at least 30% from their salary and save them into their savings account.
The basic concept here is that most of us spend whatever amount we have on our paycheck, and maybe even more.
If you are able to limit that amount, your expenses will unexplainably get smaller.
2. Reduce or eliminate magazines
If you are a typical American family, your mailbox gets its regular fill of magazines: business, sports, home and garden magazines.
Can you imagine how much each of these subscriptions cost? Annually, it is an average of about $20 per magazine.
If your family is subscribed to 5 different magazines, thats already $100 savings per year! If you still need the information from such mags, try to check out their websites and you’ll be surprised at how much free information is available!
3. Pay everything in cash
Credit cards had always been a way of life for most consumers. The problem is that they become so comfortable with it that they tend to spend everything on credit.
In fact, statistics show that the average family has an average outstanding balance on their credit cards amounting to $6,375. And they even pay almost $1,300 in each year just on the interest charges alone.
Hence, because of this comfortable shopping, they forget to keep track of their expenses and accumulate more payables than what they can afford to pay.
4. Buy in bulk
How can warehouse and discount clubs drastically lower their prices? Because they buy and sell in bulk. And so should you!
Consumables that are non-perishable can be purchased 10-15% cheaper when bought in bulk. Be sure to stock up only on fast-moving items such as kitchen towels, cleaners, canned goods, etc., to avoid wasting money on rancid food.
5. Plan your meals
Eating out 4X a week need not be your solution to a dynamic lifestyle. Menu planning is! Take time on weekends to plan for the following weeks meals.
Every night, before you hit the sack, take out the ingredients for the meals of the next day from the freezer, and store them in the refrigerator.
By the time you get home from work, everything is thawed and ready to be cooked.
And because eating out is part of the American way of life, you would have saved enough money to spend for dining out on special occasions!
6. Eat at home
Eating out has become an American lifestyle. What used to be an activity to celebrate special occasions has become part of the daily, fast-paced life.
But did you know that eating out could chomp as much as 40% of your budget for food? That’s as much as $40 weekly, saved just by eating in!
7. Set goals
Create goals that you really want and not be fickle-minded about it. If theres a certain amount involved, be specific with the amount, like saying I will save $5,000 in a year and not around $5,000.
Try to set your goals based on your priorities. Have a period for every goal.
8. Drink water filter instead of bottled water
Some preferred to drink bottled water because they think it’s cheap (a dollar plus) compared to getting a water purification system (few hundreds bucks).
But, if you really do the math and adds up the total spent in buying bottled water, you’ll be shock!
Invest in a water filter system is far greater than buying bottled water in term of saving in the long run.
So, get a great water filter for your home to save more money in the long run.
9. Homemade skin care
Is your dermatologist eating up your budget? Don’t you wish you can be beautiful and save money at the same time? The answer is yes, you can! By using ingredients from your pantry, you can take care of your skin and still save a fortune. Try the following:
- Honey and oatmeal can exfoliate dry skin.
- Ginger seeped in a bath softens your skin.
- Cucumber and milk softens tired skin.
10. Check your company’s retirement plan
With your employer plan such as the 401(k) or the 403(b), you can definitely save more money for the future. Here, your company will deduct a percentage of your salary from each paycheck and invest the amount in your choice of instruments mainly mutual funds.
The bottom line is that saving is not just a way of life or a resolution. Its the ultimate gratification that you get as a fruit of your labor.
Without drastically changing your lifestyle, you have started your path on saving money. Secure your future by using these money saving ideas, today!
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