Many people are living paycheck to paycheck and some claim that they don’t have any money left after paying their bills. There are many factors that might be contributing to the issue – too much spending, too much debt, not saving enough.
Whatever it is, there are ways to save money starting with cutting out the things you don’t need. We all want to save money, but we don’t always know how to do it.
1) Save First, Then Spend What Is Left Of Your Income
Saving money is important for everyone, but especially those with a tight household budget. Some people think that saving money is an impossible task and too much of a sacrifice. However, if you take the time to set plans and goals, you can save as much as possible without feeling like it’s too hard.
Whenever you get your monthly paycheck, always save a portion of it first such as 20% or 30%. It doesn’t matter if it is a small sum to begin with, once you start to see the saving grow over the months, you will be motivated to start to save more.
2) Create A Spending Budget For The Rest Of Your Income
The first step to creating a budget is to figure out how much money you have to spend and what your fixed and variable expenses are. Once you’ve figured that out, determine how much of your income you want to put towards fixed and variable expenses each month.
The next step is to create a monthly budget by listing all of your fixed and variable expenses in the corresponding column in the table. Fixed expenses are those that remain constant through any given month, while variable expenses can change between months.
3) Track Your Expenses
It might sound a bit perplexing at first, but tracking your expenses can help you save a lot of money. By simply keeping a visual record on your phone or on paper, you can see where you’ve been spending money on.
Sometimes we didn’t realise that the little things that we spend like bubble tea, snacks and etc all adds up at the end of the month. Or you may notice you are spending more money than usual and can quickly make changes to your spending habits. This will not only help you get out of debt but it can also make it easier to manage your daily finances by reducing on unnecessary expenses.
4) Cut Down On Variable Expenses Or Find Cheaper Alternatives
Variable expenses are those that differ from month to month, and this likely mean that there are cheaper alternatives you can turn to or can be cut out from your monthly expenditure. For example, expenses such as subscriptions from Netflix, Spotify, Gym Memberships, Yoga Memberships etc.
Too many subscriptions can take a toll on your budget. If you’re finding it hard to keep up with all the monthly payments then it might be time to cut down on some of those unnecessary subscriptions or find cheaper alternatives. You could also share the cost with your family members for different services that you might not use as often should it be allowed.
5) Purchase During Sales Or Promotions To Save Money
Retailers always “help” consumers find a reason to spend money with all the promotions and festive sales going on. There are some really good deals hidden among these advertisements depending on what you are looking for though.
Keep a look out for monthly sale items at supermarkets like NTUC, Giant and Sheng Siong and get groceries when it’s on discount. Or for other items, check out online sales like Shopee 9.9 or Lazada 9.9 (or whichever month it is… it happens every month now so you wont miss it). So plan your purchases ahead, there are some pretty good deals waiting for you.
Some credit cards also offer very good deals and discounts. But warning, only purchase what you planned for and not get distracted by the other promotions and over purchase what you don’t need.
Bonus Hack: Spend More To Save More
Consider what you want to spend your time doing and how much you are willing to pay for it. A lot of people think that by spending less they will end up saving more but this is not always the case as quality is more often than not better than quantity.
It is better to buy quality products that last longer than cheaper products that need to be replaced every now and then. If you like what you are buying, it will make sense for your wallet in the long run as well as your bank account because you won’t feel like you are constantly spending on things that don’t make any difference in your life.
