For some of us, no matter how hard we try, we just cannot save a portion of our earnings. While some others are able to save something, it cannot account for anything meaningful over time. It may not be because you do not want to save, but probably because you don’t know how to, or your methods have proven futile over time. Worry not because, whichever category you belong to, the following ways are more likely to help you save more towards that dream of yours.
Although not part of the major tips I will be sharing, it’s important to be inclined towards discipline. Without discipline, we often achieve nothing. Take for instance; how easy it is to watch your favorite series than study for a pending examination. It only takes discipline to overcome the temptation of watching the series. It’s the same for any other goal we want to achieve in life. That being established, let’s move along.
Try saving money automatically;
You can do this through your bank, by setting up an automatic transfer of funds into your savings account, say every other month. It doesn’t have to be a chunk of your earnings or income. A good percentage will do. For instance, an automatic transfer of 15% of your monthly earnings won’t hurt. May be, just a little bit but you will be fine.
Spend extra or unexpected money wisely;
You know how we tend to spend money earned outside our income unwisely? Especially money we didn’t work for? We always tend to think that, these are extra monies that can be spent anyhow. But that is unwise. If you are trying save more money, work on spending extra or unexpected money wisely. If that money hadn’t come your way, you’ll still have survived or live your life as normal. So, put that extra money away as savings or spend it on an actual need and not wants.
Reduce your groceries;
Try to stick your grocery list and take out all those unnecessary items on the list such as oreos or chips. Basically things you can do without. Sometimes, we buy certain groceries simply because they caught our attention or we assume we may have the need for them (which we end up not needing but using simply because we have them). However, if you are trying to improve on your saving habits, you will need to do away with purchasing unnecessary groceries.
Cancel automatic subscriptions that you seldom use;
Most of pay for Netflix every month but seldom watch anything on there because of our busy schedules. Aside Netflix, there are games and other entertainment subscriptions we make payments for that we don’t actually use. It is time to take out time and revisit all those automatic subscriptions, check out for the ones seldom used, and cancel their subscriptions. This will save you some more money.
Learn to say “no” (or “not now”);
You know how you can be randomly come across a nice bag or purse or shoes or clothes and get all excited to have it (them) as part of your wardrobe? Yeah, I know. And that my friend, is impulse buying. Impulse buying takes away a chunk of our money than we do notice. Sometimes, it’s just simply passing by an ice cream vendor and then you begin to think to yourself, how nice it would be to get one. As much as it may seem appealing, remember that was not in the budget when you were stepping out. So, instead of going with the flow or encouraging yourself that, buying it won’t hurt your budget, why not tell yourself “no” or “another time”. The more you practice this, the more money you get to save.
Buy generic instead of originals;
You seriously have no business buying from certain brands if you are not financially independent. Jay Z can buy the newest model of Nike and that is completely fine because, I am pretty sure it won’t hurt his account. But there is you, who is trying to save towards buying a house or paying fees or buying a car etc. So, why push yourself beyond your limits to buy from a popular expensive brand when you can just buy generics.
In reality, nobody cares what brand you have on unless you have a certain public image to protect, and guess what? Most people with a public image to protect have the money to afford these overly expensive brands. Seriously, what differentiates one brand from the other is marketing skills. Some unpopular brands have very quality items than the popular brands you know of. So, don’t sweat it. Save that money.
