Advertisment

12 Ways to Save Money

Most people who are experiencing money problems have it not because of too little income. Many times, the problem with money occurs because of poor spending habits. Our environment is now filled with advertisements for products trying to lure us to spend more. That’s why it’s easy to get trapped in a spending spree that drains our wallets and bury us in debt. To counter this untenable situation, we need to actively engage in activities that will save our money from destructive spending habits and decisions.

1. Keep an annual budget
Keeping a budget is very basic. It will not take a financial advisor to tell you that if you don’t have a budget planned for anything, you will surely overspend in something one way or another. An annual budget is even more effective since it will tell you the things that you will spend on and by how much for the entire year. You can then plan to buy your needs on months when the price is lower.

2. Have an expense log
Expense logs are invaluable if you want to monitor where your money goes. It is common knowledge that for something to get better, it is essential to have it monitored first. By having an expense log, you can immediately know if you are spending on the right stuff. This will save you the trouble and money from buying the things that you may later find out you cannot afford.

3. Live in a smaller house
Instead of trying to own the biggest house you can afford, living in a smaller house is way better. A smaller house will require less maintenance, less energy and, most of all, less cost. I understand that this advice won’t work if you’re trying to show-off but showing-off is not the best way to live. I know it can make one feel temporarily better but it makes everyone else hate you with envy.

4. Clear your credit card debt
Interest charges of credit cards can be unreasonably high. Clearing up your credit card debt will save you a lot of money wasted on credit card interest payments. There is good debt and there is bad debt. Guess where credit card debt belongs to…. It’s not easy to clear your credit card debt if being buried in debt has been the way you live for a while but there’s no secret formula on how to go about it. Resolve to put an end to this behavior and execute!

5. Cut your landline
Telecommunication companies are selling landlines for cheap because no one wants it anymore. No surprise there. We don’t need a landline when we all have cellphones which can be way cheaper. Save money by canceling your landline subscriptions. It’s a waste of money.

6. Make a shopping list
Going to a shopping mall or to a grocery store without any list to guide you what to buy is a surefire formula for disaster in spending. A shopping or a grocery list will make sure that you only buy the things you need and help you resist the temptation to buy useless stuff along the way.

7. Don’t buy designer labels
We all have this idea that a known designer brand has better quality than other products. For some products it may be the case, but for most products it’s not really true. So before you choose a designer label which is more expensive, try one which is cheaper but have the same quality. 

8. Sell your clutter on eBay
If you have ever thought about cleaning up your closet, you can go a step further and use eBay to sell your clutter. This will not only make your house more organized but it will also save you some money. All of us have things that we will surely won’t ever need or use. Why not free up the space in our house, remove clutter and save money all at the same time.

9. Learn when to say No
There are times when we say “Yes” but there should be equally reasonable times when we also say “No”. And the timing of saying no could potentially save you a lot of trouble with regards your money.  We all should learn to say no to things and activities that waste our time and money. We can have what we desire and we can have fun but we shouldn’t have all that we want all the time. For one thing, it’s just not possible so we might as well avoid deluding ourselves and start saying no to save what we can.

10. Save on energy
Energy is a precious resource. We all use energy. When we do our share to save energy, we not only save money but we also conserve it for use of our children or by our friends or neighbors. There are several ways to save on energy. The most difficult aspect is realizing that we need to do it. If we can admit to ourselves that we our using too much, then we can start reading more about how to save energy.

11. Simplify your wardrobe
It’s easy to turn clothes from being a need to becoming a source of vanity. If you want to save on clothing expenses, the best idea is to simplify your wardrobe so that everything you have can match each other without much difficulty. If your wardrobe is that simple, then you do not need to own so many of them. Unless you are a model for clothes, a simple wardrobe should suffice.

12. Stop accumulating things
When we are able to own a thing that we have always wanted, we take pride in our achievement but at what price? Our friends hate us more with envy. We have more things to worry about. We need to spend more on space and maintenance. Our happiness fades immediately and we want something even better. This cycle produces no satisfaction. We accumulate things without finding meaning thinking wrongly that this is the way to be successful. We should stop this even if everyone else is doing it. We should strive to own as less as possible so that we can focus our minds to doing things that we love to make a difference in the lives of others.