Inflation is high, money is tight; how can one be expected to put money away into savings? Sometimes it takes a little bit of creativity and thinking outside the box. Now is always the right time to build up your cash reserve.
We’ve all heard the go-to “how to save more money” ideas. Things like, pay off your credit cards, pay with cash, minimize spending, limit or cut down on your subscriptions, use coupons, etc. Those are all really good ideas, but how do you make all that happen? Some of the best advice is to be mindful of what you’re spending and pay more attention to what you’re putting in your shopping cart. Think about what you really need.
One idea is to schedule “no spend days” each month. These are days that, barring an emergency, you don’t spend any money. To make this work you need to be mindful of when you pay your bills. Start with 8-10 no spend days, and as you become more mindful of your spending, try increasing those to 15-20. Eventually you might want to go as far as having a “no spend month” (with the exception of regular bills).
Create a “spending board (or file).” This is where you drop pictures or links to things you want to buy. If you find yourself browsing on a no spend day, put it on your spending board for later. By tapping the breaks on spending, it gives you time to think about the purchase. As you revisit your board you may find yourself deleting things you don’t actually need or want. That’s money saved!
Try the $5 dollar saving trick. Every time you receive a five dollar bill put it into a savings envelope. This could be change from a purchase or money given to you. You’ll be amazed how quickly it all adds up. This trick can also be done with change. All those loose coins can go into a jar to be cashed out at a later time. Another version of this idea is to pull cash out when using your debit card at the store. Whatever you pull out can be put directly into your saving envelope.
Clearly, one of the best ways to have more money is to simply limit how much you’re spending. Our last idea is to start a money-saving hobby or skill. This could be learning to cook your favorite restaurant meals instead of paying to eat out or learning to sew in order to repair and maintain some of your favorite outfits. Learning how to build or fix things around the house means you don’t have to hire someone to do it for you.
As you become more mindful of your spending (and saving) you’ll find bits of money here and there, more than you may have thought.
Photo by Kenny Eliason
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