If like many, you are feeling a little uneasy about your financial future during these uncertain times, it is good to know you are not on your own. Although on the outside, money-saving might seem like an easy process, many of us find it harder than others. Even though spending your hard-earned cash might fulfil your wants and needs, it is worthwhile putting cash-saving to the top of your priorities list. Fortunately, there are a wealth of ways to save some cash while not giving up all of your luxuries as a result.
Often the most straightforward way to build up your savings is to analyse your financial habits and what you are spending. You could begin putting more money away than you thought was possible once you understand your real needs and your available budget. To save money effectively, you should look at both short-term strategies like giving up a morning coffee, as well as longer-term tactics.
Tackling all of your spending habits overnight is unlikely, but putting aside some time and consistently cutting back can help anyone understand the art of putting money aside. Whether you are trying to get savvier with your finances or you are looking towards saving for the future, there are several reasons you could be struggling with saving. Read on for some tips to help you save money with some quick fixes and longer-term methods to try.
Saving for the future
When planning to save long-term, you may find that you accomplish much more, which covers your short-term savings along the way. Understanding how to save for the future equips you with the knowledge to penny-pinch for those immediate scenarios. First up are some ways to save for the future.
1. Start with a Budget
The first area we’d advise visiting is assessing how much you have to spend and where you are spending it. You might consider using the 50/20/30 scenario to build your budget. This rule tells us that 50 per cent of the money you have coming in should pay for necessities like food and your mortgage, 20 per cent is transferred to savings, and 30 per cent goes to disposable income like nights out, games etc.
2. Auto-save
If you’re someone who manually moves funds between your bank accounts, there’s a chance you might forego saving entirely. Instead, set up an automatic payment so that a set amount of your income goes to your savings to ensure saving consistently.
3. Build a rainy day fund
It is not uncommon for hardcore savers to put aside up to six months worth of living costs in case something unexpected happens. Doing so ensures you won’t get into debt if you have unforeseen bills to pay or you lose your job.
4. Keep tabs on your outgoings
Many people reviewing spending habits get a huge surprise as they hadn’t realised where their money was going. Keep tabs on your outgoings to see how your small extras are adding up. It might not seem too bad having that one pint at the pub each day, but when you see the sum of these over a year, you might change your mind.
5. Avoid a Debt mountain
To keep debt from snowballing, pay off your credit or store cards every month. If you can, try and avoid getting into any debt whatsoever by continuing spending withing your available cash and leaving the credit card in a drawer at home. If you already have debt, you might consider researching the loans to consolidate your debt at bestconsolidationloans.com. By building your savings, you can avoid substantial interest rates on your cards.
Saving on essentials
Its not much fun getting to adulthood when you have lots of bills to pay, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to release a little bit of cash from your monthly bills. Here are some ways to reduce your essential costs:
6. Ditch expensive mobile plans
Many smartphone users rack up at least 1.6 gigs of data each month, and interestingly, many operator’s base data plans offer more than that. Take a look at your latest phone bill to see how much data you’re using, and if your data is higher than your plan, you could switch the operator or consider using WiFi hotspots.
7. Check your Utility Bills
Are you as conservative as you could be when it comes to your utility bills? A few common ways people save money on utilities are things like unplugging unused appliances, reducing your heating bills by using a sheet of bubble wrap to insulate your windows, and turning off the tap when you are brushing your teeth.
8. Time it right, hit the sales on big purchases
Specific item prices fluctuate every season, which means timing your purchase right for larger buys can help to save big. Car dealerships, for example, have end of year targets to meet, so this is generally a good time to consider a new car.
9. Workout at home
Most exercise facilities wu use at the gym can be recreated at home with a little imagination. There are loads of virtual workouts available online, and you could run around the block, or use your local swimming pool for swimming laps.
10. Use discounts Coupons
Coupons are no longer on the back of cereal boxes and newspapers. They are widely available on websites like SnipSnap and across the web. Before your next shopping trip, check coupon sites on your PC or mobile and see what you could save.
Why save in the first place?
Unless you have the backing of substantial wealth, it’s likely the things you buy in life will require planning before you make a purchase. Think about what your savings goal is to help you steer away from unnecessary purchases. Let us suppose your goal is to save £50,000 over ten years for your child’s university fund; it’d be a lot easier keeping away from the drive-thru lane.
Keep in mind that you may need to save for costly purchases like a home and purchasing a new car. Many of us own several cars across our lifespan, so its a good idea to save in advance, even if you don’t need one right now.