Save Money
What is Money? Money is anything that we can use to exchange for products and services. Early monetary systems involved shells and other natural objects, whereas money today usually takes the form of coins and bank notes.
Why is saving money important?
- For the present. Having enough money enables us to meet our day to day expenses: food, clothing and bills.
- For the future. Saving money for the future is essential if we want to meet the needs that arise in old age and enjoy a happy retirement. Pensions funds are a great way to do this.
- Beating inflation. The value of money is decreasing whilst the cost of things is rising every day. Thus, having savings helps us to stay afloat.
- Helping others. Having savings of our own enables us to give others a helping hand when they need it.
How to save money?
- Avoid unnecessary costs. Bring your own lunch and coffee to work, walk instead of paying for public transport, and hand make gifts instead of purchasing expensive ones, for example.
- Recurring deposits. Also known as RDs, these deposits enable you to set aside a portion of your income if you are employed and get a salary on a fixed date.
- Systematic Investment Plans. Also known as SIPs, these plans help us to turn our money into more money by investing it wisely.
- Make a little money from everyday activities. Charge others to share your car with you, sell books on once you have read them, and so on.
- Keep motivated. Making a savings chart that shows how close you are to your savings goals is a great way to stay motivated.
Conclusion: There are plenty of ways to save money and every little helps!
Best Ways to Save Money
Saving money involves putting a little money aside in case you need it. You can save your money in a bank account, for example. This is one of the most common ways to save money, and it is a very good idea to place your savings in a high interest account as then the money that you have saved will accumulate interest and grow in value.
Other people choose to save money by putting spare change in a small tin in their house, or by investing their money in trust funds which they cannot access for a certain number of years.
Saving money is an essential part of budgeting. Budgeting is the process of working out how much money we need to spend each month or each week and then ensuring that we have enough money to cover the costs of that spending. If you learn to save money properly, you will find that buying all of the things that you need is very easy!
We all need money – to buy food and clothing and gifts for our loved ones, amongst other things! However, if we do not manage our finances properly, we can end up lacking the funds that we need in order to buy the necessities in life. Learning to save money is a great life skill – and it is much easier than you might think. Our list of the 17 best ways to save money will help you to build up your savings in no time.
- Keep a budget. Make a spreadsheet of all the essential things that you will need to buy in the upcoming month: travel costs, grocery bills, and so on. Then, work out how much money you will have left out of your salary once you have bought all of those essentials. You can use this money for luxuries, or you can save it. Ensure that you do not over spend: to not buy anything that exceeds your budget.
- Cut back on a few luxuries each week. Do you really need to buy coffee from the cafe down the road when you could just make it yourself? The cost of a single coffee might not seem like much, but if you sit down and work out how much money you would save if you made your own coffee every day this month the final figure will surprise you! Do the same for other little luxuries and see how much you can save.
- Make your own lunch. Bring a packed lunch to work – it’s healthier, and it saves you money too.
- Travel off peak. Take the cheapest fares, even if it means that your journey takes a little longer. You can always read a book on the bus or get a little work done as you sit on the train.
- Go for the cheaper option. Cheaper shampoos, food ingredients and so on usually do exactly the same job as their more expensively priced counterparts. Why pay for additional ingredients (like the gold leaf that laces many modern cosmetics and yet does nothing to aid your skin) simply for the privilege of owning something by a ‘big brand’?
- Get a high interest savings account. Even a small amount of money can grow and grow when it is placed in a high interest savings account.
- Look out for special offers. If there is a 2 for one deal on teabags or a coupon that gives you a free bar of chocolate at the supermarket, take advantage of those deals – they are great ways of saving money on your favorite products.
- Stock up on loyalty cards. Grab a loyalty card from all the stores that you use – often, with these cards, you can collect stamps so that after purchasing a certain number of items you will get one free.
- Make your own cosmetics! Banana, avocado, coconut oil and honey are all key ingredients that you can find in the supermarket and use to make a cheap face or hair mask. Sand and sugar can be used instead of expensive exfoliants. Be creative and make cosmetics for next to nothing!
- Grow your own food. Grow veggies, grains and fruits in your garden, if you have one, or look out for community gardening schemes near to you. Nothing beats getting delicious, nutritious food for free.
- Make your own gifts and greetings cards. Home made gifts are so much more thoughtful than even the most expensive of shop bought gifts. So, knit, bake or carve something for your loved ones for their birthdays. You can also hand make their birthday card from bright paper, drawing pencils and so on!
- Shop at thrift stores. Buy second-hand goods that are good quality. Clothing, cloth, books, electrical appliances and much more can all be bought much more cheaply second-hand.
- Use less water. Share bath water with others in your family, turn off the tap when you brush your teeth and re-use the water that you have cooked vegetables in to make stock, soup or sauce. Your water bills will significantly decrease.
- Use less energy. Put your heating system on a timer so it only heats up your home whilst you are there. Turn lights off when you are not in the room. There are plenty of things you can do to decrease your energy bills.
- Fun for free. Go for a walk in the park or instead of a trip to the cinema – it’s free and much healthier. Similarly, opt for a home-made picnic instead of a trip to a restaurant.
- Challenge yourself. Set yourself money-saving goals – and stick to them. Write them down, make them into a poster or just scribble them in your diary to remind yourself of what you are going to achieve this month!
- Hold yourself accountable. Whenever you want to buy something that could be considered a luxury, write it down in a notebook first. Then, wait 30 days. If you still need it after 30 days, then buy it. But, often you will find that you never needed it in the first place.
Conclusion.
These small and simple money-saving tips will help you to have enough cash when you need it. These are things that you can do every day, but they can help you to save a truly significant amount of money.
