There are few things more important than getting into the habit of saving. This is particularly true in a world where everyday expenses are becoming increasingly difficult to manage. If you find yourself struggling to make ends meet each month – the problem could be with the way that you handle your money. Learning how to save properly will help you to be ready for any eventuality.
Now that the new year is almost here, it’s the perfect time to update your saving strategy and make a real difference to your financial future. Think about the goals that you want to achieve in 2020 and follow these tips to make them a reality.
1. Keep Track of your Cash
One of the main reasons that people have trouble with saving cash, is that they don’t know how to keep track of how much they’re realistically spending. You might tell yourself that you can afford to spend a few dollars here and there on a coffee when you’re on your way to work. However, when you add all of those coffees up, they usually accumulate to an absolute fortune.
Start making a note of everything that you spend, whether it’s just a couple of pennies, or a few dollars. Tracking these expenses will make it much easier to see where your problem areas are when you’re looking for opportunities to keep hold of as much cash as possible.
2. Know the Difference Between Wants and Needs
Another issue that you need to address heading into 2020, is how you can differentiate between wants and needs. You might want to take out a loan from somewhere like HappyPenguin for a brand-new BMW, but if you can’t afford a car that fancy, then it could be time to sit down and be more realistic with your cash. A car could be a “need” for you if you have to drive a long distance to work every day, but make sure that you don’t let what you want to encroach on what you actually need.
Separating the things you want from the things that you need will help you to make better decisions about how you should really be using your cash. If you have some money left over after paying for the things that you “need”, then you can begin to consider wants.
3. Don’t Eat Out
When you’re exhausted after a long day at work, the last thing you want is to come home and start cooking a complicated meal. That often means that many of us end up ordering from our favorite restaurants or grabbing some fast food instead. However, eating out can cost you a lot more than you might expect. You can save some serious money by making sure that you always have something easy at home that you can eat instead.
Think about prepping some of your favorite foods in advance when you have a little extra time on a weekend. You can keep these meals in the freezer and grab them when you’re feeling too tired to cook. You’ll save a lot more money this way.
4. Try Cashback Apps
Cashback apps and websites don’t get as much attention today as they used to. However, they’re still an excellent way to give you some access to extra cash when you need it. Downloading an app to your phone that comes with affiliate links to click on so you can earn a little bit back on each purchase is an excellent way to save some money for the future.
Although cashback apps aren’t going to save you a fortune in the short-term, they do mean that every time you make a necessary purchase, you’re never totally paying full-price for whatever you need. Using cashback apps could even get you into the habit of being more frugal.
5. Shop Around
Finally, as tempting as it is to stick to the same shops year after year – why not make 2020 the year you try something new. Head online to find out which stores also offer the products that you know and love. You might find that you can save a fortune on your grocery shopping just by switching to a different kind of store.
Sometimes, you could even find ways to cut the costs of your monthly expenses by buying items that you love in bulk online and keeping them aside so that you can use them later. The more you shop around, the easier it is to find a great deal.
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