Today the mantra is “work hard, play harder”. People who think of tomorrow are considered boring and losers. Most of the people work hard on the weekdays and splurge money on the weekends, as if that is our last day on earth. Although there is no harm in living lavishly, the expenses should not be so large that you end up like the fabled grasshopper and that too in this time of economic depression. Although it’s justifiable that you want to let loose of yourself and splurge sometimes, you have to remember to play safe. Learning how to save money can only work if you really want to curtail your expenses a bit. Here are some ways to help you save money and that too without stretching yourself much.
Tips For Saving Money
Set Saving Goals
Making smaller goals will be easier for you to save money. When there is no proper aim behind saving money, you would find yourself spending it, sooner or later. Therefore, make suitable plans of how you are going to save and why. The plans should not be too long-term, like saving for retirement. Although it may work for some people, it is not a realistic goal for many of us. Therefore, take one-step forward at a time, like saving for that bike. For instance, if you want to buy a television, narrow down on your choice and start saving for that. It’s easier if you have a perfect goal of saving an x amount of sum and when you are able to save that much; you are encouraged to save further too.
Set The time
After you have set your goal, allot a time in which you should save that much amount. If you have to buy a television, then divide the x sum into each month, which you can comfortably save without being stingy. Thrive for saving that much every month. However, don’t go overboard and try saving a hefty sum every month. You may save for few months that way, but eventually would come back to spending more and saving nothing. Zero in on the amount for which saving is perfectly possible, but don’t get too lenient as well and save very low amount every month.
Keep A Record Of Expenses
Always keep a record of every penny you spend. Keeping a record will help you check how much money you’re spending and how much you’re overspending. If you know that the money you spend on the weekend is the sum of money you earn working the weekdays, you are less likely to spend more.
Make A Budget
When you make a budget, it helps in saving a lot of money for you and also helps keep your over expenditure in check. Why, even governments have yearly budget plans! So, make it a habit to make a budget for every month and even stick to it.
Cut Unnecessary Expenses
If you want to save money, you need to cut on unnecessary expense. Keeping a record of what you spend will help you cross out the places you are likely to spend more money. In addition, when you know that you spend more money doing something, you will spend less the next time you are doing the same thing. It also helps you decide on what is more important and what is unnecessary. If you spend your weekend eating, drinking and partying, cut on it if possible. If you spend too much money buying clothes, make an objective of spending less on clothes in coming months.
Invest
Investing is not just for people who have more money. Even a person with moderate amount of money can invest. If you are interested in buying share, go ahead, provided you know about it. You can invest in something less risky as well, like gold. You can invest in retirement plans and insurance policies as well.
Open Savings Account
If you have a hard time saving money, open a saving account and fix a sum of money from your account to be automatically transferred into the account. Make sure that you don’t keep a very hefty sum for that as well. Keep aside an amount you can comfortably live without. There are so many kinds of saving accounts and you can choose one as per your convenience.