Useful tips
Everyone has a dream. Some people have it high and intangible. And someone dreams, for example, of going to Thailand, or buying new furniture. Should we blame the latter for the fact that their dream is related to money?
No way! They should be helped with good advice. Or even a few.
Let's make a reservation right away — these tips are NOT for lazy people! These tips will help those people who have a stable income, but almost all of their money goes to the primary ones (they think!) needs.
1. Increase revenue while keeping costs the same
You are quite happy with your life; you are absolutely not ready to give up anything (even small things) to save, but you do not have enough money for your dream. Then you have the ONLY option — increase your income, but on the condition that you do not increase your current expenses!
Is it possible to increase your income
If you are waiting for a single recipe, alas. It's not there. Everyone solves this issue individually. Understand, this is not about doubling your income! If you had such an opportunity, you would certainly have taken advantage of it long ago.
It's about making sure you have funds that you can save. And many people are successfully solving this issue: someone gets a second job, someone changes the first one, someone just works part-time, someone stays working overtime; you can finally try ask for a pay increase.
Either way, you're going to have to change something about your life — at least its rhythm. Otherwise, you should give up your pink or blue dream. However, there is another way out — we should still consider reducing current costs. And for that, you'll need the following tips.
2. Start keeping track of expenses
If you have a stable salary, then you clearly know the amount of money that goes into your budget every month. It remains now to find out how much and on what you spend money every day. To do this, you will need some time to create a convenient sign, which is recommended to be filled out every day.
Learn how to demand and keep checks
Keep absolutely everything! Checks, movie tickets, used cards, and public transport tickets are all that can help you track your daily spending down to a penny. And even if you don't have time to fill out your spreadsheet regularly, checks and receipts will help you do that later.
Now let's talk about the expenses themselves. You should not limit yourself to general sections such as “Food”, “Clothing”, “Utility Payments” or “Transportation”. Detail each section. For example, if “Food”, then what kind of food is in a cafe, food for home, or barbecue in nature. Ideally, it is better to paint products as well.
Of course, initially you will be too lazy to do this accounting. But you'll get used to it, don't even hesitate. And you'll start analyzing every purchase you make. There is little doubt that you will find absolutely unnecessary expense items. You can safely save the money you have spent on them for your dreams. This is the most effective advice on how to save money.
3. Plan your expenses
In general, it always makes sense to plan your daily expenses, regardless of whether you are saving money or not. If we are talking about the desire to save money by cutting some expenses, then spending planning becomes an urgent necessity. Moreover, planning is a logical consequence of cost accounting.
It's easy to plan spending
If you follow the advice of the previous paragraph for at least some time, that is, you begin to record your spending in detail, the need for planning will come by itself. Moreover, you will do this automatically, gradually eliminating unnecessary expense items and optimizing them.
Accounting and planning help develop self-discipline. This will certainly bring you closer to your goal. Start small — make a spending plan for the day. When you have enough experience and material for analysis, it will be possible to plan spending for a week or even for a longer period.
Read also: 11 things you can't save on
Naturally, it is impossible to foresee everything. There are occasional meetings with old friends that are accompanied by a trip to an expensive restaurant; after all, there are illnesses, which are also impossible to predict. Plan a percentage of your budget for unforeseen expenses. And don't buy nonsense spontaneously! However, more about this separately.
4. Avoid spontaneous purchases
Refusing spontaneous purchases is a powerful money-saving tool that will help you save the necessary funds for your dream much faster than you might think. If you have a stable income, not everyone is able to refuse spontaneous purchases.
How to find the strength to give up spontaneous purchases
The psychology of such people is designed in such a way that when they acquire something under immediate influence, they are one hundred percent sure that they need this thing here and now. Ok, no one is going to convince you otherwise! Yes, you really need this thing, but… tomorrow. Don't give up the purchase at all — just reschedule it for tomorrow.
You'll probably feel dissatisfied when you go home without another spontaneous purchase; you'll think about her all evening; she may not get out of your head and Then when you go to bed. Someone might even fall asleep wanting to make sure to make that purchase tomorrow.
But, as practice shows, this time is in most cases enough for you to realize that you simply do not need this thing. Perhaps such purchases are a kind of anti-stress for you. Well, no one is forcing you to stop pampering yourself at all. But try to follow this rule at least one week a month.
5. Stop spending on trifles for one week
No one is forcing you to permanently give up, for example, the habit of drinking a few cups of coffee every day; no one is forcing you to walk something relatively small all your life the distance to the metro station, which you are usually used to traveling by minibus. Finally, no one will stop you from eating a business lunch forever.
You can easily go one week a month without these expenses
But what happens to you if you drink one or two cups of coffee a day instead of four or five? What if you get up 15 minutes early to walk to the subway station? And if you start taking lunch to work from home? Yes, you will limit yourself to these and many other things. But NOT forever! Just for one week.
The amount of money you spent every day on your habits should be saved. Preferably separately. This will allow you, after a week, to assess how useful your weekly “hardships” were. Without a doubt, if you calculate the accumulated amount of money, you will be quite surprised at the result.
Read also: VANGA: how to become a magnet for attracting prosperity and money
If you make it a rule to arrange a kind of fasting week every month, after a few months you will have quite a significant amount of money, which, if you combine it with with the rest of the savings, it will definitely bring you closer to your dream. What if you arrange two “fasting” weeks every month?
6. Take an inventory of your belongings
Everyone, without exception, should listen to this advice, although, of course, it will primarily help shopaholics. Agree, for example, that many of us tend to replenish our wardrobe without much need. We “ran into” a discount, saw an interesting style, and finally made a spontaneous purchase…
The wardrobe usually “eats up” a large part of the budget
No one is forcing you to walk barefoot and wearing a worn jacket. If you need to buy new clothes, buy them. But first, dig into your wardrobe. Among the heap of things, many can find an almost unreliable jacket or jeans that for some reason were bought and forgotten.
Check your wardrobe and other “bins” – this advice is more like a one-time one. Indeed, having figured out your things once, it is unlikely that you will soon need to check them again. However, that won't be necessary!
Our goal is to save money in a fairly short period of time. But such a one-time promotion will surely help you get rid of unnecessary large expenses. Its advantage lies in the fact that you can quickly save money without significantly changing your lifestyle and not denying yourself some of the usual little things.
7. “Penalize” yourself for bad and bad habits
Do you smoke? Do you sometimes allow yourself to drink too much? Don't always find enough willpower to go to the gym? Finally, are you often late for work? Start to fine yourself for every such offense or action that, in one way or another, is harmful to your health.
Don't confuse a penalty with a reward
This method may seem unusual — what is the penalty, you ask, if you save money for yourself? At first glance, this will even provoke you not to go to the gym, for example — you will save money. And the secret is that this method is not for everyone.
This method of accumulation is suitable for those people who have a high sense of self-discipline. First, this feeling will prevent you from “jamming” too often. Secondly, the trick is to ensure that you
do not touch the “penalty” money under any circumstances during the entire accumulation period.
In other words, for each of your offenses, you deprive yourself of essential funds. Yes, this method is unlikely to raise funds, for example, for a holiday at sea; but it is great for periodically replenishing your common piggy bank, bringing you closer to your goal.
8. Delay your change
Most of those who dream of saving a certain amount of money for something limit themselves to… dreaming! So stop hovering in the clouds and spending, spending, spending… Start saving right now, saving some money from purchases every day.
The amounts may be small
It's not that hard. You buy something every day. Start delaying change by putting the money in a separate pocket in your purse. Ok, you can save not all the change, but, say, part of it — a certain amount of money that is not more than a certain amount.
Let's say it be 50 rubles. Put aside anything less than or equal to this amount. Do this in a targeted manner for at least one month. Perhaps this method will not allow you to raise an astronomical amount of money in a short period. However, it can act as an additional way to accumulate and save money against the background of other methods.
9. Enter your own “tax” on medium and large expenses
We initially agreed that these tips are for people who are not ready to save money, knowing that this could have a negative impact on their quality of life. For example, during the savings period, you may well need more or less large purchases.
You don't have to deny yourself the necessary purchases
It is necessary — it is necessary. In addition, medium and large expenses are different. For some, it is a kitchen set; for others, an urgent car overhaul; for others, it is a purchase of winter shoes or a jacket. The main thing is that you clearly understand the need for this purchase.
Try to save ten percent on every purchase. It's not so difficult — after choosing a product and agreeing to the price, increase it by these very ten percent and accept it. You take the item for yourself, and immediately save the amount equivalent to ten percent in your “dream piggy bank”. This money is inviolable.
Read also: Signs that you are meant to be RICH
Perhaps initially it will be “painful” for you to tax your own expenses with such a tax. In this case, you can recommend “withdrawing” money only from purchases that cost no more than a certain amount. If you see that you can do it, “tax” larger purchases as well. Believe me, the amount for your dream will be collected pretty quickly.
10. The most important tip is to set realistic goals
This postscript is designed for those who can't figure out how to save money with a small salary. Perhaps the previous nine tips seem useless to you. You may already be thinking about spending less money every day, but much less?
Most adequate people who do not have a significant monthly income seek to buy something where it costs less. And this is the right thing to do. But since you can save money, why don't you introduce a kind of tax on purchases, as suggested in the previous paragraph?
Do not deny yourself anything to the detriment of your health
Life is one. A dream to relax in Thailand, take a walk in Paris or enjoy a glass of delicious beer in Prague — there is nothing reprehensible about these desires. But there is also nothing wrong with not being able to make this dream come true right now or even in the relatively foreseeable future.
The previous nine tips may well benefit mandatory people, but the last tip is one of the most important. And it sounds like this: try to set realistic goals for yourself. After all, what is good and healthy about a week-long vacation in Bali if you ate Doshirak for six months?