Sadly, money doesn’t grow on trees! You must work hard to earn money and even harder if you want to build wealth. A big part of building wealth is having savings.

How can you save more money?

I’m here to help answer that very question. Read on to find out more about 5 simple methods that anyone can follow to save more money!

The Importance Of Saving

Did you know only 39% of Americans could afford an unexpected bill of up to $1000?  Scary right. Now more than ever before having savings is important. Let’s consider some reasons why.

You’ve probably heard the saying ‘money can’t buy happiness’. Whilst it’s true that no one can buy happiness, having money does solve a lot of problems that could otherwise be detrimental to your mental health.

First, having enough money to cover bills in the event you can’t work is important to feel secure. Redundancy or illness can strike at any time. Knowing you have enough savings to cover your bills for a few months can relieve the stress of a reduction in income. Your first goal when starting a savings plan should be to build up enough to cover at least 3 months’ worth of expenses. More if you can though!

Emergencies can happen at any time – car repairs, medical bills, or an unexpected bill are just some of the life events that could occur any time. If you have savings, then you can handle these situations far easier. The benefit to you is less damage to your mental health as your day-to-day living hasn’t been impacted!

Having savings also means you can enjoy more freedom. For example, your dream job becomes available, but it means moving state or even country. As you have savings you can easily do this!

5 Rules To Follow To Save More Money

The following 5 rules are all straightforward for anyone to follow. There are no complicated tricks that you’ve got to try and figure out! Just follow these simple steps to save more money!

Use The Power Of The Internet

The internet is an amazing resource. One great way to save money is to use it to your full advantage. Online you can find lots of remarkable offers and deals that allow you to save money.

Start by signing up for cashback and reward sites. These sites allow you to get discounts, cash back, and more just for using them to shop! To unlock even more awesome rewards such as free cash you can complete easy online tasks.

You can find lots of remarkable freebies online including clothes, beauty products, and furniture. You can even receive free books by mail which can mean lots of awesome savings if you are an avid reader or a student!

The key to saving money using the internet is to make sure to search for whatever you need online first. There are often free or discounted digital or physical products that will suit you!

Cut The Cable

Cable TV has been in steady decline for many years. People are switching to a variety of inexpensive streaming services or they are they are actively searching how to watch TV for free. Fortunately there are many alternatives to cable such as YouTube, regular TV antenna, or watching a show or sports at a venue with friends. For me, I am not in the habit of watching TV or movies, but if there is one that I like, I just pay the $5.00 for that particular movie and that’s all. I don’t like committing myself to a subscription that practically forces me to watch more TV than I have time for.

Cut The Food Bill

After housing costs most people’s second-biggest expense is food. The first way to save on food is to cut down on how much you eat out – this includes buying lunch on the go when working.

Make sure to make your own lunch for work. Doing this means it’s healthier too! Try to limit how much you go out to eat. Cutting back on these 2 activities can save you a small fortune!

The next step to save money on food is to try cheap food. You may always buy expensive brands but now it’s time to switch to cheaper versions. Quite often there is minimal difference in taste!

Following these steps along with earning any cashback you can, will mean saving more money.

Start Saving Early

The sooner you start saving the better. For any parents reading this – open a savings account for your child as soon as you can. Even just a few dollars a month can add up to a decent amount when your child is older. 

If you are a teenager, then start saving money now. You could put part of your allowance into your savings. Another tip is to start earning money as soon as possible and save some of that. There are lots of awesome ways to make money as a teenager that you can explore.

Learning about money as a child and a teenager is vital to help lay the foundations for financial success as an adult. Saving money is one lesson that should be taught early as good habits will hopefully carry on to adulthood!

For those of you that are already an adult hopefully you already have some savings. Don’t panic if you don’t! Simply start saving now – even small amounts add up over time. Plus, building the habit of saving what you can now means when you have more money it’s easier to continue saving larger amounts!

Start A Side Hustle

If you earn more money, then you can save more money! One brilliant way to earn more money is to start a side hustle. Any income you earn from your side hustle could go straight into your savings pot!

Thanks to the internet boom there are thousands of possible side hustles you could start. Side hustling ideas include blogging, freelancing, or selling items on sites like eBay.

To get started on a side gig have a think about your skills, how much time you can invest, and search online for suitable ideas.

Create A Budget

The final tip is arguably the most important – to create a budget. Spending the time building a realistic budget and reviewing it constantly can save you a fortune! Any money you can save in your budget can be added to your savings!

Start by listing every expense to the exact cent. By listing everything you can easily find savings in your budget. Negotiate bills to get cheaper deals, cancel subscriptions that are no longer needed, and try to find savings by reducing your grocery bill.

There are lots of effective budgeting tools online that you can either print off or use online. Make the most of these to create budgets, plans to pay off debts, and save more.

To successfully budget and save you must set some goals. Think of short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals might include building an emergency fund or saving enough for a vacation.

Long-term goals could include things like buying your first home, going to college, or paying off all your debts.

Having clearly defined and realistic goals makes it much easier to stick to a budget and to hit your savings goals!

What Should You Do With The Extra Money?

Once you start saving more money it’s important not to leave it sitting in a bank account! Make sure to put the money into the best savings accounts you can find.

As well as putting the money into high-interest savings accounts, it’s a good idea to invest part of the money as well.

The key to successful investing is to have a diverse portfolio. Investing has never been more accessible for ordinary people due to the power of the internet. Use this to your full benefit to maximize your returns every year.

Don’t limit your investment strategy to just stocks and shares. Consider investing in other ways such as cryptocurrency, peer-to-peer lending, and even wine!

Remember – never invest more than you can afford to lose.

Next Steps

Following these 5 rules will help you save more money. Building savings can be a great boost to your mental health and means fewer things to worry about when an emergency arises.

Start saving now for the best results!

Author Bio

Hey, I’m Chris. I have a degree in Business Economics from the University of Liverpool, own a small fast food business, and run LifeUpswing.com. I will help you to make money, save money, and think about money in a way that will give you back your freedom.