There are many reasons for you to save money. Maybe you’re saving up for your kid’s education, your own retirement, or maybe you want to pay for a corporate yacht charter. Whatever the reason for needing the money, the advice is the same.
Saving money is very simple, however, many people find it to be a challenge because bad financial habits can be hard to break.
In this article, we’ll look at how you can break bad financial habits and start to save money.
Review Your Outgoings
The first step in formulating any savings plan is to take a deep dive into your monthly outgoings. If your outgoings match your income or exceed it, then it stands to reason that you will find it impossible to save up at all.
Start a spreadsheet and create a new tab for every month. Into each tab, you should start to list all of your monthly outgoings. Start with the non-negotiables. These are things like mortgage or rent payments. Next up, list anything that can be changed- this should include your utility bills. While you may see these as a necessary payment, they can always be altered by switching to a cheaper provider if you have not already done so. Then, list your regular outgoings that can be cancelled if you choose. This should include things like streaming services, gym memberships, and other optional luxuries. Finally, list all of your other outgoings. This will include anything that you have bought during the month.
Make sure that all of these categories of outgoings are separated on your sheets so that you can see how much you are spending on each category each month. This will help you to identify patterns of overspending.
Use your online banking app to go back a few months and get a picture of your previous spending.
Cancel Unused Subscriptions
How many TV subscription packages do you need? With more and more new services emerging it is tempting to take out subscriptions on each one. But how many do you really need? Take advantage of free offers- but if you don’t find yourself using one or more of the services- cancel it.
The saving you make may only be a small amount each month, but it could really mount up over a year.
Switch To A New Provider
Shop around for cheaper alternative suppliers to your utilities. Often, we get sucked into introductory offers and then end up sticking around as the price climbs and climbs.
Switch providers often. Find the cheapest deal and go with it. Remember, prices will rise and you could be taking advantage of better offers by regularly switching providers.
Again, the savings may seem small in the short term, however, in the longer term you will see the benefits.
Make Shopping Lists
When you head to the supermarket go with a shopping list- and stick to it. That way, you’ll only buy what you need and you won’t get taken in by special offers for items that you don’t need.