A lot of people begin saving money with a goal to save $1,000 by next New Year’s. But what if we reworded that to be “Saving 1,000 dollars per month?”
That is way more achievable!
Most people don’t realize how easy it is to spend one thousand dollars in just one month. With the right budgeting strategies, you can easily achieve this every month.
So instead of having a hard time staying within your budget for the year, start setting up monthly budgets!
It will help you keep track of your spending and avoid breaking down at the end of the month. Plus, you can always move up a budget category to better manage your spending.
Here are some ways to do that and also learn about all the sneaky expensive habits most people have. By being aware of them, you can try to limit their influence on your wallet.
Set spending limits
It is very difficult to keep up your budget if you do not have any limitations set aside for regular expenses. You could spend all of your money before you realize it, so creating clear budgets is important to keeping track of how much money you have.
It is best to create a weekly budget that gets adjusted as needed. This way, you will be aware of what bills are due at the end of each week and can make necessary adjustments.
You may also want to consider using an app or software program to help you maintain your budget. Many times, people find it helpful to check the same information manually, but with technology, this can be done more efficiently.
There are many ways to manage your budget.
Only pay what you can afford
It’s easy to spend lots of money, but not everyone has their own house with a swimming pool. If you think that spending one thousand dollars on groceries is okay, try buying for a few days without eating or drinking anything except water!
There are ways to save money in expensive habits by learning how to budget. A budget is a way to tell whether your current lifestyle is within your means (you can live comfortably on your income) or if you need to reduce your expenses.
Budgeting doesn’t mean living miserly, it’s about having enough resources to meet your needs while at the same time saving some money for things like vacations and retirement.
The best place to start developing a budget is to only add items to your list that you want to purchase, not ones that you desire but could do without. This will help keep your budget from going up in flames due to unnecessary purchases.
Switch off your devices
With all of these apps, services and features available at lightning speed, it is easy to keep up with them and use them. However, this can be expensive if you are not careful about how much money you are spending because you have to pay for the service itself and also the data plan to access it.
Many people now rely heavily on technology so having that go away really would hurt their quality of life. Luckily, however, there are ways to save money by giving yourself time to re-adjust! Here are some tips to do just that.
You may want to consider putting limits on your usage of digital media, smart phones, laptops and other gadgets. You could even consider getting rid of one or more of them as we will discuss later.
By doing this, you will begin to save money in the long run due to less monthly expenses. Many times, people purchase these items online or through credit cards that have frequent flier programs which make it very affordable to continue using them.
There are many free applications and websites that can help reduce the costs of staying connected. Some of the most well known ones are Google Suite (like Gmail, YouTube, etc.), Facebook, and Slack. By limiting yourself to only those sources and resources, you will start saving money quickly.
Eat your meals
One of the biggest budget killers is going food-crazy. It’s easy to spend lots of money at restaurants, but you don’t have to!
Many people feel that they can’t afford to eat out regularly, so they stick to eating lunch or dinner at home. But this isn’t a good idea because it costs you much more in the long run.
Dining out comes with a lot of expenses – starting with the cost of buying an appropriate amount of food for lunch, and then there are the fees you pay for waiting until later to eat, having to prepare what you order ahead of time, and paying higher restaurant prices for alcohol and drinks.
If you hate eating at restaurants, try cooking some of your own foods or take advantage of free local resources for nutrition information. Or just make sure to include one meal per day that’s made from whole foods.
Stay the night
While staying in a hotel is not cheap, there are ways to save money if you know what to do. If you know before you go out, then you can stay somewhere for less by using the internet or word-of-mouth to find out where the best hotels are located and whether they have any special offers online or through brochures.
You should also ask about daily discounts at the hotel. Many offer early departures vouchers, free breakfast coupons, and/or discount nights every week. The better your relationship with the staff, the more likely they will provide these deals!
Some other things that could help cost down include getting a room without having access to the internet, opting instead to use mobile wifi so you don’t need an account, and/or buying food and beverages off of their website rather than at the restaurant directly.
Another thing to consider is to simply get up earlier than everyone else so you aren’t paying for someone to sleep during the day. Most people start leaving around midday anyway, making 1–2 hours worth it. A lot of people also enjoy going out later because they like to explore new areas, so even if you don’t, others probably do. By waiting until later in the evening, you would be saving money on traveling back home as well.
Use public transport
One of the biggest costs for most people is transportation. The cost of owning a car usually adds up quickly, as does the price of gas! Luckily, there are many ways to save money by changing how you travel.
Public transit is an excellent way to cut down on your transportation expenses. This can be done through buses, trains, or light rail systems that connect several stops within a given area.
There are different types of bus services and train routes depending on where you want to go and what time you want to get there. For example, some may only run during certain times of day while others have limited number of trips per hour.
More expensive modes of transportation like taxis and private cars typically have higher rates than mass transit. However, this isn’t always the case due to various reasons. Some areas don’t permit cars to use their roads so a taxi would be more expensive than just taking the bus or train.
Another reason why they may be cheaper than alternatives is because you are already paying to use the service! Since these services we pay to use, the company makes a profit off of our spending which cuts their own overhead. These profits are then used to help fund future projects suchas new vehicles or additional staff.
Saving money doesn’t need to be difficult! Hitting the road on the budget of yours truly will not cost too much.
Get a cheaper phone plan
Having a lower-cost smartphone is your best bet if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on mobile services.
Most people agree that signing up for the most expensive cell phone plans available makes sense at first, but it is too costly in the long run.
Regularly paying high monthly fees will burn through all your savings quickly!
It’s also hard to stay motivated to use your device well when you’re spending so much money each month. Most major carriers (like Verizon or AT&T) offer very similar service packages, making it difficult to choose a good deal.
A more affordable alternative is to go into wireless retirement early by getting a prepaid cell phone. A prepaid phone gives you limited access to functions like texting, calling, and sometimes even apps. This way you are not obligated to pay for features you do not need.
Save up for a down payment
When buying a house, one of the biggest expenses is the down payment. This can be done in several ways- through savings, credit cards with 0% introductory offers, or by taking out a mortgage!
Many people make the mistake of thinking that they cannot afford to put down a large initial deposit. But it does not need to be an enormous amount! Many home sellers will accept less than 20 percent as a down payment.
There are many strategies you can use to save money when investing in your own home. And if you are looking to reduce the cost of the down payment, there are some things you can do before actually putting in any cash.
