HOW TO SAVE MONEY: 14 MONEY SAVING TIPS FOR 2020

If you get up in the morning and think of your finances, how do you feel? Do you feel secure or worried? When you talk about money with your friends, do you feel stable or anxious? If these questions were asked to me a few years ago, I would answer worried and anxious. I’ve always wanted financial stability in my life but it was such a painful pursuit. Saving money was never easy. I’ve known that the ultimate rule for saving money is adding money to your savings account. It’s a simple rule everyone knows but it is so hard to apply. It’s time to address this.

I did my research and asked the experts their best money-saving tips. I did the job of researching and compiling these tips for you. If you want to work on your financial goals, start with these money saving tips. If you want to take your worries away every time you check your bank account start with these tips.

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1. Line up your spending habits with your money and your goals

Can you rely on your spending habits? What is your spending plan? If you want to save money, align your spending habits to your money goals. Determine what you want for each month and put your time and money into them. What do you value and what’s important to you? Spend your money on these things and drop the things that don’t matter. Don’t even bother spending any cents on things that don’t bring you joy. Because saving money is not about depriving yourself of fun and enjoyment, it is spending your money on what you value and what matters to you. In this way you can purchase things without guilt at the same time, you are adding value and meaning to your life.

ALSO READ: CHANGE YOUR BUYING HABITS AND SAVE MONEY

2. Pay yourself first

Start with these money saving tips to ensure that your net worth is going up every day. You won’t have to be nervous every time you check your bank account. What does pay yourself mean? It is putting saving to the very top of your budget plan. Make saving your priority and do it first before spending. I know, this is easier said than done but to push you to do this, schedule it every payday. Set it as the first thing to do when you get your salary. Cut 10 or 20 percent from your income and transfer automatically to your savings account. Only after you’ve done this, you can withdraw your money. Remember to plan your expenses and be intentional about how much you spend your money.

3. Find your money

Clara, from blue world dreams shares her expertise on money saving tips. She is a true believer in people learning to be financially savvy. Why should you listen to her? She is passionate about helping people find ways to achieve their financial goals. Check it yourself on blue world dreams.

To start saving money, you need to know where your finances are failing you. Determining where your paycheck is going is quite honestly the simplest yet most important initial step you need to take. Grab 3 months’ worth of financial statements and 2 highlighters (yellow and green). Highlight in yellow all your essential expenses (Rent/Mortgage, Car, Medical insurance, Groceries) and everything else in green (Starbucks, Travel, Restaurants/Wine, Nail salons, Lottos).

You’d be amazed at how quickly it all adds up without you realizing it. Tally up the values in green and there’s your money! It’s now up to you to determine where to trim that fat. Overwhelmed by the concept? Start small, find the first 10% you can cut out, and start saving!

4. Have a bigger goal

Saving money can be a daunting task, especially when you love spending money. Socially, we are constantly encouraged to spend more, whether it be the latest phone or contour kit. Setting a financial goal helps keep you motivated and accountable in your spending. Whether it’s early retirement, financial freedom, paying off your debt, find a motivator. And if your new to adulting and can’t imagine saving for early retirement, then set a goal that inspires you like traveling the world for 6 months. The key factor is to start saving today towards a bigger purpose.

5. Stop impulse buying

Impulse buying is one of the fastest ways to an empty wallet. We are so quick to pull that debit/credit card and grab the latest hip item on the market. The best way to stop impulse buying is to calculate the work to value ratio. How many hours of hard work do you need to labor away to buy those shiny new shoes? How many shifts do you need to put in to cover that impulse purchase you about to make? When you start to evaluate your purchases with that mindset, you’ll find yourself saving more and more because your time is worth more than an impulse buy.

6. Spend extra wisely

SiennyLovesDrawing gives her best two money-saving tips. She is an official guardian to her niece and a lifestyle blog since Oct 2014. She shares her experience when it comes to handling your money.

We need to record our cash outflow & inflow to spot our trends for daily, weekly, or monthly spending. We analyze and identify costs that can be saved, then spend the extra wisely. I started to record every cent I spent with Microsoft Excel. From my spending trends, I noted I bought my morning coffee from a San Francisco cafe kiosk before entering the office to start work daily. I then decided to cut down to just once a week. With this cut-down, I have saved enough to now own a Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine to make my own coffee at home.

RELATED POST: HOW TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL FREEDOM

7. Mix & match your old clothes

Who doesn’t love shopping, however, we didn’t realize at times we actually spent on stuff that we never even used or wore even once. I used to go shopping for lots of t-shirts with different designs or colors. Then, I realized I bought too much & decided to cut down. I now enjoy mixing & matching my old clothes, sometimes I do simple upcycle or redesigns. For example, sewing on colorful buttons or patches, use cloth marker to hand draw art on plain t-shirts, simply cut the sleeves to make them sleeveless, transform long dresses to skirts, the list goes on. The DIY style has become fashionable as of late. There is a magic to it.  

8. Spend only the money you have

This means treating your credit card like a debit card and paying it off in full each month unless there is an emergency. By doing this, you don’t have to worry about credit card interest rates or paying off a balance, and yet you still reap the rewards of credit card offers (cashback, mileage points, etc.) and get to watch your credit score climb. This is one of the simplest rules of saving, there’s no way around it. You can’t simply spend money that you don’t have.

Did you know that you can save money from shopping? Yes, you can with Rakuten. They offer cashback every time you shop. This is such a great way to shop smarter. They have 2500+ stores or shop the marketplace for electronics, clothing, games, sporting goods, and more. You just shop and save. Becoming a member id free!

9. Find high-yield savings account to place your extra money

To work on your financial independence, find a better place to put your extra money. It will gain interest, earning you a little more money, just for being in a savings account and it’s not tempting to spend. If you want to free yourself from financial worries, it’s best to put your money somewhere safe and it will keep multiplying without you doing anything. It will give you free money up to a specified amount. This can reduce the number of years it will take to reach your saving goals.

This excellent money saving tip is from Kristen. She is the creator of where woman wanders blog. When she became a mom, she realized how important it is to continue her growth as a person.

  10. Be a DIY person

Being a DIY person is an excellent money saver, says Wina from thatmillennialgirl. She is all about personal finance. She addicted to helping millennials control their money. She`s been in debt but she managed to get out of that situation. Now, she hopes to empower more millennials to take control of their money.

Nowadays, it’s easy to be trapped by buying pre-made things. We tend to choose convenience to save time but this comes with a price. Choose to do things on your own instead to save money, and this method comes in handy if you want to work on your creativity too. Here are some DIY’s to start with:

•   Cook your own meals (nothing beats home-cooked meals)
• Sacrifice that morning when you drop by at a convenience store to get coffee, Make your own instead.
• DIY your clothes. There are a lot of resources on Youtube about fashion and clothing hacks. You won’t need to buy new clothes every month.
• Homemade laundry detergent. Make your own laundry cleaners
• DIY crafts, gifts, albums, and napkins

  11. Get a part time job

If lose your full-time job, how much will you be making? One of the best money saving tips from Wani is to diversify your source of income. This means getting a part-time job and side hustles. I consider my blog as part-time since I’m making money from it. I also teach English online and private lessons. These side hustles help me pay my basic needs like bills and food.

You might need to sacrifice leisure when you decide to start side businesses. It will eat up your time so It’s important to align your side hustles with your interests and skills. Make a profit from your hobbies. Check-in with yourself. What do you spend your extra time with? I love writing so I decided to start my own blog. I have the skills to teach English and I make the most of it. To achieve greater results, invest the money you make from your part-time jobs.

Maximize your earning capacity and reap the benefits of compound interest. However, if you can’t find any part-time jobs then you’ll have to learn how to live on one source of income. I found the perfect article from the unprepared mom blog to show you how.

  12. The budget comes first

“In the spirit of being an open book if it helps anyone move forward when I was laid off, I had two separate 401Ks going and a solid savings account. I also had money in my checking account. I say all this to say, I knew I had some security in mapping out my lifestyle.” Daphne from free at 50 blog.

Let’s look into how Daphne saved money and gained financial security before she was laid off. “I sat down with a notepad and added up how much my bills are each month. I took the money in my checking account and figured out how many months I could sustain with a fair allowance for food, travel, extras beyond my rent, car payments, all insurance, and other monthly bills. Then I figured out my worst-case scenario and set light and flexible deadlines. In short, I knew when I needed to start making money before I dipped into my savings.”

It’s important to secure yourself financially because you never know when your stable job becomes unstable. Set your intentions to save money for unexpected events and emergencies like Daphne did. Prioritize your budget and everything that doesn’t fit it becomes second.

RELATED　POST： HOW TO ATTRACT MORE MONEY INTO YOUR LIFE

  13. Don’t keep up with the Jones

Meet Adrian from adrians crazy life. She is a money guru and she shares the best money saving tips.

When your neighbor gets a nicer car, don’t fall into the trap of keeping up with them. You don’t have to keep up with your friends or colleagues when they get the latest gadgets and trendy clothes. When you decide to work on saving money, you have to go against the grain. Everyone is unique in their lifestyles.

Daphne said it well on her blog. “Sure, your friends might be driving fancy cars, but they might also be up to their eyebrows to debt, struggling to sleep at night because they’re worried about how little is in their investment account if they even have one”. Don’t do this. Remember to spend the only money that you have. Treat your credit card like a debit card. In this way, you can wake up in the morning debt-free.

  14. Find your people

The environment is a big factor and it plays a huge role in saving money. The people around you determine whether you like to save or spend money, so find the right people for you. Surround yourself with people who have similar financial goals, and money mindsets as you. Find your tribe so that they can support you with your goals to save money. Find groups on Facebook or YouTube that focus on money saving tips.

OVER TO YOU

Even the best money saving tips only work if you put them into practice. These tips won’t give you financial security if you don’t apply them to your daily life. Choose courage over comfort and start now. Even if you think you’re not ready, just dive in and get started. Start today with these tips to save money and achieve financial security.

Only the persistent will succeed

In every journey, we are all bound to encounter obstacles and difficulties. They’re always there and we can’t avoid it. These trials discourage us and lead us to give up too quickly. Some people though manage to persist and stick to these money saving tips. Persistence is the key.

What are your best money saving tips? What money saving hacks have you learned from other people or your experience? Comment them down below.