We don’t like to hear this often, but the sad truth is that money does make the world go round. You can’t do much without money – and while saving money should not necessarily be your primary life goal, it’s still important that you do it.
How to do it? How to save money in ways that are easy and non-stressful?
We have gathered some tips for you – so read on and find out more.
Stop eating out
Your take out dinner, your Friday evening restaurant dinner, your expensive coffee every morning – these things cost a lot more than doing everything at home. Prepping and cooking your own meals is really not that hard (especially with so much information available online, for free), but it can save you hundreds of dollars every month.
Just think of the morning coffee you buy from your favorite place, and think how much cheaper it would be if you just made that at home and put it in a thermos to go. And that’s just coffee! Just think how much money you could save if you stopped eating out – it’s almost unbelievable!
Set a goal
Nothing in life can be actually achieved without a clear goal in mind – be it “to travel more”, to “lose weight”, or “to save money”.
How much money do you want to save – and how much time do you want to allow yourself for this? Even more, what do you plan on doing with the money? Set a very clear goal in mind and find the best ways to work towards it. Having a very specific number in mind will help you stick to your plan more than you would if your goal would be very general (e.g. “I want to save $3000 by the end of the year” is a lot better than “I want to save money”).
Hunt coupons, discounts, and offers
…But remember to only hunt (and make purchases) for those things you actually need. Buying a new pair of shoes on 70% discount is not a great idea if you have 10 other pairs at home. However, hunting for supermarket coupons and discounts can actually help you save more money in the long run.
You don’t have to go completely OCD on this. But paying more attention to the prices you pay for the products you buy can only lead to a good result! For example, if you shop at Home Depot on a regular basis, then check this site out to discover some brilliant coupons that you can use on your next purchase.
Get rid of unnecessary expenses
Do you really need an Amazon Prime, HULU, and a Netflix account? That’s almost $50 you’re paying every month – or, if you want to put it in perspective, the amount of money you could be spending on food in one week (and eat healthy, nutritious, delicious food, not just ramen noodles!).
Take a close look at all your recurrent expenses and cut off everything you don’t actually need or rarely use (e.g. you could only stick to your Netflix subscription and save about $30 every month – or $360 in one year, just by cancelling subscriptions you don’t actually use, but still pay for!).