How not to waste money – useful tips
Learning to live on the money you earn is not easy, but only a few can save and save. Most people do not manage their finances rationally. Every day buying unnecessary things impulsively, thoughtlessly or because of the tricks of marketers. At such times, it is worth considering how not to waste money in vain.
As a result, many have to shrink at the end of the month in order to live up to a paycheck or an advance. And some even go into debt and take out loans. And they are very hard to pay. Therefore, every conscious person sooner or later has a question – how to learn to spend money on unnecessary things. And start to properly manage the budget, and even better – save?
In fact, living within your means and even saving for some expensive acquisitions is not difficult. It is enough to follow simple recommendations. And life will become easier, and the wallet – thicker. Let's break down the rules point by point.
Budget allocation
In order to understand how not to spend money just like that, make a table of your family's income. It needs to include all sources of money – salaries, pensions, scholarships, social assistance, etc. After that, make a list of monthly mandatory expenses. The list may include rent and utilities. Or expenses for kindergarten, school, travel.
After that, you need to decide how much you want to save each month. For a "rainy day", for a vacation or for expensive purchases. Next, from the total amount of money you need to subtract the amount of mandatory costs and the amount that you are going to put in the “piggy bank".
The remaining money is the amount that can be spent during the month on groceries and small household needs. Divide it into four parts. You will get an amount that can be spent within one week. Make a schedule for shopping and allocate a specific amount of money for purchases.
Shopping in stationary stores
It will turn out not to spend money on unnecessary things if, every time you visit a store or supermarket, be sure to follow these tips:
- Make a list of groceries or other goods and in no case take anything extra.
- Do not visit grocery stores on an empty stomach. Marketers do everything so that you do not stop spending. And when you feel hungry, and delicacies and goodies are in front of your eyes, your hand reaches out for something that is not on the list.
- Do not go to the store if you are stressed or tense. Spending money uncontrollably is a way to relax, get compensation, some kind of bonus, improve your well-being.
- Don't buy a product just because it's on sale. Ask yourself if you would buy this item if there was no promotion. Not? So you don't need this item.
Withdraw money from the card before entering the store, buy only with cash. When you put items in your shopping cart, add up their cost so that it doesn't turn out at the checkout that you don’t have enough money to pay for your purchases.
Shopping in online stores
How to spend money wisely? Make big purchases online. Thus, you have time to carefully study the characteristics of the product, its advantages over analogues. You can read the reviews of other buyers, from which you can often draw a lot of interesting and useful information. In this case, you will not waste your money, because you will buy the most suitable and high-quality product. Moreover, you will make a purchase at the best price. In online stores, prices are lower than in stationary ones. And if you search for goods through aggregator sites, you can choose the best offer from all available on the market.
The only drawback of online shopping is that you pay by card, that is, virtually intangible virtual money, which is easier to spend than cash. Therefore, to make sure that the choice is made correctly, and you are buying a really important, necessary item, put the product in the basket and complete the purchase only after a few hours. And only if you remain confident in your decision.
Extra little things
A big gap in the budget is made by spending that is insignificant at first glance. Therefore, you just need to think about how not to spend money on coffee, cafe lunches, water and juices, snacks for snacks, etc. Amounts of 50-200 🪙 that are spent regularly do not seem to have much effect on the overall state of affairs, but this is not the case.
Let's give an example – you spend 250 🪙 a day on coffee on the way to work or a business lunch. With a five-day working week, it comes out 750 🪙 per week, 3000 🪙 per month. If you simply put a coffee maker in your office (you can “throw in” on it with colleagues), it will pay off very quickly. And if you take a ready-made lunch from home, you will spend at least 2 times less money on food.
Install a budgeting application on your smartphone, for example, CoinKeeper, enter data on all expenses into it. And you will see how much money is spent on such insignificant expenses. There is no need to give up all your favorite habits and small purchases. It is enough to exclude 1-2 positions, without which you can easily do without.
Saving motivation
If you stop making unnecessary expenses, money will accumulate. What's next? This is where numbers come into play. For example, you want to buy a new smartphone or collect the necessary amount for a vacation. Use the recommendations that you read in this article and evaluate the result in a month. And then estimate how many months it will take you to reach your goal. You can even make a visual table and cross out the amounts that have already been collected.
As soon as the first time you buy something you need with the money you save, you will receive a powerful charge of positive and be proud of yourself. Further, things will go much easier, because you have already been able to appreciate all the benefits of savings and rational distribution of the budget. When there is no pointless spending, even life becomes easier, there is no guilt for impulsive or, in general, optional purchases. There is a sense of confidence in the future, because there is an "airbag" in case of dismissal from work or other emergencies.