Money – In recent years due to the pandemic which led to many layoffs and the current war in Ukraine that has made the unemployment increase considerably, people have started to save by force. However, there are still some people who still ignore the best ways to do it.
Saving consists of putting aside a portion of one’s income. This is usually done to ensure a more stable future and a living level similar to the one you have while you are working. To make this activity effective, many experts say that it is necessary to have very good planning and good advice, always being aware that these savings may vary over the years.
As reserving some money, although for some it is a simple activity, can be complicated in many occasions, we are going to discuss the 6 ways to do it easily. For example, avoiding certain whims or prioritizing different activities in life, such as meeting with friends.
Table of Contents
Setting Up A Personal Budget
A personal budget consists on planning the money. In other words, thinking about how it will be distributed, in order to calculate in advance how much should be allocated to each obligation, without leaving any of them out. There are many types of budgets, from biweekly and monthly to annual.
What must be taken into account is to evaluate the total income and the basic expenses. Then, you have to anticipate possible additional expenses, such as a momentary vehicle repair. Once this has been calculated, a certain amount of savings can be established.
Establishing Goals
To maintain the motivation of this activity, it is necessary to be aware of its purpose. This means, knowing how you are going to invest that money after a few years can be very beneficial because it makes you want to increase your desire.
That is why it is recommended to set goals or objectives both in the short term and in the long term, for example, buying a house. Once these goals are achieved and it is seen that saving has a specific function, this careful activity will be stimulated and new challenges will appear.
Plan Your Shopping Before Going to the Supermarket.
People tend to go to the supermarket with a very general idea of what they want to buy. However, this is a bad practice that makes you spend much more than expected. How many times have you bought some cookies that were unnecessary or a pack of napkins just as a precaution?
Planning what you are going to buy because they are essential and missing items makes those little wastes disappear. In this way, the savings in the shopping bag will increase significantly both in the short and long term.
Bringing Food to Work
It seems something simple and obvious, but, especially in big cities, people tend to buy ready-made food in any restaurant or supermarket on their way to work. Instead of preparing food the day before or the same morning, maybe because of laziness, people decide to eat fast food.
This fast food, apart from being more harmful to health, is much more expensive. For example, a simple plate of prepared macaroni can cost around €3, the same as a whole packet of macaroni, so you can have two or three meals, depending on your appetite.
Compare prices
As the previous point, this should be a very affordable activity for everyone. In addition, with the advancement of new technologies, prices, even for food in supermarkets, can be a very quick process. However, there are very few people who do it.
For example, when people want to buy a sweater out of necessity, they usually go to the first store they find, without looking to see if in any other store this same sweater has a cheaper price. Likewise, the prices of services, are also not compared.
Avoiding Credit Card Use
First of all, credit cards allow you to buy without hardly realizing how much you are spending and how much is left. That is why it is recommended to go out without a credit card as it can give the feeling that you have more money than you really have.
In addition, there are some credit cards that charge very high interest rates that reduce savings. When you make a payment, the card may deduct the price of the product plus additional costs.
In conclusion, saving seems to be a very simple task, in fact, it is in many occasions. However, it is necessary to know what decisions to make so that these savings become effective. As mentioned above, setting priorities is essential for saving, as well as allocating part of the income to an account used exclusively for this purpose.