Often working out ways to spend less and save more can feel like it will take months, but with some direction, there are some simple steps you can take to start saving money straight away.
Who wouldn’t like to be handed an extra $100 for just a few minutes of work? Often working out ways to spend less and save more can feel like it will take months, but with some direction, there are some simple steps you can take to start saving money straight away. It might not be quite as simple as $100 appearing in your bank account overnight, but with some interesting software and techniques, it isn’t impossible that you could be this much better off each month with just a little time invested.
Start tracking everything
The phrase to start living from is ‘what gets measured get managed’ when it comes to spending less money and saving more. The most challenging hurdle that many people feel like they need to get over is creating a huge spreadsheet that tracks everything you do down to the last penny. In 2020 this simply isn’t necessary, with websites and mobile apps that are simple to use existing that can do all of this for you. One of the simplest apps to use is from Monzo, which is an online bank that runs out of a mobile app. The bank is free to sign up to, and you can then use their nice salmon debit card just like a normal bank card. The magic is that everything that you spend is tracked in the app, helping you keep on top of your spending. You will get notifications every time that you spend, and each purchase is automatically added to wither ‘eating out’ or ‘bills.’ This will help you to see where your money is going and where you need to start being more careful.
Use cashback websites
This is a great tip if you are not already doing it. Cashback websites do what they say on the tin; they will give you anything from 1% to 25% cashback on anything that you buy online. This means that if you do nothing except start using cashback websites whenever you buy something, you will save at least a few hundred dollars over the year. Simply search for ‘macys cashback’ and you will see that there are dozens of websites that can offer you cashback on your purchase. Do this whenever you go to buy something and then use the special link on the cashback website. This will track you as a cashback referral, and the percent that you are owed will appear in your cashback account that you can then withdraw.
Plan out your expenses
Take some time to track your core monthly and yearly expenses and note the amount you pay and when they come out of your account. With this information, you can then see if you can reduce any of your costs. Some expenses like your gym membership may be cheaper if you pay for the whole year rather than monthly. This will mean having the cash available, but if you can plan your expenses for the year, you can save a significant amount by getting them out of the way and buying annually.
