Rashida
Did someone say “National Savings Day?”
I thought that was every day!
But in all seriousness, today is National Savings Day and you’re in luck. Today, you get to hear the tried and true money-saving tips from a born-and-raised frugal saver. The only person I know that is more concerned with stretching her penny farther is my mother, and most of these tips I learned from her.
Celebrate National Savings Day and work to improve your financial health with these savings tips:
Track Your Expenses
Saving money is not all fun and games. Before you can find areas to cut back on, you have to know where your money is going. Start tracking your expenses to find out where you spend your money. You can use a trusty spreadsheet or opt for a convenient app, like Mint, to make the process a little easier.
Save on the Essentials
One area of your expenses you just can’t reduce is your bills, right? While there are limits to how much you can save on your bills, it’s possible! Here are ways to reduce your essential spending:
- Determine mandatory bills from optional recurring payments. Spotify and cable are nice, but do you NEED them? Is there a way you could split an account with a friend or family member to save? If you’re tight for money, take a good hard look at your recurring bills.
- Mind your usage. Paying for heat, electricity, water, and rent is usually not optional, but you can have an impact on how much you pay. Unplug devices when you aren’t using them, turn off the lights, take shorter showers, and opt for energy-saving technology.
- Shop for groceries based on sales. Look at what’s on sale that week and plan your meals around those items. Stock up on essentials when they are on sale or when you have coupons for them. Shop at a lower-cost grocery store rather than a premium, specialty one.
- Dine-in. Food is essential, eating out is not. Limit how often you eat out, and always look for deals or coupons before doing so.
Reuse
Reduce, reuse, recycle isn’t just great for the environment, it’s also great for your wallet. Make the switch from single-use items to reusable ones. The upfront investment may be a little more, but you’ll save in the long run and help the planet.
Get creative about reusing items for different purposes. This is where my thrifty mother really shines. One very small trick I learned from her was to save plastic bags that bread and other food came in to use as bags for dog poop. But there are many more glamorous ways to reuse, like having a clothes swap with your friends or thrift shopping.
Convert $ to Hours
One really helpful trick that helps me save a lot of money is to convert the cost of something into hours. Let’s say something is $10. Might not seem like much…but if you make $10 an hour, that item costs you an hour of work. Is it still worth it? I often take it a step further and calculate based on how often I use the item. So if that $10 thing is a meal, you only use it once, but if it’s a curtain you use in your home every day, the $10 becomes less than pennies each day.
Savings Account
If you don’t have a savings account yet, this month is a great time to start, and if you do, it’s time to take it seriously. Based on your budget, commit a certain amount each month to your savings account and have it automatically sent. Create a savings goal for something specific (down payment on a home or car) or to ensure you have at least 6 months of living expenses in case we face another 2020-esque year in the future.
There you have it! Some simple ways to celebrate National Savings Day and improve your financial health.
