Last Updated on July 25, 2022
Contents
A Guide: How To Make Sure You Save Money
How can you make sure you save money regardless of your budget? This dilemma fits into the same category as “why can’t I save money?” Simply put, saving money is not easy for some people. Bankrate’s 2019 Financial Security Index survey points out that more than 20% of Americans aren’t saving any money. It takes a strong will and commitment to set and achieve a savings goal.
If you want to ensure you save money, start by learning about its meaning and get ready to put in some effort. You’ll need time and ambition to save money each month. Being consistent is key to achieving your savings purpose. Budgeting is also crucial, which is what we will focus on in this article. The aim is to help you learn a few budgeting tips and money-saving strategies.
How To Make Sure You Save Money Each Month
Saving money is a habit. How much time it takes to adopt it depends on you. What matters is to stay committed. If you decide you want to start saving money, don’t give up. Put something aside every month. It might be $50 this month, but next month it could be $150. Here are ways to save money by changing some spending habits.
Save money on your monthly grocery shopping
How can you make sure you save money shopping? Start by saving money on groceries. These are probably some of your top essential expenses. You need to eat, so it’s something you can’t eliminate from your budget. However, you can adopt different shopping habits to spend less. Here are a few suggestions to save money on groceries.
Be on the lookout for discounts. Whether you shop at Costco, Walmart, or Amazon, look for discounts. Even as little as 5% makes a difference. If you save 5% here, 10% there, and so on, you might end up with significant savings at the end of the shopping session.
Another way to save money on groceries is by changing brands. For this, you need to find more affordable ones. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean compromising quality. You can experiment with the generic brands of the stores you regularly go to. For example, if you’re a Costco regular, try some Kirkland products. You might discover they are as good as the mainstream brands you were buying before.
Buying products in bulk can also help you save money. Look online for the best places to buy products in bulk. You’ll find multiple articles on this topic. Some examples include Sam’s Club, Costco, Boxed, AllBulkFoods, and more. Then, choose a store you like and shop there. Buying in bulk usually means paying less per item, which can help you save money.
Save money with freebies
What’s better than a discount? Getting something for free. It doesn’t happen every day, but you can plan your shopping so that it happens more often. Check out the available offers in your favorite stores.
You can also use shopping apps to look for freebies. Some examples include Ibotta, Flipp, and RetailMeNot. These apps can notify you when new deals are available and show you which stores offer samples for free. Also, look for offers such as buy one, get one free. At the end of the month, freebies can help you save precious bucks.
Also, consider applying this strategy to entertainment. Instead of paying for a concert ticket, see one for free at the local park. Go to free exhibitions or take part in free events or workshops.
Give up some subscriptions
Do you have a gym subscription? If the answer is yes, congratulations. Working out is healthy. But how often do you use it? If the answer is once a week, you might want to reconsider this expense. Is it really worth paying a subscription for only four sessions per month? You could jog in the park for free. You could also workout at home.
Take some time to consider all your monthly subscriptions. You might not use all of them enough to justify their expense. Eliminate those that are not necessary to save more money.
Can You Save Money If You’re an Impulse Shopper?
It might be more difficult to save money as an impulse spender. Let’s first clarify what this means. Impulse spenders are those who engage in impulsive buying behavior. It can cause people to greatly overspend their budget, as the study shows.
As consumers, we find shopping gratifying. At the end of a work week, a shopping session seems to be the reward for our efforts. Shopping can feel relaxing and can be a motivating factor for our hard work. However, reckless spending is the enemy of saving money. Spending regularly as a gratification method is not a budget-friendly attitude. It means letting some of your hard-earned money slip away too quickly.
How can you avoid frivolous shopping to make sure you save money? Try to set some limits. For example, don’t skip the weekend shopping session, but leave your debit or credit cards at home. Instead, only take a limited amount of cash with you.
If you find something you like, purchase it. That is how you ensure you’ll only spend a limited amount. Your gratification urge will be tackled. At the same time, you’ll manage to save some money because you’re on a limited budget.
Another way to avoid impulse buying? You could try a money-spending challenge if you feel up to it.
What are spending challenges and their advantages?
You might have heard of a 30-day challenge. This is a broad term that applies to virtually any goal. It entails three basic steps
- Find the problem or aspect you want to change.
- Commit to avoiding that specific thing for 30 days.
- Draw conclusions at the end of the 30 days.
Some people apply this challenge to eating habits. Others might use it for time-consuming passions (e.g., binge gaming). You could try to apply it to your non-essential spending.
Don’t delay this method too long. Unless you have a difficult month with many planned expenses, try to put it into practice as soon as possible. Such a challenge can have a terrific impact on your ego if you complete it successfully.
How do you apply the challenge to your budget? Take these simple steps:
- Pick a day when you’re ready to start. Mark it on your calendar.
- From that day forward, only spend money on essentials (food, gas, bills).
- Let the 30 days pass. Try to avoid all unnecessary spending in this period.
- Once you reach the deadline, review your monthly expenses.
How did you do? Check your bank statement to see exactly where your money went. If you only spent on essential stuff, you were successful. You can now put aside the extra money you should have in your account. You can try to re-engage in this challenge periodically. For example, pick a month for each season. Repeat the challenge each year in:
- January (Winter)
- April (Spring)
- July (Summer)
- October (Fall)
See how much you can save with this strategy each season. Add that amount to your savings. You could even use this money-saving method in tandem with other budgeting strategies. Here are a few you might want to try.
Popular Budgeting Methods to Save Money Like a Pro
There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for saving money. Some methods are more suitable for a specific type of spender. For example, people who know how to aggressively save money might be able to apply the 50-30-20 budget. Those who want to focus on their bills or mortgage might want to use the half-payment method.
Saving money, regardless of the method, brings multiple benefits. This financial habit helps you:
- Put aside money in case of emergencies.
- Afford more significant expenses when necessary.
- Feel more at ease and confident in your financial abilities.
Here is a bit of insight into three popular budget methods. Learn more about each one by reading the full articles on our website.
The 50-30-20 budget
This method involves a savings goal of 20% of your income. The rest of the money will go into other expense categories. One will represent your necessities. These will take 50% of your budget. The other one will represent your non-essential spending. You’ll use the remaining 30% for these. A 20% savings goal might seem like a lot in the beginning. If so, you can adjust the amount. Try to start with 10%. Apply this amount for three to six months. Then, try to increase the amount. Do this gradually until you reach 20%.
Calculating the outcome of each savings goal is also helpful. That way, you may become more involved in the process. Knowing how much you can achieve will boost your ambition to save. Let’s imagine a monthly budget of $3,000. Here you can set different savings goals and see their results:
Monthly budget: $3,000 | |||
Monthly savings goal | 5% ($150) | 10% ($300) | 20% ($600) |
6-month savings | $900 | $1,800 | $3,600 |
1-year savings | $1,800 | $3,600 | $7,200 |
By saving 5% each month, you gather $1,800 a year. A 10% savings goal amounts to a yearly saving of $3,600. But if you apply the classic 50-30-20 method, you could save $7,200 in a single year. This means $36,000 in five years.
The digital envelopes system
This is a more flexible budgeting method. The envelopes system involves what its name suggests – different envelopes. In the digital sphere, these can be different bank accounts. To apply this strategy easier, you can use budgeting apps. Mvelopes is an example you might want to try. With an app, you can create the envelopes and monitor them.
Each envelope is associated with a spending category. You could fill the following four envelopes to start:
- Groceries and gas
- Mortgage and bills
- Non-essential expenses
- Savings
Allocate a strict amount of money to each category. Only spend that amount for the month. Then, when a new month begins, re-adjust the budget if necessary. Your goal is to save money. Make sure you have a separate envelope for this purpose. Let’s take the same $3,000 monthly budget. Here is how you could tailor it to this strategy.
Item | Amount |
Income | +$3,000 |
Groceries and gas |
|
Mortgage and bills |
|
Non-essential expenses |
|
Savings |
|
Total | =$0 |
The purpose of the envelopes system is to assign a goal to each portion of your budget. You do this once each dollar goes into a specific spending category. This strategy helps avoid frivolous spending. You are limited to how much you can spend for each one of your necessities or wants. For example, $600 is all that is available for non-essential products.
The half-payment method
With the half-payment method, you also save money monthly for a specific goal. Usually, the goal is to pay recurrent expenses. It can refer to utility bills, fees, mortgages, student loans, etc. It’s called half payment because you don’t pay at once. You might get two paychecks per month.
This is the ideal payment system for this strategy. Put aside 50% of your bills’ value from the first paycheck. The second paycheck serves for the other half. By the end of the month, you will have 100% of the necessary amount ready for payment.
This budget strategy helps avoid penalties. It ensures you always have enough to cover necessary expenses at the end of the month. It’s also a good strategy to prevent extra debts. It might even help you fix your credit as fast as you can.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How can I make sure I save money for my goals?
To save money for your goals, you must establish them first. For example, your goal might be a house down payment or paying off your student loan. In this case, set a savings limit and a deadline. Afterward, start saving a fixed amount each month for your savings goal.
How can I spend less in general?
To save money on all your expenses, you can try to shop sales. Buying discount products will help save money. Do your research thoroughly. Check prices both online and in stores. Look for the best deals on the market for the products that interest you.
How can I save money and still have fun?
Saving money doesn’t mean giving up on your favorite pastimes. You can still go to concerts, but look to attend free ones. You can still travel, but do it in the off-season to pay less on transportation and accommodation.
Sources:
Dixon, A. (n.d.). Survey: 1 in 5 Working Americans aren’t saving anything at all. Bankrate. Retrieved July 23, 2022, from https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/financial-security-march-2019/#:~:text=More%20than%201%20in%205%20working%20Americans%20aren%E2%80%99t,telephone.%20To%20most%20experts%2C%20that%E2%80%99s%20not%20a%20surprise.
8 places you can buy in bulk online the real deal by retailmenot. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://www.retailmenot.com/blog/buy-in-bulk-online.html
Uy, M. (2021, August 30). The 8 best mobile shopping apps. Lifewire. Retrieved June 23, 2022, from https://www.lifewire.com/best-mobile-shopping-apps-2378006
Hey, impulse spenders: Here’s a soluțiune to your bad habit. Association for Psychological Science – APS. (2014, July 17). Retrieved June 23, 2022, from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/hey-impulse-spenders-heres-a-solution-to-your-bad-habit.html
Impulsive buying behavior: A literature review – researchgate. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343229480_IMPULSIVE_BUYING_BEHAVIOR_A_LITERATURE_REVIEW