I can proudly say when it comes money I’m pretty good at saving and not spending it too often. I guess it’s just something I’ve learnt to do working from a young age, but I do treat myself. Having a good balance between spending and saving money is super important. You don’t want to work and save all of your money for the future as everyone deserves to spend it on things they like. Unless you genuinely want to save up everything towards a specific something, then go for it! If you’re around my age (18) and are looking to save up money but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place!
I understand some people have different circumstances to either pay rent of student fees etc. So apply these tips in a way that is most suitable for you!
USE YOUR FREE TIME TO WORK EXTRA SHIFTS
I’m currently on a gap year so for me this time is to spend on working and saving up for uni, travelling etc. Some of you may go school or have other responsibilities, but try to find any extra time to work. Obviously don’t work so much that you burn yourself out but any free days or hours you have, offer to work some shifts. This way you’re spending your spare time productively and will have extra money at the end of the month.
(If you’re job hunting but it’s not really getting you anywhere, I’ve got just the tips you need! Click here or the photo above which will take you straight to my blog post on “JOB TIPS to get work faster and easier”. Trust me, some of these tips you might have not even thought of and they’ve worked for me numerous times! So… what are you waiting for?)
TAKE OUT YOUR “SAVING MONEY” AS SOON AS YOU GET PAID
This is something I do every time I get my pay check at the end of the month. Depending on how much I earned, I will take, on average, around half of my wage which I put into my savings. This is such a good habit to get into as you’re prioritizing your future first and it kind of just ensures that security. You knowing you have a big chunk of money in another account which can be used for bigger things, such as a car of your first apartment etc is a great feeling.
ROUGHLY BUDGET OUT YOUR MONEY FOR THE MONTH
Like I mentioned before, everyone has different responsibilities and things that they pay for. One way to know where your money is going is by budgeting it and seeing how much extra you can put aside. For example: lets say you earn £X amount every month. Subtract your rent costs, transport, any grocery shopping, phone bills + contracts etc. Whatever you’re left with you can split between “saving money” and “spending money”. Even if it’s only £50 you can put away every month, that’s still £600 a year. It might not be a large amount but it’s still extra money you have for something important which you can use towards.
AVOID SHOPPING UNNECESSARY THINGS
We all have certain things we enjoy to shop, aka our guilty pleasures. I love buying clothes, makeup, jewellery because these are things that bring me joy. But sometimes I can be irrational and spend money I don’t even have. Especially if I already have that item at home and I’m just buying another. You can only save money if you be a bit strict with yourself. Don’t think you can’t buy anything for yourself, that’s not the point. BUT! If you already have something similar or it’s something you don’t need, then leave it. Save that extra bit of money for something more important which will actually benefit you.
So here are just a few things which I believe are effective in order to save money. If you can make these 4 tips into habits, I promise you’ll feel much more at ease knowing you’ve got money in the bank and extra to treat yourself.
Comment down below any tips you have for saving money which other people may not know of, I’m also curious…
