Saving Tips To Reach Your Money Saving Goals This 2019
“Save money, and money will save you.”
Saving Goals This 2019 is here! It’s time to make those resolutions to save more and spend less. After all, who doesn’t want more money? The parties are over, the Christmas gifts have been distributed and your bank account is probably in need of your attention.
You can make 2019 the year that you’ll reach your money-saving goals! All it takes is for you to acquire some budgeting habits. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, so let’s begin as early as we can (so we can have more money before January ends).
People who want to save more money should imagine their future and avoid looking at saving as deprivation. It is not deprivation. It’s prioritizing your future self.
Below are some useful tips that will help you in saving throughout the year.
1. Set a budget for food, travel, going out and stick to it.
Those dinners and lunches with friends sometimes can get out of hand and as long as you have money in your wallet, you’ll be empowered to just keep pulling out the cash readily available. Withdraw only the money you have budgeted for yourself to spend that day and monitor all cash that leaves your wallet. TRY very hard to not abuse the power of your debit card!
Also, you can try leaving your credit card at home if you know you won’t be making any big-ticket purchases anyway. This is helpful if you are an impulse buyer and might just walk by a sale at a mall and might see something you really like that you might want to swipe your credit card for (which you might not be able to pay on time).
2. Set a monthly challenge for yourself
Try setting a limit on how many invites to lunches or dinners with friends you’ll say yes to. In fact, limiting the number of times that you will eat out will save you a lot more than you think. Preparing your meals at home will always trump eating out any day, cost-wise at least. Try setting a limit of only three restaurant dates with loved ones or friends this month.
Or if you’ve realized that shopping is your de-stressor but you are now even more stressed because you spent all your money trying to destress yourself, try finding a new way to release your stress without breaking the bank. Yoga at home? A walk in the local park? Walking your dog? How about volunteering at your community or church? Service to others comes back in ways that energize you and fill you with good vibes. Try experimenting with creative themes like No Shopping February where you can maybe try to sell
3. Scrutinize your shopping habits
When you’re out at the malls and you have money to shop before you even allow yourself to be magnetized by all the
Do I really need this?
Do you? Really? Can you live without it? For example, if it’s a piece of clothing, do you have something similar in your closet already that fulfills the need for it? Do you already have it in a few other colors? Will you be able to wear it multiple times in a month? Is it a piece that can work with many other pieces in your wardrobe?
If it’s a product/gadget, is your current one not working so you need to replace it? Do you have another product that can meet the end goal that this new one is promising? There are times when you will answer yes to these questions and that’s when you can start to drill down and really determine if you really need it. Maybe you will, once in a while. But if you’ve found that you might be somewhat of a serial shopper then, the answer might be more often, no.
4. Find a lower-cost grocery store
Did you know that grocery stores bank on raising their prices based on the demographics of the people who live in that location? If you enjoy grocery shopping in a somewhat upscale location and it has shopping carts that don’t squeak at all, try comparing their prices with other places that are located in more low key locales. If you’re just buying grocery goods with long shelf lives and toiletries, you can try getting these at places that wholesale their products, like Puregold (shhh, we’re not paid to say this!).
5. Make grocery lists to stay on or under your food budget
Budgets are like scripts. Movie actors use them so they know what to say when it’s their turn to talk. When it’s your turn to grocery shop, make a “script” so you know exactly what you need to buy – no more and no less! Also, it helps so much when you grocery shop on a full stomach, that way, you’re not enticed by hunger to buy unnecessary food items.
6. Pack your coffee, lunch, and snacks for work
Packing your lunch can be a little cumbersome for, well, some, but it will always save you money in the long run. Plus, you have more control over how healthy you can eat! Buying a coffee every day totals to quite a lot when you compute it over a year. You can use the money to buy something else (that you actually NEED).
7. Sell any unwanted stuff online
And make a little extra money on the side!
8. Use Excel to make an organized spreadsheet of everything you earn and spend
Simply said, what you can track and monitor, you can control. Remember to set limits for yourself in any category of expense and make sure to note down all monthly recurring expenses so you can set aside money for those immediately and you can see how much extra money you have left. Then, when you find yourself in a mall, ask again the golden question we discussed in tip number 3.
I hope these Saving Goals This 2019 tips help and inspire you to start saving and reach your money-saving goal this year. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you!
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Saving Goals This 2019
