How to save: 12 tips to save money every month
How to save money on everyday expenses - from household expenses to food shopping - without too much stress or great deprivation? Of course it is not easy to be able to set aside a few more euros in your current account, perhaps to set up an emergency fund ... However, there are some tips to save money every month that could be really very useful: these are tips after all simple, but in the long run they can really make a difference! So here are 12 tips on how to be more thrifty and save money every month.
But before you understand how to save, watch this video and find out how to survive the sales!
Why is it important to save?
Assuming that not everyone has a natural predisposition to save, it is good to learn as soon as possible if you want to set aside a nest egg that allows us to live in a more peaceful and peaceful way. Here are some reasons why it is important to cut your expenses and save valuable money:
- Coping with the unexpected, be it an unexpected medical check-up, a computer suddenly out of order or the machine to be repaired
- Realize your own projects: with the money saved, you can seriously think about investing your money, financing what you have always believed in. Alternatively, you can stake your savings on that beachfront home you've always wanted.
- Having a solid foundation you can count on and thanks to which you can keep yourself even in a temporary absence of work.
- Enjoying life in retirement, when the monthly income is certainly reduced compared to the period in which you were working.
- Helping their children economically, guaranteeing them a dignified lifestyle, without having to give up anything.
See also
1. How to save? Establish monthly budgets!
The first tip to save euros every month is to establish budgets, thus setting limits not to be exceeded. Use a special notebook or an online app on your mobile phone to divide your monthly expenses into different categories: shopping, household bills, entertainment, family, etc. Establish now, based on the resources of your current account, a maximum budget for each category that you can spend every month.Putting a maximum limit of euros within which to limit your expenses will certainly help you to better regulate yourself and keep your accounts under control.
At this point, to save money, try to set small short-term savings goals: for example, you could propose, this month, to save 10 euros on spending. When at the end of the month, checking the budget you had established for the expense category, you realize that you have saved 10 euros, you will certainly be satisfied with yourself and motivated for the next monthly goal!
2. Use tricks to limit purchases!
Shopping - even online - is your problem and you just can't stop yourself from "buying" the umpteenth, useless bag that drains your current account? I recommend you try these little psychological tricks that can help you save money! The first is well known: it is the "24 hour rule". If you see something you like, don't buy it right away, but let at least 24 hours pass. If the object in question will continue to be in your thoughts, then you can buy it. Instead, it may happen that you no longer feel the same urgency that you had in the store and maybe, thinking about it a bit, you may realize that it is not really. nothing necessary ... The 24 hour rule is great for avoiding impulsive purchases!
Another interesting trick that could distract you from spending money on anything but necessary purchases is to try to mentally calculate how many hours of work that particular expense would cost. Think about how much you earn per hour: if you earn 10 euros per hour and that bag costs 200, ask yourself if it's really worth 20 long hours of effort ...
3. Save on shopping!
Food shopping is undoubtedly one of the most expensive (and, moreover, necessary) expenses in our monthly budget. How to save money on this essential item? First of all, always remember that going to the supermarket with a full stomach helps you save euros significantly: if you are not starving, it will be easier for you to stick to what is written on your list, without going overboard, ending up filling the pantry. of useless (and often unhealthy!) products.
A shopping plan is essential in order not to spend unnecessary money and save: for example, I recommend that you always prepare your list when you go to the supermarket, without giving in to the temptation to buy products that are not written on it ...
Saving on shopping is easy if you learn to buy inexpensive but nutritious foods, avoiding the more processed and ready-made ones, which often cost much more. By eating healthy you will be able to save money and, at the same time, do good for your health.
Obviously, to save money, it will be important to limit lunches and dinners out. Always bring lunch from home to work, it will cost you much less and you can see for yourself a decisive saving of euros per year! according to your possibilities Going out for dinner once a month is great!
4. Save on home bills!
How to save on house bills for water, gas and energy? First of all, the advice I can give you is to find the best offer for you and your home: if you live alone and you don't have very high consumption, it will be better to pay only what you consume; if you live in a large family instead, you will prefer a monthly fee.
If you undertake the maintenance of your home, for example avoiding the formation of cracks or air leaks, you can certainly save on gas in winter and on air conditioning in summer. Pay attention to how much water you use, without ever leaving the tap open uselessly to avoid waste. In general, it consumes less energy: always turning off the lights that are not needed, avoiding heating and air conditioning if they are not needed and so on.
Evaluate if it may be worth making ecological choices such as the installation of solar panels. Even on the household products you use every day you can get a nice saving with a little DIY, and the same goes for those products useful for the personal care.
Here are some readings that, each year, can help you save a great deal of money, without making too many sacrifices:
> "Saving is easy (if you know how)"
> "Kakebo: the Japanese art of saving day by day"
> "RacConti: save, invest, achieve"
> "Saving money: the ultimate guide on how to manage your money, avoid waste and achieve financial freedom"
5. Keep a budget!
All the savings tips we've given you so far will work as long as you always keep a balance of your expenses. Keeping an eye on your checking account is really essential for saving and understanding your financial progress.
Therefore, always take note of all your expenses, every day, so that you can track your monthly spills and actually realize whether or not you have exceeded your budget or if you have managed to save money. There is no need to carry a pen and paper all the time, today there are tons of apps that can help you keep an expense report directly on your phone whenever you need them!
6. Change your lifestyle (for the better)!
It may seem bizarre to you, but a few small changes in your lifestyle can really help you - as well as get better physically - also save money! For example: using public transport with an annual pass is certainly cheaper than traveling by car every day to go to work! Needless to say, how much it can help the environment and your health to choose to walk as much as possible instead of taking the car even when it is not strictly necessary ...
Eliminating alcohol and cigarettes, as well as any other kind of addictions, will also help you save money significantly, as well as be good for you!
7. Watch out for commissions!
Pay attention to your bank's fees when withdrawing money from an ATM. These are small numbers, but which - accumulated - can become significant. Whenever you need to withdraw, try to always do so at a counter at your own bank if possible.
Also pay attention to the commissions on your statement, if you are used to using a credit card!
8. Create your own emergency fund
Creating an emergency fund is important in case you find yourself in financial difficulties: finalize your monthly savings to deposit a few more euros in a safe current account, which can be used by you and your family in case you lose your job or , however, whenever I need it.
Knowing that you have an emergency fund will give you much more psychological peace of mind and will motivate you to save a few dollars more each month.
9. Buy vintage
If you really can't do without shopping and feel the compulsive need to buy new clothes with which to enrich your already crowded wardrobe, you can think about turning towards vintage. Thanks to the increasing number of flea markets and vintage shops, now also online, it is possible to buy sophisticated and fashionable items without spending a fortune. Also, online, there are some applications with which you can sell the clothes you no longer use, so as to have new income with which to balance the expenses you have just made. Without considering that the choice to buy vintage, in addition to being an optimal solution for your wallet, is ethical from an environmental point of view, because it gives clothes a second life, rather than piling them in the garbage, polluting the ecosystem.
10. Cut your rent costs
If you do not have your own home, but you live in rent, cut your expenses further by opting for a home away from urban centers, where costs are usually prohibitive. Taking home in a more secluded area, in addition to guaranteeing a quieter and less chaotic life, will help you spend less every month and, overall, throughout the year. In addition, within small towns it will be easier to pursue a healthier lifestyle, moving more often on foot or by bicycle in order to save on gasoline costs.
11. Achieve self-reliance
To save money even more decisively, try to make yourself self-sufficient on several fronts. This means giving up many comforts and starting to dedicate oneself, for example, to the self-production of basic necessities. Bread, pasta, vegetables, you will no longer have to spend a euro to buy these products because you will be the one who produces them. This same argument also applies to energy consumption. Try, as much as possible, to pursue energy independence, reducing house bills to the bone. You can think, for example, of going back in time and heating the house with the wood you got yourself in the woods. Use candles as much as possible to light up the rooms and, instead of turning up the heaters, minimize their use by covering yourself with batteries and blankets. The consumption of electricity and gas will go down as well as your expenses.
12. Travel smart
What life would it be without travel? No, do not think that you will have to give it up to save money. Traveling is not an activity that only the richest can afford. There are some tricks with which you can travel the world without spending too much money. Book your trips well in advance, prefer a rental house rather than 5-star hotels, travel by car rather than by plane, in this way you can fill your trunk with supplies and save on shopping once you arrive on site. Also, if you are on vacation but still want to save money, avoid going out for lunch / dinner every day.
