Always pay your necessities first, including bills, child’s needs, food etc. Once your necessities are out of the way, keep some personal money and put the rest into a savings account, be sure to make a habit of putting this little bit aside and it will grow very quickly.
With the price of fuel these days, try not to drive your car as often, this could include doing a car pool or even walking or riding a bike. Another good tip I personally recommend is to fill your car up on the cheapest day of the week, the prices work in a cycle. Even if your fuel lasts 2 weeks you will save money in the long run by routinely filling up on the weekly cycles cheapest day.
Food is about the same as fuel these days, if you eat out constantly or live on take away food, you’ll soon notice your funds dwindling once again. Prepare a home cooked meal or bring a packed lunch, believe me you’ll notice the difference.
When it comes to clothing, shop around for the best deal, I can tell you now I’ve saved hundreds of dollars on expensive jeans, jackets and so on by not taking the first offer and having a better look around.
If you smoke you may want to consider quitting, not just to save money but for your health. I quit smoking a few years back and feel great now, and the money I’ve saved is unbelievable. How many packets do you buy a week? Add them together, do the math.
It may take a little money to buy some decent gym equipment, and require a little more motivation to do at home than going to a gym, but once you are motivated you can certainly save some money on monthly gym fee’s and not have to worry about binding contracts and crowded locker rooms.
If you find yourself continually buying the same products on a weekly basis and using the same things routinely, consider looking for bulk suppliers and buying things in bulk, you may pay a bit more up front to buy a larger quantity, but you’ll be saving money in the long run.
If you’ve got a mobile phone plan like myself, you may be one of them people that always finds yourself with large bills as you slowly lose track of how many calls you make, not to mention how quickly SMS messages add up. Try using a landline more often, or taking a walk to your friends house instead.
Don’t be wasteful, I know how convenient it can be just to throw something out and not think twice about it. I’m not telling you to be a hoarder and stack your cupboards to the roof, but think sensibly before you start throwing away things that could be potentially useful.
Last but not least, if you find you’ve got some spare money, whether you’ve got some left over, or you won it gambling(you shouldn’t be gambling if you’re trying to save money anyway), you should always hang on to it, never lay your money back down or decide because its spare you need to spend it. Go back to step 1 and put it in that account and watch it grow.
