Ways to Save

Do you have the desire to save money but feel like money keeps flowing out of your hands? Here are some tips to help you save. Remember, saving isn’t so much about making drastic moves, but simply putting away little by little consistently over time.

• Pay yourself first. Do you pay all your bills and then have nothing left? If you’re really trying to save, put your savings away as soon as you get paid. Pay your expenses, and then if you are running low on cash, get creative by cutting expenses (see below).
• Save a penny at a time. All that change does add up. Use a jar or piggybank and save all your small change. When you have enough, you can either put the loose change in rolls or take it to a coin counter (just make sure it doesn’t charge a commission, or you lose out on your hard-earned savings).
• Go with cash. When you pay with a credit card, it is easy to lose track of how much you spend. You may not realize how much you’ve spent until the bill comes at the end of the month and you have to pay it. Credit cards also tend to charge many fees, so you end up paying much more for the items than they originally cost. Just keep cash in your wallet and you’ll never spend more than what you have. When you run out of cash, stop buying.
• Skip what you don’t need. We’ve all heard how we can save by skipping the Starbucks coffee (or tea) every morning, but the principal is true. At restaurants, order water instead of a beverage, get a small instead of large, and buy only what you need. If you know you will use it, you can buy in bulk, but be sure not to buy too much just because it was a good price.
• Enjoy being simple. This solid piece of advice applies to just about everything. From choosing to skip the extra cable channels to mending or swapping used clothing, simpler choices mean less complication, fewer expenses, and more savings. Reading the news online, packing your own lunch, and/or investing in your own water bottle will save costs for you, those around you, and the environment as well. And most importantly, be thankful for what you have and enjoy the richness of life around you, and then you may find that you don’t really need much more.