How To Save Money
How to save money? Probably searched by many people on Google, no matter what his/her financial stature is. Earnings and utility differ from man to man, but there is hardly any person, who's not interested in knowing the ways to save money. Interestingly, human ingenuity lets him find out the best way to save money out of his own financial position.
How to Save Money?
If I ask you how to save money? Either you would be confused or overflowed with hundreds of money-saving ideas. There are some common ways to save money applicable to the masses and there are some exclusive money-saving ideas researched and applied to you only. Things are good and effective so far as you apply your tips and tricks properly. Here I am enlisting 25 realistic and simple money-saving tips for the readers. Please note that all these money-saving tips may not have the fullest implications in one's life, but a few the of money-saving ideas listed below have a qualitative impact on your pocket.
25 Realistic Money-Saving Tips
- Accept payments by cheque or online:
This is one of the best ways to save money. It's a human tendency to spend more with cash rather than from a bank account. Research shows that a person finds it more inconvenient to withdraw money from the bank or buy goods with cards than by using hard cash. So, this is the best way to save money for those who have an irresistible tendency of spending cash money.
- Go for exchange programs:
Before buying new durable or capital goods like electronic gadgets, and appliances, go for selling the used ones. There are many sites that assist you in selling your old products through advertisements like OLX, Quikr, etc. Now the product sellers are too offering exchange programs. Online shopping sites like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. are giving opportunities to their buyers to exchange their old ones for new products. Selling or exchanging old products definitely reduces the cost price of the new ones.
- Consider buying cars at the end of the month:
If you are planning to buy a car, this is the best way to save money. How? See, in most cases in the last week of the month, the sales representatives and car dealers are under pressure to achieve their targets. They go desperate in selling cars to customers offering good discounts or selling car accessories free of cost or at a much-discounted price. This way you get your car at the most advantageous cost.
- Do not jump the gun:
If you see a product billboard or lucrative offers, don't go for the buy immediately. Hold your mind and think whether you need it? If it's your requirement, what's your budget? By holding your buy for a day or more you may be able to do the product's cost-benefit analysis. This way you can save your money on unneeded purchases.
- Go by the list while shopping:
Whenever you go shopping, prepare a list beforehand of your requirements. You may wonder how to save money by going with a list? If you do shopping by list, it is possible to stick to the budget. Moreover, the list helps you to do the shopping more quickly than without a list. A study shows, if you shop quickly, the chances are high that you will not go for unnecessary buying.
- Avoid outings with friends, invite them:
Many of us face this problem. When you go for an outing with friends, it's unsocial for you to abstain from contributing. Moreover, taking food and drinks at restaurants and bars is no way cheaper than you have it at home. So, instead of going to restaurants and pubs, invite your friends to your home. This is the best way to save money who are interested in maintaining social networks as well as concerned about how to save money.
- Use LEDs:
I'll keep this within top money-saving tips. Rather than using incandescent lights, you should go for CFLs and LEDs. They are highly power efficient and reduce power bills considerably. These new technology lights even have a longer life than the traditional ones. By using LEDs and CFLs, you can save both maintenance and durability.
- Do periodical maintenance:
If you are using multiple electronic appliances like ACs, Washing Machines, Water Purifiers, etc. it's better to render periodical maintenance. The same should be with your car too. By conducting regular maintenance, you have to incur maintenance charges which are much smaller than any major repairing or overhauling charges. At the same time, if your appliances or cars are under periodical supervision, their longevity and efficiency level also improve.
- Sell your old books:
This money-saving tip is especially for the students and the parents whose children have passed out and have a pile of books covering a considerable space in their room and want to evacuate them. There are a number of sites that buy used or old books from us and pay accordingly. One such site is BookScouter. This searches for the best match buyer for our old books.
- Rent out your extra space:
If you have a big house and leave a part unutilized, it's advisable to rent the same out and earn some extra money to meet household expenses. There are some companies that take your property on agreed terms for a specific period and convert it into a homestay. Some of these companies are Airbnb, Oyo Rooms, etc.
- Take tiffin from home:
If you want to learn the ways to save money, this is one of the effective ways to save money. First of all, your saving starts when you take tiffin to your place of work or education and avoid canteen or outside foods which are certainly costlier than your homemade foods. Next, savings is in terms of your health. By abstaining from outside foods, you are indirectly reducing your medical bills.
- Use public transportation or carpool:
If your circumstances permit, it's a good move to go by public transport. Using public transport is way cheaper than using private cars. Moreover, if you and your neighbor or your colleague have a common route to the place of work, carpool is a good option. Things can be done on a rotational basis. This saves money as well as the climate.
- Pay your debts on time:
Try to pay your debts on or before time. Be it credit card bills or loan interest, paying on time not only saves you from additional interest and penalties but gives you a high creditworthiness. You can also make arrangements with the bank for automatic debt payments. This is also a great way to save yourself from a debt trap.
- Consume less meat:
What? Yes, you read it right. But, how to save money by consuming less meat? Well, this is simple. If you take less meat in your food or goes vegan, the direct impact is in your pocket. Animal proteins are costlier than vegetables. But a much bigger impact shows on your health. Researchers found that large animal protein intake in our foods has an adverse effect on our health. A non-vegetarian is prone to more decrease in comparison to a vegetarian. And nowadays health issues cost us much.
- Withdraw from the same bank's ATM:
This is a simple but effective money-saving tip to follow. As you know, if you withdraw from other banks' ATMs (where you don't have an account), after a certain number of transactions the ATM bank charges extra fees per transaction. So, whenever possible, do ATM transactions with your home bank only.
- Try to buy air tickets from the company's site:
Whenever we travel by flight we do a comparison over the internet reading about freights and services. There are many online traveling sites that give you the freedom to compare flights of different companies on the same platform. But I would suggest that rather than buying the tickets on their sites it is advisable to go to the native company's sites. The charges would be certainly lower than the previous one.
- Save at home:
Make a piggy bank at your home and save whatever is possible on a daily basis. Even ask your children to do the same out of their pocket money earnings. It inculcates the saving habit in you and your children and creates a fund with the passage of time, helpful at the time of your emergency.
- Find a roommate:
If you are living in a rented house and single, then this would be the best way to save money. If you have a roommate you can not only save your portion of room rent but other household expenses too. Moreover, you and your partner can share daily household work, so that life becomes less stressful.
- Keep your house clean:
This is one of the good money-saving ideas, which I think works great. When we keep our house clean, it directly impacts our health. In addition to that, when the house is clean, it indicates that our staff within the house are arranged too. This will help us in finding our requisite items at arm's length. Misplacement and unattended staff left us with no option but to go for a new one, which can be avoided at large.
- Shop higher or lower than eye level:
Marketers are intelligent. They place highly valued items at our eye level. So try to buy products below or above eye level. This way you can save a lot of bucks while shopping.
- Take health insurance or mediclaim:
Whenever you sit with your financial budget, you must include health insurance in it. Medical bills are capable enough to tremble your financial stature. It would be really foolish to take chance by not taking health insurance or mediclaim. By paying a small amount of premium, you save yourself and your family from financial jeopardy.
- Do your own beauty treatment:
Beauty Parlours and Salons are becoming costlier day by day. For women, doing basic beauty treatments like manicures, pedicures, and facials at parlors is very expensive. Rather they can try things at home. There are many good video instructions available on the internet to assist a person to do her personal care. For men, it is advisable to do saving at home with their own saving kit.
- Use phone guards:
This is a small but effective money-saving tip. As we all use mobile phones, we know how frequently it drops from our hands. By incurring a small expenditure on phone bodyguards and tempered glass, we can save hundreds of bucks.
- Use low steam to cook:
This is one of the household ways to save money. Rather than using large flame burners, it will be prudent to use small burners. Moreover cooking at low flame and cooking with a covered utensil saves a considerable amount of fuel and in the long run and so as your money.
- Do not hunt for brands:
If you have an obsession with brand names, these money-saving tips are certainly not for you. Believe it or not, if you go for value for money, there are multiple non-branded products that offer the same quality of service minus the cost of brand value. This is quite visible, when a reputed company pays a big amount on TV commercials, Billboards, etc., hasn't it to recover the cost from somewhere?
Conclusion
When you are searching for ways to save money, you may come up with lots of money-saving tips. But things will be effective when you apply them appropriately in your daily life. Remember, the tip that works for others may or may not work for you. You have to choose the best way to save money from the plethora of money-saving tips.