I cannot believe it!
At the time of writing this article, we are already in August!
Worse yet, the month of August is already coming to an end.
Soon we will begin the month of September. This means that we are only a few months away from the end of the year.
2019 is nearing its end and soon we will be in 2020.
Wow !!! Time goes by so fast! What do you think?
If like me you think that time is going by too fast and you hava that feeling that you do not control anything anymore, especially regarding your money and your finances, I propose you to find below some simple ideas which will help you save more money in 2019 and beyond.
“How to save more money” is a subject that interests many people.
As proof, if you go on Google and search “How to save more money”, the screenshot below shows you what you will find.
About 3,920,000,000 results for this term.
Can you imagine how many people are interested by this topic worldwide?
I bet you’re interested by this topic too. That’s why I took the time to write this article for you.
If you’re here, it’s probably because you are looking for the best tips on how to save money, right?
So, keep reading because in this article, I’m going to share with you 13 tips you can use in your life to save more money starting today.
But before we get to it, a necessary disclaimer:
While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this post is accurate and up to date, I am not an attorney nor a financial advisor so I can’t guarantee that you are going to achieve any kind of result with this information. Additionally, nothing in this post or resources made available are to be considered legal advice. Content and resources provided are meant for educational and informational purposes only. The author is not liable for any losses or damages related to actions or failure to act related to the content in this website. If you need specific legal advice, consult with an attorney who specializes in your subject matter and jurisdiction.
Let’s get started now with our 13 tips on how to save more money in 2019 and beyond.
Just like anyone, if you want to create your dream life, you must know how to have financial freedom and how to create financial abundance.
Creating financial abundance simply means having enough money so that you don’t have to worry or stress about how you’re going to pay your bills or take care of your family.
To achieve those goals, it only takes two ways :
1. Make more money,
2. Save more money,
Once you get to understand these two principles, it becomes easier to have more than enough money so that you can live comfortably and happily.
So, how do you save more money?
There are many ways to save more money. Here’s the tip number one!
1. Use cash instead of credit cards.
My first recommendation is to use cash instead of credit cards whenever you can.
Why?
Simply because today we live in a digital world where it’s so easy to use your credit cards to buy just anything you want. We use more and more the Internet to buy things online or even to pay our bills.
And guess what do we use to do so? Credit cards!
Sometimes, we even pay our friends back using our phone and we don’t even realize how much we are spending because the money is directly taken from our bank account.
With credit cards it’s super easy to spend a great amount of money because it just looks like a random number and we just click, click, click!
On the other hand, using cash instead of using your credit card will help you realize how much you’re spending because the money is in your hands. When you see that amount of money in cash, you don’t want to spend it all at once because it’s something physical.
Always keep in mind that when you use cash, you’re spending money that you already have. This means that if you only have $100 in your hands, you can’t spend $150.
But when you use credit cards, you’ re kind of spending money you don’t have.
This can be very dangerous because using money that you don’t have to pay or buy at that moment is like borrowing money from the bank. Sooner or later, you will have to pay them back!
And when this happens, if for whatever reason you can’t pay back, you can go down that slippery slope of getting into credit card debt.
As you can imagine, this is the worst type of debt to be in because it’s so high interest that you’re just going to be paying more much extra money. That just does not make sense.
2. Track your spending and create a budget
Many people spend their money without even tracking their spending. This means that they spend but they don’t know how much they spend, why and how.
Does this look like you? If you answered “YES”, stop immediately spending without tracking your spending because this is one of the main reasons why you can’t save more money.
See, tracking your spending is one of the best ways to save money just because it helps you to identify areas where you can save money. It’s that simple!
All you need to do is track your spending each time you buy something. Write down all of your spending and all of your expenses on paper.
Take time to look at your past transactions and really keep track of how much you’re spending. This will give you allow you to understand whether you’re spending too much compares to how much money you make.
Do it for one month, then for six months and even for one entire year. This will give you a good idea of where your money is going.
If you spend more than you make, there’s probably a problem. Once you’ve identified areas where you’re spending your money, you will have a clear idea on where you can reduce spending.
Then, to control how much you spend on daily or monthly basis, you can set a reasonable budget and then stick to it.
Tracking your spending and creating a budget is a simple thing to do, and it’s a very effective way of saving money!
3. Pay off all your debts.
In tip number two, I told why you should be using cash instead of credit cards. This brings me to my next point, which is pay off your debts. Saving money can become almost impossible when you have debts.
Why?
Because your money is no longer your money. It belongs to your bank or to someone else and you must reimburse them.
So, if you’re carrying a credit card debt, you’re losing money. As difficult as it may be, your top priority should be to pay off your debt and free yourself from those high interest rates.
4. Cancel any unnecessary subscriptions you have.
Internet, Phone, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Gym, cable TV and other memberships. We must admit it. In this digital culture we live in today, we subscribe to so many things and sometimes we don’t even know why.
And the worse is that all those subscriptions cost us money since most of the time we remain subscribed to something for months.
Each month we pay certain amount of money for those subscriptions and we don’t even realize it because they debit the money directly in our bank account.
Once again, when this happens, we waste money. While some subscriptions are important and we can’t just do without them, others are totally unnecessary.
So, in case you are subscribed to something that you don’t realize you’re subscribed to or something that you don’t use anymore, maybe you should just cancel it or put it on hold.
For example, if you realize that you don’t go to the gym as much anymore, and you’re still paying $39 each and every month, you are wasting your money paying for a membership that you can’t profit from. This means that you are losing $468 annually.
You could save that money or use it for something else. If you can’t cancel for any reason, at least try to downgrade your subscription so you can pay less and save more.
5. Put your savings on autopilot
Putting your savings on autopilot is something you might consider checking out if you want to save more money. Nowadays, most banks allow you to automate the transfer of your money from one account to another one.
If you don’t see this option, just ask your advisor. To do that, review your budget and choose an amount that you can commit to regularly transferring in your savings account.
Then review how much you need to pay your bills and your rent or your mortgage. How much you need for food, for your leisure, for your kids etc. Once you know exactly how much you can spend and how much you can save, commit to saving that amount every month.
To save more, you don’t need to deprive yourself. You work hard to make your money so it’s normal to enjoy the things you like, such as eating in a reputable restaurant or buying clothes and other things you like.
But if you commit to saving just $150 each month from your paycheck, you will have $1800 extra money per year in your savings account.
Not bad, right?
Furthermore, when you have a certain amount of your paycheck automatically transferred to your savings account, you have less temptation to spend it and you can easily watch your account balance grow over time.
6. Search coupon codes on Google or other search engines.
Let’s be real for a moment. Why should you spend more when you can spend less?
Why would pay something it’s full price when you can use a coupon code and pay half the price?
Doesn’t make sense, right?
Today most of the giants from ecommerce allow you to use coupon codes to buy their own stuff. Why do they do that? Thera many reasons. But most of the time they do it because they want to have as a customer.
So, if you use one of their coupons to buy from them, even if you only pay 50% for that item, they don’t necessarily lose money but they give themselves a chance to have you as a long term client who will be buying more of their other products or services.
So, it’s a win-win situation. I can’t tell you how many times people save money just by using this trick. No matter what you want to buy, there’s probably a special promo code waiting for you online.
To find it, just go on Google and search the product name of the product or service you want to buy then add “promo code or coupon code” You’ll be surprised to see all promos and coupon codes there are out there.
Once you have your coupon code, just input it where needed and automatically your product will come out to be half the original price and sometimes even more.
Whenever I want to buy a product online, I always first spend a few minutes trying to see if I can find a coupon code. And you know what? Most of the time I find one.
So, let’s say I wanted to buy a product or a service that normally costs $400, with that coupon I will only pay $200. This makes me keep $200 in my pocket.
7. Search for companies that give you cash back on your purchase
Just like the tip I shared with you in my last point, in this point I’m going to give you another trick to save more money while spending your hard-earned money. It’s to use companies such as Ebates.com to get cash back on your purchases.
With such companies, you can get up to 40% cash back when you shop online through Ebates. How does this all work? It’s simple : Stores pay Ebates a commission for sending you their way, and Ebates shares the commission with you as Cash Back.
Once again it’s a win-win situation for you and for those companies.
In case you haven’t heard of Ebates, it’s the largest cash back site which partners with over 2500 of the biggest name brands like PayPal, Sephora, Amazon, Adidas, Urban Outfitters, even Coursera, to bring you cash back coupons and promo codes, all for free.
These big companies will reward you for shopping at places that you would normally already shop at anyway.
So, it’s kind of a no-brainer to use. It feels like free money so don’t hesitate to go and check them out.
8. Always renegotiate your bills
Renegotiating your bills can also help you save more money. Yes! You read that right!
Now, while some of your bills such as your rent or mortgage payment may be non-negotiable for one reason or another, you may have some wiggle room with other bills.
In my case, I try to negotiate some of my bills at least once per year. You can do it too! For example, you may be able to renegotiate your cell phone service or find a better deal on your car insurance.
Doing some research to find better rates can take time and you may ask yourself if it’s worth it. My answer is “YES!”
It can be time well spent and at the end of the day this can help you save money since with a better rate, you will be paying less interest rates. Can you imagine just how much you can save per year?
9. Set up automatic payments for your bills
Remember when I told you could put your savings on autopilot in one of my previous points? Well, you can do it for your bills too. That’s right. You can save money just by automating the payment of some of your bills.
See, with our busy lives and busy schedules, it’s not uncommon to forget to pay some bills on time. This happens to all of us and it doesn’t always have to deal with having money or not.
Sometimes you may have all the money you need to pay your bills, but you just don’t pay them because you forgot, or you lack time. So, how do you overcome this situation?
It’s simple.
An easy way to save money, is to simply pay your bills when they’re due. While some companies can restrict your access to using their service when you have a negative balance, others typically charge a late fee for any bills that are overdue.
Now, sometimes it may just be a few bucks here there and you may think that it’s not a big deal. But always keep in mind that these fees quickly add up, especially if you pay multiple bills late.
To make sure that most of my bills are always paid on time, I set up automatic payments for bills. Not only doing this helps me save money on any late fees, but it also gives me the freedom to focus on other important things.
If you choose to set up automatic payments for your bills, please also never forget to keep an eye on your bank account balance to avoid overdrafts and accumulating additional fees.
10. Consider relocating
If you have a big family, maybe this advice will not concern you directly. Having a big family also requires that you have a big house so everyone can have their space and be comfortable.
But if you live alone or if you do not have a big family, what’s the point of having a big house? A big house requires a lot of expenses as well as maintenance costs.
If you live alone, these costs can very quickly become a major expense. Having a smaller house if you do not have a big family can help you to spend less, so you can save more money.
Instead of paying a rent of $ 2500 for a big house, depending on where you live, you can only pay $ 1200 with a smaller house. Over a year, you can save up to $ 15,000 on your rent. Not bad, is it?
Also, the area you live in may be too expensive. For example, you live in the downtown core, and your mortgage or rent costs you 2-3 times more than it would if you moved just 30 minutes outside of the area, maybe it would be a good idea to consider relocating.
Why?
Because relocating to an area with a lower cost of living could potentially put hundreds to thousands of dollars in your pocket each year.
Obviously, there can be some roadblocks that may prevent you from moving, but if relocating is an option, it may be well worth considering.
11. Schedule your shopping allowance
Many people have what we call the “buying fever”. Those people can’t resist it and whenever they see something, they just want to buy it. Even if they don’t need it, they will buy it anyway.
It’s the compulsive purchase syndrome! If you want to avoid buying things you don’t necessarily need, you might consider scheduling your shopping allowance.
Obviously, this is a way to limit your shopping habits. So, instead of shopping whenever you feel like it or whenever you’re bored, set a schedule for your shopping.
Allow yourself to buy new things such like bags, jewelry, clothes or even shoes only when you really need them. Stop buying just for the sake of buying or just because you absolutely want that new smartphone they just put into the market.
Be penny wise and don’t squander all your money buying things that don’t worth it. To start adding items to your shopping list, you can use any list-making app, and write down things that you want to buy as you think of them.
Don’t buy them right then. Just put them on your list like and schedule a day in your calendar to let yourself shop.
Not only doing that will help control any impulse buying, but it will also help you be a more calculated and planned-out shopper.
More than that, this will help you save money because you will end up buying only what you need. The best route to take to avoid any temptations is to write down everything you need for the week or for the entire month.
The less times you go shopping, the less likely you’ll be to pick up something you really don’t need. Plan to shop for an hour or less and don’t get distracted by any shining object out there.
This way you won’t spend time wandering around picking up things that look appealing. Also, plan to go shopping shortly after you’ve eaten. Everything will look less appealing if you’re shopping on a full stomach.
12. Quit your bad habits
For most people, it’s not easy to quit smoking, drinking, using drugs or overeating. It can be very difficult to stop those things because with time, they become a sort of addictions.
But do you know that being addicted costs you lots of money? Just think about how much money you can save each year if you quit smoking? A lot, right? By quitting your destructive habits not only you will save money, but your health will also thank you later.
13. To save more money, make more money
This last tip is self-explanatory. If you want to save more money, have more money in your bank account, just make more money. Period!
There are many ways to make more money, such as:
- Negotiating your salary at work,
- Starting a second job,
- Freelancing in something you’re good at
- Starting your own business
- Starting a blog
- Etc.
If you don’t how, just go on Google or YouTube and search for “How to make more money” and you will get plenty of ideas.
If you have a 9 to 5 job, try to see if your company can give you a promotion or if they can increase your salary.
If they can, then it’s good for you. If they can’t, try to find an alternative to make more money working for yourself for instance. You can also turn trash into cash by selling things you no longer need, or you don’t wear.
Do you have electronics you aren’t using, old books, or anything else you can put up for sale on eBay or Amazon? See how much you can sell them.
Do you have a special skill you can monetize on Fiver.com or Upwork? Figure out what’s your skills so you get a fair price and monetize them. Saving money is not just about cutting costs.
It’s also about being able to make more money so can have freedom and live the life of your dreams.
I really hope these tips will help you save more money not only in 2019 but also beyond.
If you follow the tips I shared with you, you’ll be surprised how fast your savings account will grow, grow and grow!
Saving money is not as hard as you think. It only takes determination, goals and small changes.
Once you start saving money, not only will you learn to value money, but you’ll also learn which strategies work best for you so you can use them again when needed.
At the end of the day, having a little extra in your savings account can give you the confidence, security to enjoy life and the freedom to do what you want.
What do you think?
What are some other good ways to save money?
Let us know in the comments below! If you enjoyed this blog post, make sure to share it with your friends so I can keep making them.
Did you notice any spelling mistake or a typo in this article ? Don’t hesitate to let me know in the comment so I can fix it.
I wish you good luck with your online business…
Thanks for reading!
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