When you need to save extra cash for a special event, vacation or a necessary evil, like dental work, taking on extra side work or an odd job isn’t always an option. It’s frustrating to feel like you never have savings, and “not having” always seems to lead to stress and anxiety, which can then affect other areas of your life.
Fortunately, we’ve got some handy dandy small life hacks you can begin using now to start building toward your financial goals faster, without giving up all your free time to another job! You might not hit the money mark you’re aiming for as fast, but, by giving up these expenses, you’ll definitely begin to see a difference in your savings!
Create A New Email Address To Sign Up For Promotional Discounts
It’s safe to say that most people won’t complain about a discount, but they will be annoyed by a flood of advertising from companies in their emails, which is why so many pass up claiming their coupons when shopping online!
Simple hack: Create a new email address specifically for company coupons, specials and limited time discounts! Everything can be sent there for you to browse through, and, once you set things up, watch your savings stack up when you never pay full price.
Write Out Your Grocery List
Isn’t it fun to go in a grocery store and shop with abandon? A two dollar bag of chips seems like chump change, but when added up with all the other “cheap” extra impulse buys you piled in your cart, your total at checkout could legitimately make you choke. Understanding what you need rather than what you want will go far.
Simple hack: Plan meals and write out a list! If you stick to it and include non-perishable items, like canned food and pastas that you can stretch over a few meals, you’ll literally save hundreds of dollars a year on food. Yes, treat yourself to something impulsive and junky from time to time, but remember why they’re called treats for a reason.
Monitor Your Cellphone Expenses
Pretty much everyone your age has had a cellphone for at least 10 years. You did the paper work, got the phone, pay an expense every month and are connected to the world. However, phone habits change, so it’s important to stop and see exactly what you’re paying for each month.
Simple hack: Actually look at your phone bill. In case you need a little hand holding, a customer service rep for your carrier will be happy to go over what’s part of your plan, how much of every service you’re using and what you could drop to reduce your bill! In some cases, low income individuals can qualify for lower rates.
Keep Your Wardrobe Neutral To Save On Shopping
Clothing is a wonderful way to express yourself, but it can be a huge money suck if you’re always opting for bold brights, unique pieces and patterns that can only be worn a couple times a year. That’s why knowing how to shop sales racks is so critical — because you can get a lot of that trendy stuff on the cheap!
Simple hack: For your normal day-to-day, try shopping for clothes in neutral colors. Black, beige, white and gray clothing are easy to blend, mix and match, dress up, dress down and wear multiple times, without anyone even realizing that you’re only wearing a small rotation of clothes. As an added bonus, you’ll never be dealing with massive loads of laundry again!
Set Up An Auto Save Plan With Your Bank
Wouldn’t it be great if someone just automatically put money into your savings account the second your paycheck’s direct deposit hit? I mean, technically, you can do that yourself, but intention and action are totally different.
Simple hack: Get in touch with your bank and set up an auto save plan. Decide how much you can afford to have taken out of your check every pay period, and have the bank pluck and plop that cash into your growing nest egg. You likely won’t even notice, but you’ll be smiling ear-to-ear when you see what you’ve squirreled away!
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