We’re well into the new year and most of us have spent the last month dreaming of visions and aspirations we have for 2020. A common goal for many is to save money and grow their finances.
But, it can become very difficult to do this if you have little to no idea of where to start. Thankfully, there are a few ways you can save on your purchases and plan ahead for upcoming expenses. You’ll be able to start saving this year and go into the following year with a better understanding of good spending and saving habits.
Budgeting
The best way to gain strategy and save money this year is to budget, budget, budget! Budgeting can take your finances from non-existent to present and thriving. But, this isn’t always as simple as it sounds. You can check out my Free Budgeting Binder.
Even better, you should try my book about personal money management to assist you in defining a financial goal and successfully reaching it. It includes worksheets, as well, to help you create a personalized budget that is perfect for your lifestyle.
Once you get a handle on what money management actually is and have a better understanding of it, you can try implementing a budget of your own like the 60-20-20 budget. This budget suggests that you should divide up your income so that 60% goes to essential expenses, 20% to your savings or financial goals, and the other 20% can be used for discretionary spending. The 60-20-20 budget is one of the more popular methods but ultimately, you should find one that will fit your personal lifestyle.
Do your research, set goals, and stick to your budget and your finances are sure to grow tremendously this year.
Find Budget-Friendly Alternatives
Everyone has their favorite things to buy whether it be brand new decor pieces for your home or the latest clothing trends on the market. We all give in to spending unnecessary money on our desires.
Oftentimes, with no research, many end up spending more than they have to on their favorite items because they just aren’t looking in the right places. Thankfully, there are plenty of budget-friendly options that you can take advantage of so your wants and desires can fit in your 20% of discretionary spending.
For example, in the world of home decor, there are plenty of budget-friendly options you can try. Instead of spending hundreds on home accents, try adopting a frugal mindset and reusing or purchasing multi-purpose holiday decorations. You can use basic holiday decor pieces like wreaths, garland, or lights to complement the rest of the space and achieve the same look, for half the price.
You can even shop locally for flea market decor to use in your home as well. Flea market shopping is great for finding modern decor and furniture pieces without spending as much as you would at a home decor retailer. Although these are just a couple of examples, the use of inexpensive pieces or ones you already own can make all the difference if you are an avid home decor shopper.
For clothes, try shopping at discount department stores like TJ Maxx. These kinds of stores get their products from major department stores that you may already shop at. Places like Macy’s and Nordstrom sometimes have overproduced a certain product, have products that haven’t sold well, or they just decided that they no longer needed a product. In these cases, they will sell the merchandise to discount department stores for them to resell at a lower price. Essentially, you can find top fashion brands for half the price and get the clothes you want without overspending.
Try Eating In More Often
Another great tip for saving and ultimately adopting a better lifestyle is to stop buying food and start making it yourself. Many of us unnecessarily spend hundreds of dollars on the ease of fast food and restaurants. But this habit is chipping away at money that could have been saved and invested in your savings and goals. Choosing to eat in more often sounds like a minuscule piece of a bigger problem but it can actually make quite the difference in your finances.
But I know– some of you are thinking about your passionate dislike for the grocery store as you read this. You feel like you just don’t have the patience to shop for or cook the food. However, you can try planning out your trips to the grocery store and your meals for the week. This gives you an idea of what you need to get from the store to avoid wasting any extra time or money.
E-Commerce Shopping
Online shopping is taking over and in a decade or so, we may see the e-commerce world run the majority of small brick-and-mortar retailers out of business. But what does this mean for shopping? Ever since online shopping has become popular, so have deals, promos, and coupons. In many cases, there is a better sale running on a company’s online site than there is in store.
Luckily, with online shopping extensions, like Wikibuy, you can be automatically notified of current promos, coupons, and the deals that are readily available to be added to any online order. Think of this as a more modern and efficient way of couponing.
You can also try Ebates and learn more about their cashback shopping. Sites and extensions like these make shopping a lot simpler and in time, you are able to save a lot of money. While that can all be seen as a benefit, you also want to keep in mind that online shopping is just too easy these days and can turn into a bad habit quickly. So be sure to monitor your spending through your budgets to ensure that you are not exceeding your spending limit.
Wrapping it up
Saving and managing your money are two great habits to start in 2020. In the long run, you will thank yourself for doing your research on small, but effective ways, that you can save. But, given you read through these four tips for saving, I think you’re on your way to achieving your goal of better finances in the new year.
Comment below letting me know which of these tips helped you the most!
Leave a Reply