As I've been experimenting more and more with lifestyle design, I have begun to look into more ways of saving money. I found that the more money I saved, the better my life started to become as I had the funds for things that really mattered in improving my future. By just slightly adjusting my habits, I was able to watch as more money was left over for my savings each and every month. If you want to know how I did it and how you can do it too, read on for my tips.
1.I Learned to Cook
OK, I wouldn't say that I learned to cook that well, but I learned to cook none the less. Instead of frequently spending money on eating out and tipping serving staff, I bought groceries and made my own meals. It was much easier to keep track of how much I was spending on food as I budgeted each week and didn't really spend frivolously. I started planning out each meal and making sure I was full before heading out to run errands so that I was less likely to spend money while I was out.
2.I Became a Coupon Queen
Extreme couponing became a new hobby of mine and I learned to love it even more than I actually loved shopping itself. I started to look for coupons everywhere I could and spent time clipping them out of magazines, printing them out from online and seeking out coupon codes to use on purchases from the web. I even downloaded a few apps that helped me find coupons too and found that my savings really added up to being worth the time I put into finding them.
3.I Kept Track of All Earnings And Spending
It seems simple but I actually put this one off for quite a while. It always seemed like too much work to track everything coming in and going out of my bank account. However, I started off an Excel sheet and forced myself to type in each and every penny that passed through my fingertips. Not only was I able to keep an eye on my spending but it also helped me hold myself accountable and made me less likely to spend money knowing that I had to face the music and look at it myself.
4.I Stopped my Subscriptions
Paying monthly for various subscriptions was costing me a lot. While going to the gym and reading my monthly magazines were things I enjoyed, I realized that I didn't really need to be paying for them. Canceling my subscriptions saved me around $50 alone each month and I really didn't miss them. I bought some free weights and started jogging around my neighborhood instead of going to the gym and began delving into online magazines instead of paying for a physical one to get delivered to my door each month.
Saving money doesn't have to be difficult. Take some time to evaluate your life and your daily spending and make a few small changes to improve.