(ThyBlackMan.com) Running low on cash or your savings account is not where it once was because, well life happened? Saving money is one of the hardest things for some people no matter how many times we’re told to “Save money for a rainy day.” In reality, for the most of us, rain comes a lot in our lives no matter where we live or what our occupation is. No worries, these five tips to save money will have you saving money in no time.
Live below your means. If you make $3k a month, your total expenses shouldn’t be $5k monthly. It is always highly suggested to live below your means to keep from robbing Peter to pay Paul on payday. Don’t go sign up for a $2.5k mortgage and that’s same amount of money you make monthly. You’re asking for trouble and I’m sure your credit will be ruined, eventually.
Set up automatic deductions: If you get direct deposit, schedule with your payroll personnel and or bank to have funds automatically deducted from your paycheck to a savings account. This will keep you from spending more money than you need to on payday. Your paycheck will not miss $50 being automatically deducted and placed into a savings account. If your paycheck misses that, you may need to consider looking for a new job!
Stop going on so many vacations: Vacations are wonderful but can become very costly. Plan your vacations ahead of time and cut costs as needed. You don’t need to always travel out of the country to a luxurious resort every year. Instead, to save some money, do a staycation or take a quick road trip and stay in an inexpensive hotel than the five-star hotel that costs you $1,000 per night.
Get you a side hustle. If the numbers still don’t match or leave you much room for saving money, get you a side hustle and save if not all, some of the money you make from it. This is great if you have a certain craft that you enjoy doing on the weekends or if you’re good at writing resumes, create a side hustle where you can get paid to write resumes for other people. NOTE: Even though it’s a side hustle, please make sure that all of your license, certifications, tax documents, etc., are up to date because you do not want Uncle Sam coming after your coins you’ve been saving.
Cancel memberships: Cut the cards, unsubscribe to their newsletters and cancel all of the memberships that you don’t use frequently or can’t afford to use in this current season of your life. I know we all adore the two-day shipping with our beloved Prime memberships from Amazon. But when you’re trying to save money, those types of memberships have to go as well. I use to pay $12 a month for a music store that’s located in the mall, and I never buy music. Do you know how much money that is a year? I’ll tell you, $144.00 could’ve been added to my savings account each year, all of those years ago.
Saving money is really not hard to do, people just make it hard to do because they are always playing catch up or drowning in debt. There are tons of resources out there and financial gurus that you can learn from on social media. Take advantage of the free knowledge when you can get it but also invest in obtaining the knowledge you need that will help you save more money.
Staff Writer; Felicia T. Simpson
One may also connect with this sister online over at; FTSimpson.com.