How To Save Money on a Tight Budget
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How To Save Money on a Tight Budget? Saving money takes a good level of discipline first of all before you can begin to talk about how much you make as wages. Having been in that position myself, I can tell you that saving money isn’t easy, but it is totally achievable and if I could do it, I don’t see why anybody else shouldn’t.
Earning only a little above a hundred dollars bi-weekly, I wanted to save up some money to pay up really important bills, maybe invest in a small business, and stuff like that. I tried but keeping some money apart from what I made just seemed almost impossible.
With a few tricks, you can actually save money for future use. In this article, I will show you how I did it and how so many other people now save money from a tight budget. Let’s get to it.
Tips on how to save money on a tight budget:
Always pay yourself
I read a book by a great man I admire, and in that book, there was a section that talked extensively on saving money for reinvestment.
So how do you save? Simple. Whenever you get paid, no matter what it is you do, always decide that you are working for yourself and you deserve payment.
Take a fraction aside, as was directed in the book I read, anything NOT LESS than ten percent (10%) will do. Don’t save too much, it could threaten your discipline, but don’t save too little, it could be worth close to nothing.
When you get your next payment—wage or salary—make sure you are getting paid before your bills. It will go far to help you get disciplined too.
Cut down on your expenses
When most people hear about cutting down on their expenses, the first thing they think of is “but I can’t stop paying my bills, I can’t stop eating, I can’t stop paying for fares” and all of that.
What you need to know is the difference between your needs and your wants. Needs are necessities, you cannot do without them. You must get them to survive. Wants, on the other hand, are expenses we incur, not because they have anything important to offer us, but because we just feel the urge to have them. Differentiate between your needs and wants.
Some examples of needs may include feeding, rent, transportation to work, electricity bills. While some examples of wants may be new clothes, TV subscriptions, and the likes.
It is important to note that sometimes necessities can become wants too. For example, we all know you have to eat well, but how much do you spend doing that? Where do you eat? Do you eat at expensive restaurants daily? You should stop that or at least reduce it if not, you’ll not be able to save anything.
Pay off your debts little by little
I once had to pay off a one thousand dollar ($1000) debt. Believe me, it was really hard for me that year. One thing I finally realized is that I don’t really have to put all my money into repaying the debt.
I called my creditor and explained things to him. I let him know that, as much as I knew that I was indebted to him, I couldn’t keep up with the amount I had to pay him monthly as it was draining me.
We reduced the monthly payment, I was still paying, but reduced the payment by half so that I could use the money I was earning for something more meaningful. Although it took me the entire year to fully pay off the debt, it was actually less stressful.
When you cut down on how much you have to pay to your creditor—with proper negotiation—you will realize that you actually have some more money to spare and save.
Old for new
Yes! Exchange the old stuff for new ones instead of stocking your house with appliances. I had this small tabletop fridge that wasn’t working as well as I’d want it to, I wanted a new one but I didn’t want it to tear my budget apart.
I realized through a friend that I could actually sell that through an online store like eBay, or to a second-hand store close to me. I opted to sell it and got half the price of the new one from the sale.
By doing that I had saved half of the money I would have spent on the new fridge. What are you trying to buy? Maybe it is something you need, you probably already have something like it before and want new ones, why don’t you trade them off for the new ones? You’ll be happy to know that you were able to get some extra cash out of it.
Invest the little you have saved
A lot of people may disagree with this, they believe that you need to have hundreds of thousands or millions in order to invest. While that would actually give you a higher return, it shouldn’t stop you from investing the little you have.
Investing your little money in another business helps you to earn other profits, and reduce how much of your current wage or salary that you spend.
It is totally satisfying to know that there is money waiting to be yours at the end of the time, months or years, depending on the terms of the investment. And to know that you didn’t have to do your usual job to get it is an awesome feeling.
Conclusion
In conclusion, using these tips for saving money on a tight budget may seem impossible in your first few months of giving it a try. As the months go, and your savings grow, you would realize that you have more money now that you don’t even need and you would be eager to know how much it could become in a few more months. You just have to try it.
Other money saving tips you might find interesting:
- How to Simplify Your Budget
- How Your Household Budget Helps You Save Money
- The Best Wedding Reception Venues For Your Budget
- Clothes Shopping on a Budget
- How Your Household Budget Helps You Save Money
- How to Build Your Stockpile within Your Budget
- Planning For A New Baby On A Small Budget
- How To Feed Toddlers On A Budget
- 8 Tips For Stretching Your Summer Food Budget
