Budget Effectively- 7 Practical Ways To Save Money Everyday

One of the core skills that we use every day is knowing how to budget effectively. However, as with many such important things, this is a competency that many of us don’t develop early enough in our lives. There isn’t any age too young to learn how to manage our money. If you struggle with budgeting your income or simply want to know a few practical tips to save a bit more daily, this article is for you, my friend.

Creating a budget is the starting point of having a great financial plan. Do you want to save money for that dream vacation or want to upgrade your car? But find it difficult to do so with your income? Fret not, this is precisely where budgeting will help you achieve your goals. And even if you do not have some grand plans ahead, it is always good to have a saving strategy in place for your future.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

The 50/30/20 Rule of Successful Budgeting

Following the simple 50/30/20 rule is one of the surest ways to have a workable budget. This rule asks to allocate the monthly after-tax income in the following way- 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings.

Now, this has been proven to be not only simple but also a very effective way of managing money. This can also be tweaked to suit your individual needs. Maybe it makes more sense for your family to put 60% in wants and 20% in needs. Even then you will have a sustainable scheme in place.

If you want to know more about the 50/30/20 rule, here is a detailed article for further reading.

Before You Start To Budget Effectively

So you have decided that you need to make changes to your financial habits. That’s excellent. However, before you start off with full enthusiasm, there are a few things that need to happen or else you might fail to stick to your plan. Here are the three most crucial aspects of being able to budget successfully-

Commitment– This is the first step of making any major life change. You have to be committed to the idea of overhauling your financial life. It will not be comfortable. But then again that is what change is.

Mindset– Along with the commitment you will need to undergo a transformation of mindset. You cannot expect different results with the same outlook. To have a successful budget that allows you to save more, you need to first get into the right state of mindfulness about money.

Buy In– If you are doing this alone then this doesn’t apply to you as much. However, if you have family or a partner or anyone who will be directly affected by the changes you make then you should definitely have their buy-in. Starting this endeavor means undergoing some significant changes in lifestyle. And if the other person(s) are not aligned with it as you are then chances of success reduce.

Now with those three things out of the way let’s take a look at 7 practical tips that will help you save more.

7 Practical Ways To Save Money Everyday

1. Start With Writing Things Down

Before everything, make it a habit to write things down. Once you put the thought in writing, it gets a certain validation. Also, you will have a concrete and tangible guide to return to.

Simply start outlining your monthly expenses and the allocation next to them. Leave some budget for unforeseen expenditures as well. You can use a regular notebook or get a financial planner that is targeted for this purpose.

2. Streamline Your Expenses

Take a look at all the places that you are spending money at. I am sure that all of us can find expenses that we can do without. Find those out and start curtailing them. This process of streamlining also makes you take a long hard look at your needs vs wants.

3. Meal Prepping For The Win

Time and again I have written about the many advantages of meal prepping. Here is another one. So a major chunk of our monthly budget goes into our food. With the busy lives that we have, it often so happens that we get takeout or eat out. Now, in this present economy, this can prove to be a very dear habit. However, with a little bit of pre-planning, you can bring down this expense considerably. What is more, you can also start eating healthier this way.

Allocate one day of the week to meal plan for the week. Store your meals in portioned, ready-to-go boxes, and then grab and go for the rest of the week.

Check out these Meal prep tools and gadgets that are extremely useful and will save you quite a bit of time.

4. Reuse And Recycle

In this era of rising environmental consciousness, knowing how to reuse and recycle is an important life skill. It also comes with the added benefit of being kind to our pockets.

So find opportunities to reuse and recycle things whenever possible. Even if it’s that old cabinet at your parent’s place that they want to throw away. Take it home and give it a fresh coat of paint and voila! You have something renewed and handmade. What’s more, such things also become interesting conversation starters at your next house party. Maybe you can inspire a friend or two as well.

5. To Buy Or Not To Buy

This one goes out, especially to the impulsive buyers amongst us. The simple decision to rent instead of buying can potentially save hundreds, even thousands of dollars down the line. Some examples where renting makes more fiscal sense than buying are as follows-

For a house, it perhaps makes sense to rent over buying when the mortgage is higher than you can afford. Or when you will probably stay at a place for a short, pre-determined amount of time.
For things that you will probably use once, definitely rent. This can include a range of items, from a tux for an evening to a piece of machinery needed for DIY house remodeling.
Nowadays there are rental services for baby gears while on vacation. These can be especially useful if you do not want to buy a particular item just for traveling.

6. Use The Power Of Cashback

Let’s just admit it, cash backs are amazing. And when you are on a mission to budget your money optimally, you must take benefit of this nifty little thing.

Check out credit cards with cashback offers best suited to your needs. For example, my husband has chosen a card with more returns on gas, travel, and eating out while mine is more inclined towards groceries and general purchases. It works wonderfully for our family. Find something that caters to your needs.

Another place where you can look for cashback is in various e-commerce apps. They have promotional and seasonal schemes often and those are quite easy to take advantage of.

7. Learn To Negotiate

Negotiation skills aren’t only for the boardroom. In fact, knowing to get the best worth of your money is a key budgeting tool. Learn to negotiate while buying whenever possible. This is especially applicable while buying items like insurance policies or employing labor. Be wary of not overpaying. Shop around and take time to compare so that you can get what you need at the best price.

Take Time To Educate Yourself

Personal financial management isn’t something that you can learn overnight. It takes time and patience. However, once you start, even with baby steps, the results are immediate. It takes discipline to charter this path. But in the end, you will be doing this for yourself and that is enough to keep you going.

This is one of those areas in life where knowledge is power. So along with learning how to budget, I strongly recommend that you take some time to educate yourself financially. It will not only help you to save more but also allow you to make better use of your money. Read articles, watch financial news, and get books from your local library on this topic.

After all, knowledge is the real power!

Peace.

Do you have any related experience or story to tell? Please share in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.

Please follow and like us: