A little financial inspiration can go a long way to help us save where possible. Check out this article for some little-known money-saving tactics that will boost your savings annually without the pinch. You may think that you have no disposable income at all when you break down your budget but making some smart swaps is the key to making a difference.
Save Your Spare Change
Use an app like Revolut for keeping an eye on your expenditure. A very cool feature on this app is where every time you pay with your Revolut card the amount will be round up to the nearest whole number, with that ‘spare change’ then allocated to one of your selected Revolut vaults.
This is an easy way to save without really noticing. You would be surprised how much of this spare change can accumulate over an extended period.
Chop and Change
Check your insurance and utility providers annually. You may save a couple of hundred dollars annually by changing providers and availing of newcomer or retention deals. Many comparison sites do the legwork for you and it can save you a substantial amount on television, internet, telephone, insurance and electricity.
Consolidate Your Debt
Learn more about lenders near you that can provide you with information about combining your debts with a low-interest debt consolidation loan. You may have several high-interest credit card loans, medical bills and household expenses that are all paid out separately.
There are options to pay these off by refinancing your home or through a debt management plan and then just paying an all-in-one lower interest loan but some institutions offer a consolidation loan that can be very beneficial in saving you thousands in interest over time.
Pack a Lunch
And skip ordering your coffee out! This is a no-brainer. Brewing your home coffee each work morning could save an easy $30 a week. If you cannot live without your specialty coffee, it is still even cheaper to make the investment in a bean-to-cup coffee machine than to pay out the nose in a coffee house.
You would also be saving the planet in discarded coffee cups.
Eating lunch out is the same scenario. The mark-up on takeaway food is very high and often is not doing your waistline a favor either. Cut the cost (and the fat) by spending an extra 10 minutes in the morning packing you a nice lunch and snacks for the day. It’s been calculated that the average American eats out 5.9 times a week and spends on average $300 a month doing so!
The Online Shopping Rule
Online shopping is a huge downfall for certain people. It can be far too easy to spend money on impulse from the comfort of your sofa. Implementing a 24 or 48-hour rule on yourself can save you a lot of money every month.
If the 24 hours pass and you still feel you need the purchase then you can go ahead and buy it. Most of the time though, once you step back for a day or two, you will realize that the item is not necessary.
Implementing these few little-known money-saving tactics can be massively rewarding over a year. The savings made can contribute to clearing your debts faster or freeing up cash for investment.
If your income and/or time available to work is capped it is always important to take a close look at your expenditure, as this is where you can make the difference in freeing up extra money. Take the next step into financial freedom today.
