Nowadays, if you search for tips on how to save money (how to plan a budget, living on a tight budget, and so many other related topics) you'll find a lot of bloggers pointing towards amazing deals and apps or websites that give you discounts.
Upon reading a string of those posts, you feel hopeful that now you'll finally turn around your finances and start to live how you want, you feel great! - But how many times have we all been through this, time and time again, to then fall back into old over-spending habits?
Don't get me wrong, I love a good deal. But there is a personal journey that you must follow before looking into money saving tips like those.
How do you actually start on getting your finances on track?
Controlling your finances is continuous work and as such you must develop positive financial habits that enable you to actually work out your budget plan!
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Do you wonder how to actually start saving money and sticking to your budget? Are you a little bit afraid to live a life full of sacrifice? Do not worry! You do not need to stop having a social life or indulging now and then. You just need to create positive financial habits that will make you change your mindset and save!
Positive Habits will get you where you need to be 100% of the time. Be it paying off debt, saving for a trip or for University.
For any area of your life you might want to save money for, the first step will always be setting ground rules and working them into a routine - hence creating a positive habit!
Positive Financial Habits are your Key Ingridient to Sticking to your Budget
By creating the habit of shopping in a cheaper Chain-Supermarket as opposed to the more popular brands, by cutting my beauty/fashion spending, by changing brands and companies I used previously and making other adjustments to my financial strategy I have saved enough money over a few years that have allowed me to go from living in a rented bedroom with my boyfriend that we could barely afford to living in a rented spacious one bedroom apartment and allows us to live a comfortable life of minimal sacrifice.
Cutting down your expenses and finding cheaper alternatives does not mean that you have to sacrifice your social life, or your full face of make-up or your abs of steel - it honestly means you will commit to search for a more sustainable alternative - you can take that both ways: either you resign to a bleak less-quality option or you work on finding the right choice by getting creative.
The other key to sticking to your budget is to accept that you yourself have to work to be better too. You must accept that some of your habits will need to change or be planned better in order to comply with your budget.
It is one thing to know that you need to cut down expenses, but it is entirely different to be self-aware of habits that cause you to over-spend.
Popular money saving tips that you can find anywhere online include things like "don't pay the full price, look for coupons and discounts and deals" and, while it is true you can save money like that, the more important question to respond to is "Do I actually need this product".
The perfect thing about developing the habit of asking yourself if you truly need something is the time you save going over over-rated "hot deals" websites for items you do not even need or will even give much use, or, in other words, the time you save having a clear mind of your shopping needs!
You need to target the root of the problem and not just the symptom.
Start changing small things about your habits like swapping Internet Providers to a better value deal, or something smaller like shopping in a cheaper grocery store. Target impulse buys by asking yourself why you want to buy something - is it for a purpose, or is it impulse?
Understand what makes you overspend and devise a plan to control that specific problem.
For me, it is beauty and fashion (I am truly vain and like experimenting new looks every once in a while), so I set a few rules for myself to control this:
- I don't allow myself clothes from Primark unless they are specifically for work (Because I want to invest in pieces that are evergreen and fabric that has good longevity but given my line of work I know that even the best quality clothes will not last me)
- I don't allow myself to buy expensive clothes, because there is literally no need for that - I already have clothes that are perfect, why would I over-spend on another jumper?
- I put on my curating hat when clothes shopping: does this piece add value to my closet or is it going to get thrown on a shelf or drawer and forgotten
- Only go into popular stores when it’s sale season - I have lost count of all the items I purchased over time that I then found at 50% off when it came to sale season. Now I only shop at them when there is a sale - I spent 8£ on Zara on two jumpers that were £37 when they were launched.
- Keep the monthly clothes shopping to one outfit or two items (so I would by a dress + jacket, or top + bottom and stop there) - there are even long stretches of time in which I don’t buy anything, but it is a good rule to have
- Charity Shops are IT. - My friends are always super jealous of my charity shop finds, and they know these stores are the only place I buy clothes from nowadays. You can find clothes that are like new in condition for ridiculously low prices.
That is just one of many ways I allow myself to indulge in more superficial things while also keeping to my budget. Following these rules changed my mindset from "I do not want second-hand clothes" to "I truly find it ridiculous to over-spend on clothes just to keep up with fashion trends". I have saved money while keeping with my lifestyle by simply creating a new habit through a few simple rules.
This obviously means you need to work on your habits alongside your budget as one cannot go ahead without the other. I can only afford to indulge in "new" clothes because I have not only lowered the spending cap but also because I cut all my beauty spending down to my daily make-up essential - no new lipsticks or eyeshadow palettes, no trying new brands until I need an actual product, etc.
By making small changes like these, I have saved money that allowed my to stabilize my home and financial life.
Here are the general rules I follow when I'm thinking of spending money!
GOLDEN RULES I FOLLOW IN ORDER TO KEEP ON TOP OF MY BUDGET
Is Brand an indication of quality?
A false-move that many of us will make is buying something of a popular brand because, well, because of the brand. In most cases, you'll find you're actually paying a bigger price for the brand label than the actual product quality. In other cases, however, brand is indication of product quality (for better or for worse), which is why I follow the next rule.Research Everything
Make a habit out of always reading reviews before trying new brands or lines of products - knowledge is your best weapon when saving money. By knowing exactly what you need and what to look foor you can avoid spending money on items you do not actually need.Don't deny yourself a little pleasure, simply get creative on how to !
Change your weekly drinks at the pub for weekly drinks in your backyard. Change expensive dinners out for lovely and warm homemade food! Change expensive shopping trips for local market and second-hand shop purchases!Just understand what about your habits is wasting you money and plan out how to solve it while still allowing yourself to indulge every once in a while by following the next rule!Plan everything!
Plan your grocery shopping, your trips, your meals, your comutes. Plan. Planning allows you to analyse your time and your money and saves you both. If you have a clear list of items to shop you won't spend time looking through all the aisles of the supermarket and inevitably bring a thousand snacks home. Planning will also keep you on top of your expenses and not let you be surprised by any late fees.Know what you need
It is increasingly more important to be knowledgeable about what you shop. Be it because you adhered to a strict diet or because you have a health need or because you are on a budget: know your ingridients - did you know that a lot of health and beauty products that are expensive are so because they are filled with expensive ingridients you don't need? This is why I make sure to research every new product I intend on buying. Identify the main ingridient or feature you are looking for in a product, what actually makes you need this product, and then look into your pricing options.
Save this list of rules for future reference by pinning this image!
If you question your buying impulses, create positive financial habits, set rules and keep budgeting you'll be able to start thinking about hitting those monthly savings goals you've always wanted!
What works best for you when trying to build up your finances will also help you when you start thinking about filling your savings account !
How did you take action and start managing your finances?
