With prices going up worldwide, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to save or make more money if you weren’t already. You can do a lot to increase your savings, and you should be actively trying to cut down the waste in your life. Prices are going up, and while it might not affect you right now, it would be sensible for you to pay attention to them.
It’s not just about saving money for when you need it, but learning new ways to live comfortably, no matter your financial situation. If you’re going to get through difficult financial times, it’s best to learn how to be flexible with how you spend your money. Financial security isn’t always guaranteed, so it’s best to be careful and keep an open mind.
Making safe investments
If you’re currently in a position where you have some savings put to the side for a rainy day, there could be some ways to expand upon them so that they’re much bigger when you need them. Investing in your savings could increase their value of them significantly, but you need to be careful with how you do it. Of course, there are plenty of investments you could make to see huge returns, but safety is important when putting your savings down. You don’t want to invest in something that’s going to have the potential to lose you money.
A good investment you could make, for example, would be into your home. The money you invest into your home will be coming back to you later on, so investing in changes that could raise the value of your property is a good place to start. Not only is it a lower-risk investment, but you get to live with the new changes until you sell your home.
Find out where you’re wasting
A great way to make sure you’re not leaking money is to look into the areas where you could be wasting money. If you’re going to properly track where you’re losing money, you need to work on a system that lets you track your earnings and your spending. Start writing everything down, and log your transactions. It can seem complex at first, but once it’s all down on paper, you’ll find that it’s quite easy to see where you could cut back on your spending. It’s always good to have this system in place, just in case you’re spending unnecessarily without being aware. Evaluate things like your entertainment budget – do you have Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney, Apple TV+ etc.? Could you perhaps do without, even for a month?
A lot of the time, we buy things that we don’t need or want, but because we’re convinced we need them. A prime example of this would be food shopping. There are many people who often overstock their refrigerators and freezers without using everything that they’ve bought, and end up throwing away a lot of what was bought. Check you’re not throwing out too much food each month, and if you are – reevaluate your shopping habits!
If you do think your kitchen is a bit full at the moment, see if you can go a week without doing a food shop and use up the items in the freezer or in the back of cupboards that might otherwise have been ignored and thrown away 6 months down the line.
Cutting electricity costs
Your electricity bill might be something that you’re used to, but there’s a chance that the number you’re used to paying is a result of wasted energy. We all have appliances that we need, and it would be asking a lot to go without them – but you can still cut down on their energy usage. Making sure you switch off your appliances when you’re not using them can make a significant change in your electricity bills.
You should also consider that some appliances are more energy-efficient than others. Newer lightbulbs, for example, are far more energy-efficient than the traditional ones that your home might still be fitted with. Not only are they more energy-efficient, but they shine much brighter and for longer. Think about the things in your home that you use the most, and consider switching them out for a more energy-efficient alternative.
Then there are also investments like solar panels. Having solar panels on your home can help you be much more energy-efficient, and while being a large initial investment – it can save you money.
Share your subscriptions
Nowadays there are subscription services for everything. Subscriptions for your TV service, subscriptions for education, subscriptions for music, and subscriptions for games! There are far too many things to subscribe to, and it’s easy to find yourself paying hundreds every year just to enjoy your free time. It’s ridiculous once you start to add them up, especially if you’re only using one subscription just to watch one show that’s not available on the others.
You could cut these costs significantly by sharing your subscription accounts among others in your house. If there are other people who have accounts with the same services, try suggesting that you share an account and split the money for it. Even if you can only share a few accounts, it will make a difference in your bank account.
Money-saving subscriptions
Although there are far too many subscription services out there, there are a few that can actually save you money. Of course, unless you’re actively benefitting from a subscription service, it’s not worth having, but there are cases where you could save money on a daily or weekly basis. If you’re often using Amazon to pay for things and have them delivered, you could be wasting a lot of money on delivery fees. These fees are covered if you pay for the Amazon Prime subscription, as well as giving you the option of faster deliveries to your home.
You should always make sure you check on your current subscriptions, as it’s easy to forget about them and just have the money charged out of your accounts automatically. If you’re no longer using something, you should cancel it immediately and come back when you know you want it again. This happens often with free trials that require you to put your payment information in, and you could lose a lot of cash without ever getting the benefits of it. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a refund if you cancel the service not long after getting charged.
Start your own side hustle
If you have the spare time, you could start putting together a second income from things you’re knowledgeable of. You can sell anything if you know how, and knowledge is pretty valuable. If you have any skills that you can share with others, it can be a great way to make some money on the side. There are many people who take their knowledge and skills online to create structured lessons for those willing to pay. Sites like Skillshare are a great example of this, and you could find some extra income for you there, too.
Some people even take their hustle a bit further and create something more from it. Creating a business from your side hustle can be a great opportunity for more income, and you could consider it if it’s successful.
Consider walking or public transport
If you work far away from your home, it can be hard to justify trying to walk there, but there are many trips that don’t require the help of a vehicle. If you usually take your car everywhere you go, you could be wasting a lot of your money on gas, as well as leaving a bigger carbon footprint without needing to. Sometimes you might find it better to walk or take a cheap mode of transport instead. If you only have a short journey to make, walking or cycling can help you cut the costs, and you could use it as an opportunity to explore.
Public transport is another option that many can choose, and in many cases, it can be cheaper than car ownership. If public transport is enough to get you everywhere you need to be, a car isn’t so necessary if you’re tight on cash. You can usually save money by buying something like a railcard for the year – although it’s only worth it if you’re going to use it often and frequently.
Stop hoarding
We’re growing and developing as individuals every day, and naturally, that’s going to lead to us getting tired of the things we own. You can’t keep everything you’ve ever bought, and it might be time to start looking into getting rid of some of those things. There are many who get stuck with the idea that once something is gone that they’ll never be able to get it again – and while that might be true, it’s not as important as you may think. Unless something you own has some kind of sentimental value, it’s not worth holding onto it when you no longer want it.
Getting rid of some of these things you no longer want is a great way to quickly and easily free up some of your cash. Of course, not everything is worth selling, but there are many things you can get a decent amount of money for. All you need is an account and a phone or camera to take pictures with, so that you may show others what you’re trying to sell.
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