Thanks to my wife for inspiring me to write this article on Tips to Save Money. It’s Recession Time folks and Every Rupee saved is Rupee earned. To save money is not a Science but an Art. The irony of life is that once you reach certain lifestyle then you cannot compromise on same at any cost. With increase in disposable income, Lifestyle changes.
Now you must be wondering how to save money without compromising much on lifestyle..Very much possible, let’s go through following 7 Tips to save money during recession for rainy days
Buy only what you need
Impulse shopping put a major hole in your pocket e.g. last month, me & my wife went for a weekly grocery shopping. In our list, only 5 items were mentioned but we end up buying 28 items & a bill of Rs 3400. To save money, its imperative that we buy what we need. Trust me, we will write what we need and rest all is waste. Supermarkets and Hypermarkets are biggest culprit. I wrote an article sometime back Avoid Shopping at Supermarkets or Hypermarkets
Shop Online
I was planning to buy shoes from quite sometime. I visited company owned store of one of most popular international brand. A pair of shoe was costing Rs 4500. Somehow, i could not find that much worth. I decided to conduct a little search on pricing part and was quite shocked to find same pair of shoes for Rs 3000 online. The online store was offering Rs 500 discount on 1st purchase of Rs 2500 or more and Rs 1000 discount on Shoes. This is not 1st instance, i shop online only and save upto 30% on all purchases. To save money, online shopping is best way to shop.
Avoid Late Payment Penalties
Pay all your Bills, Credit Card Bills etc on time. I have seen some of my friends always end up paying 10% extra due to late payment. Penalty is more in case of Credit Cards. By paying on time, not only you will save money but also enjoy good credit score. If you tend to forget last payment date then sign up for Bill Payment Service.
Avoid Wastage
In any house hold there is a wastage of between 15%-20% of monthly expenses. The wastage is in terms of food, electricity and water. With little attention this wastage can be cut down to 5%-8% thus resulting in savings e..g switch off lights when not required, cook food as per requirement or use waste water from purifier for mopping etc. You may cut down your communication expense by using Skype, Whats App, BBM or Line Messenger. Also depending on your usage, you may opt for discounted tariff plan.
Enjoy Movie during weekdays or Matinee Shows on weekends
The movie ticket during weekday/matinee show is available at 50% discount compared to weekend evening shows. Unfortunately everyone prefer watching movie during weekends. If we slightly tweak our schedule then we can save 50% expenses under this head.
Luxury can wait
Cut down on luxury expenses like Foreign Trips, New Car, 5 Star Dining, Villas or high end mobile phones. It is emotional topic so will not touch upon more on this :). You can take a call after consulting your wife :)
Save before you Spend
If you will plan to Save after Spending then it will never happen. Its important to Save before you spend. It is advisable to save minimum 25% of your salary e.g. if your salary is 1 Lacs per month then pls put 25k in separate account or best option is to open online Recurring Deposit of 25k per month. Another easiest way to save money is to set a goal & start saving to achieve the goal e.g. you can target to invest 3 lac in gold after 9 months then start saving accordingly to achieve the goal. It is easy to save money linked to goal.
Hope these tips will be useful. You are welcome to give your inputs/suggestions through following comments section.
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