Even if you constantly change your spending tactics, it is possible to have significant success in saving. Olga Sabitova, a financial analyst, told socialbites.ca what techniques can help save on everyday routine expenses.
According to the expert, the first step in analyzing how much money is spent and for what purposes is to create an expense statement.
“Maybe, in principle, you can immediately turn off some non-essential expenses. Then it is worth analyzing all the expenditure items step by step,” he said.
Cooking at home instead of using food delivery services will also help you save money.
“Overall, cooking at home can safely reduce the usual monthly cost of meals by two, sometimes even three times. You can also save a lot on coffee – many people buy 1-2 cups a day in cafes and spend 300-600 rubles a day. In five working days you spend about 3,600,000 rubles on coffee and 14,400 rubles per month. Calculate how much you will save if you brew coffee at home or in the office, ”the financier explained.
Another expense item that can be corrected is transportation and personal vehicle.
“If you have a car, you may wonder: Is it always necessary to drive it? Sometimes in fine weather you can walk on a day off and save on gas and paid parking. Taxi journeys can be replaced by public transport. It will certainly be cheaper and sometimes faster. Trips for short distances are beneficial for the taxi driver, but not for you – this is a feature of tariffs, ”she explained.
Also, banks now offer many options for getting cards with various repayment options, giving you the option of “favorite categories”. For one card it can be “gas stations” and “entertainment”, for another “pharmacy” and “Internet shopping”.
“Follow the discounts in your favorite stores. We don’t always need something right now, we usually plan the purchases in advance. For example, summer clothes are best bought from December sales, and winter clothes from July sales,” advises the expert.
In principle, when you go shopping in any store, make a list and only buy what is listed there. If there is something “pulled”, but this item is not in the list, take a break for 2-3 days. Financier Sabitova stressed that they will usually “let you go” if this is not needed.
“Actually, every method should be tailored to you – maybe an extra cup of coffee at a cafe will make you happier, so it totally pays off. Then save on something else – the most important thing is continuity and discipline. For motivation, you can save the saved funds in a separate account – you will also earn interest. In this way, you will see how nice it is to save and spend it for higher purposes than taxi or pizza delivery,” he concluded.
Formerly socialbites.ca Wrote about ways to save money during the summer holidays.