Are you feeling sad and upset that you can’t go shopping?Are you eating Ramen noodles and mac and cheese almost every day? This means it is time to start saving a few bucks! Sometimes when people think of saving Money, they think of a having budget. With a few tips you don’t need an official budget, but it all comes down to shopping smart and having self-control.
It’s hard for people to go shopping without buying just one thing: whether it’s shoes, a shirt, a dress or even food. It’s a fact that the average person spends most of their money on food like grocery shopping or just eating out all the time. Now I can show you a few tips to save yourself some money without putting too much work into it.
When you go to a mall, or go anywhere that has stores, a great thing to do is leave your debit and/or credit card at home and take only ten dollars with you as your emergency money. It’s tempting to shop, but when you know you need to save money for other important items like books, rent, groceries, or tuition, window shopping becomes your best friend. Ladies(and some men) love to shop!
When you go grocery shopping, buying brand name products can become very expensive, so you have to choose wisely. Sometimes living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be expensive! You can buy whole wheat pasta that can be from a generic brand. You can also buy generic mayo, ketchup without high fructose corn syrup but you have to be on the lookout for savings. Brand name products doesn’t always mean better!
Another way to save a few bucks is if you cut a few coupons before you go out to shop. I’m not telling you to go to extreme couponing measures (unless you are into that) to save money, but coupons really do help you save money and in the end the savings adds up. Another good solution is to save the amount you saved from the coupons and put it into a piggy bank. In about four months or more you can check your piggy bank and count everything you have saved. That is just from the savings from the coupons, but if you add more loose change and random dollar bills it helps a lot.
Last but not least, you can open up a savings account with your bank. Most banks have student accounts that let you open a checking and savings account free of charge and they don’t charge you any fees at all. All you have to do is enroll in a community college or a university and they’ll let you open an account. A savings account will let you save the money that you do not want to spend at the moment because you want to save it for rent, supplies, house essentials etc. The money you need to spend would be put in your checking account. It is amazing what a savings account can help you do!
This seems like a lot of work but it really isn’t that much work once you start. When you want to be careful with your money, you will do anything to save. Books, tuition, rent, food, school supplies, and other stuff adds up, so at the end of the day you want some extra cash just for yourself so that you can go watch a movie, go to dinner, or a theme park. When you save money it’s for your benefit and it’s satisfying knowing how to shop smart and knowing how to accompany a friend to the mall without spending a dime. Sometimes it’s easier said than done but once you do start, it becomes easier.