We’ve compiled a list of easy tips and tricks you can use right now to help save money this summer
Summer is coming and we want to enjoy it to the fullest we can, and that means not having to worry too much about saving money. We could all benefit from saving a little extra cash, so here are 4 easy tips and tricks you can use to help you save money.
Track your spending
An easy way to get started saving is to track your spending. Whether it’s in a journal, or a spreadsheet on your laptop, even just writing down how much you spend every day or every week can help you start to pick up on the areas you’re spending the most when you don’t need to. Living day to day you might not notice how much you’re spending, but seeing it all written down in one place in front of you can help you strategize your savings, and it’s a really easy way to start budgeting.
The 30-Day Rule
When people think about saving money, they probably think about reducing impulse purchases as one of the first things to do. But how exactly do you do that?
A 30-Day Rule is a spending tool that means you push off all non-essential purchases for 30 days. This way instead of spending money, you can think for 30 days about whether you want or need the item and that you don’t get stuck losing money on something you bought impulsively but don’t use.
Meal Prep
Meal prep is often billed as a time-saving strategy, but it’s also a good way to save you money. Preparing meals in advance and storing them for later in the week guarantee that you’ll always have something to eat, so you can avoid defaulting to ordering in when you don’t know what to make. The $7 fast food trip might not seem like much, but they add up when you rely on the convenience. Having premade meals to fall back on help dodge those costs. Meal prepping also means that you can buy some foods in bulk for cheaper, and it also helps you get fuller use out of those groceries so you don’t have to buy more when things go bad.
Cut down on subscriptions
This one is less about eliminating things, and more about carefully choosing which ones you keep. If you’re watching an episode or two of your favorite show on Netflix every night then that’s a worthwhile subscription to keep. But there are plenty of services online these days, beyond streaming platforms, that require a subscription to access. Whether it’s a delivery service or a design tool, we’ve all signed up for something when we needed it, only to still see it on our credit card bills months after we stopped using the service. Cutting out these extra expenses is a great way to passively save.
