Whether you’re a parent or a young adult trying to learn how to handle your finances well and save big in the process, there are many ways to achieve better habits regarding money and spending. Many of these habits are pretty commonsensical, while some require a bit of imagination and tons of self-control to do. However, with the personal and financial benefits you stand to enjoy when you follow these things, the efforts and sacrifices will be worth it.
Here are some excellent tricks to save big on your basic needs:
- Food. Food is perhaps the top priority of anyone alive and is, therefore, one of the top things we spend a lot on. So, just what do you do to save money while eating as much as possible? Simple: plant your own food. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people realize just how important having their own food source is, especially during a survival situation. It’s no wonder why home gardening got almost an overnight boom due to the health emergency.Aside from planting the food you eat, it would help if you also ate out only sparingly. If you want restaurant-quality food, then do some research and prepare home-cooked meals instead. This will help you save several hundred dollars (or bigger, depending on how much you spend on average during each restaurant visit).
- Transportation. Why buy a brand-new wheel when you can go to a local used cars dealer and get one that still perfectly runs and has minimal issues? Not only will you be spared the trouble of breaking-in, but you’ll also spend less and have a ready means of going around. You can ask a mechanic friend or someone knowledgeable with cars to be sure that the car you’re getting won’t give you headaches and cost higher than a new one in the long run. Also, you should consider carpooling if you have neighbors or co-workers nearby. This arrangement will all help you save money and still arrive at your destination without sweating it out in public transportation.
- Shelter. Among the more common (if not the most) routes of saving money when it comes to shelter is to get a mortgage loan. A mortgage allows you to get the home that you want without paying a huge amount outright. In fact, the 2000 Census revealed that more than two-thirds of all homes are mortgaged. This makes sense, given the various benefits a mortgage can offer. So if you want to save on your shelter, a mortgage is a great way to do it.
- Clothing. Money spent on expensive clothing is not well-spent if you end up eating canned goods for the next few months. Why buy designer clothing when you can buy stylish ones that go for just a pinch of the branded item’s price? Aside from not buying expensive designer clothes, it would be best if you also went for items that are on sale. Doing some repairs and repurposing your clothing are also two other options to save big while allowing yourself to be dressed nicely. Remember what they say: sometimes, it’s not the price tag that matters, but how you carry it.
- Utilities. Environmentalists and doomsday preppers are one in saying that humanity should all consider making a complete shift from fossil fuels and other harmful and dangerous sources of power to renewable energy such as wind, sun, and water. And one of the cheapest and most readily available alternative energy sources is solar power. There are DIY solar power systems that you can buy off the shelves or order online. You should also invest in LED lighting, as well as buy appliances with high-efficiency ratings. Finally, it would help lower your monthly power bills if you schedule power-offs like turning off everything that consumes electricity for at least one hour each day.
- Education. Is it really possible to save big on education? It is! If you’re a parent, you can actually save up for your child’s education the minute your kid is born, or even before that. It would help if you also treat your savings like monthly bills that you have to settle, or else you won’t have water or electricity. This would help you treat it as a top priority to accomplish each month instead of saving whatever’s left from your monthly paycheck.
Just heed these great money-saving pointers, and you’ll surely have an easy time managing your finances from this point forward. Having the funds to spare will be important in the future.
