7 Tips for Smart Saving Money

Saving money can be tough, especially around Christmas time and the holiday season, when expenses seem to go through the roof. But it doesn’t need to be impossible. Follow these 7 tips to make saving your hard earned money easy.

Budgeting

The best way to make progress is to set a goal. The same goes for saving money. Set yourself goals in the form of a budget. When creating a budget, set goals for how much you would like to save from each pay, but make sure you’re leaving enough for any monthly repayments and necessary purchases, including day-to-day expenses.

Don’t forget to leave yourself some wiggle room; it’s okay to allow yourself a little extra in the budget for entertainment, new clothes or a night on the town here and there – just make sure you’re still achieving your savings goal.

Keep Track of Every Cent

Try keeping a diary of all your daily spending. This will allow you to uncover any bad habits and see any room for improvement. It will often highlight just how much money goes to unnecessary expenses and can be great motivation to show you just how much money you could save if you’re a little more careful with your cash.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Another great idea for saving money is to keep it in a separate bank account, or a sub-account. This will mean that you avoid the old “one step forward, two steps back” trap when trying to save up. If you can’t easily access or view your savings while you’re out and about, it’s so much easier not to spend it.

Get Your Debt under Control

For many people, out-of-control debt makes it almost impossible to get ahead and save any money. Monthly repayments can become unmanageable. With many different payments coming out at different times of each month, it’s easy to lose track, and when you forget a payment or your payment bounces, you’re stuck with a late fee, piling onto your existing debt.

Often, smaller loans like credit cards or car loans, charge high interest rates and make it even more difficult to gain any ground while saving. That original purchase is now costing you much more in interest and fees that you wanted it to.

But there’s a lot of help available to get your debt under control, and talking to a professional can often be the best available move towards increasing your nest egg. They can offer many options, from exploring alternatives to bankruptcy, to help with debt consolidation loans. Make sure you contact a reputable provider to ensure you’re getting the best possible financial help. A great option would be Fox Symes, who are Australia’s largest debt solutions provider and have many options and industry contacts to utilise in getting you the best possible assistance.

Shop Around for the Best Deals

Of course it goes without saying that when you’re saving, you should try hard to find the best price for any purchase. There’s more you can do though, than searching for sales while shopping.

Don’t be afraid to haggle for better deals yourself, and push for cheaper bundled prices if you’re buying several items from one outlet. You should also contact any service providers you’re currently already using to make sure they are giving you the cheapest price you can get. For example, if you’ve got insurance, call up and let them know you’re shopping around exploring cheaper options. If you’ve got quotes from other companies, let them know the prices and they might be able to match or beat them. You’ll save money without the hassle of changing providers.

With these tips in mind, why not set your new year’s resolution now? Save big for the year ahead and get your debt under control. Give them all a go and watch your bank account grow.

About the author: Tara is a business and personal finance writer from Brisbane, Australia. She provides these seven tips to help people save more money and if you are struggling with multiple debts, Tara recommends Fox Symes loans for debt to get you back on track.