59% of adults in the United States have said that they are living paycheck to paycheck.
Are you one of them? It can be difficult to build healthy habits financially and learn how to save money every month, but it is worth it.
Living without any financial security is scary and stressful, to say the least. But you can take control and learn how to save money.
In this post, we’ll go over some money saving solutions to help you build financial habits to help lower that stress.
Keep reading to learn more.
Find Your Why
The first thing you need to do is figure out your “why”. This means figuring out why you want to get in control of your finances. Although this may seem like an unnecessary step, it is actually one of the most important.
This is because if you don’t have this answer to come back to, what’s going to keep you motivated when things get hard?
Track Your Expenses
If you don’t know exactly where your money is going, you’re going to have a much harder time stopping it. For a period of time, keep track of every dollar you spend. Including coffees, tips, bills, everything.
Once you have it written down in front of you, you may be surprised how much money is going where each month. Once you know your expenses, you can work on cutting out the unnecessary ones and creating a monthly budget to help keep you on track.
Negotiate Monthly Payments
For the monthly expenses that you can’t get rid of, consider calling the companies to negotiate your monthly payments. Some companies will be willing to work with you if you’ve been a long-time loyal customer. Others will be more willing to negotiate if you imply you’re considering their competitors.
You can include things such as your cable bill, phone bill, car payment, or insurance premiums.
When it comes to insurance, you may want to consider getting individual income protection insurance. While this may be an added monthly expense, it is worth it if something happens to you that keeps you out of work for an extended period.
Utilize Libraries
A great way to save money on your entertainment costs is to utilize your local library. The resources they offer will be different depending on where you’re located, but many offer a surprisingly large number of resources.
Libraries can give you access not only to books but to movies and music rentals and free wifi and computers to work at. Additionally, many libraries provide resources like access to language learning software, discounts for attractions like museums or the zoo, and community activities like discounted yoga classes.
They’re one of the most underutilized resources around when it comes to creating a savings plan.
Set Up Automatic Savings
If you have a hard time managing your money and making sure some goes to savings, consider automating the process.
Most banks will allow you to set it up so that money is automatically transferred from your checking to your savings account each month. Alternatively, you could set up your direct deposit so that a certain percentage of each paycheck goes directly into your savings account.
Learn How to Save Money Every Month
Taking charge of your finances is a difficult and slow process, but it is absolutely doable! Use these strategies for learning how to save money every month to help you change your financial habits for good.
For more financial insights, check out the articles in our money category.
