How to save money for everything: 7 Practical tips

Saving money doesn't take a lot of skill, but you definitely need to have some determination. You're trying to save money on your dream house for a holiday, college, new car or down payment, you need to commit. As I explained in my recent article saving on a tight budget, the process involves making changes to your daily routine in order to incorporate cost-saving techniques, and let me warn you that sometimes this may not be fun. But it will be a worthwhile task in the bigger money-saving scheme. It allows you to collect enough money to restore your life to normal in the short term. You can make this a permanent fixture in your lifestyle over the longer run, so you can maintain this practice throughout your life.

1. List all your monthly expenses

It is essential that you know how to draw a line between essential and non-essential expenditure before you can save any money at all. To learn that, you begin by listing all your spending on money and separating it into two columns; the first is on essential spending, and the next is your non-essential spending. Be totally objective about it. You may not like the monthly payment on your mortgage or utility bills, but these are examples of essential expenditure. On the other hand, it is possible to classify cable TV subscription as non-essential.

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2. Get rid of things that aren't essential

Check the column that lists non-essential items, you're bound to find things where payments are made on a regular basis, but somehow you know you don't use them on a regular basis. Your financial situation does not allow you to explore ways to optimize their use. Make a resolution to cut it completely out of your expenditure as you identified these items, at least until your financial situation begins to change. Other examples include gym memberships (when you last entered the gym a year ago) and cable bills (you're too busy trying to find money and haven't watched any TV in the last couple of months). Meanwhile, give them all a pass.

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3. Look for cheaper options

It may be impossible to strike them all off the list as much as they are called non-essential items. Find ways to cut back on what you actually pay for them in that case. You can look for an alternative service provider, for example, that offers more competitive pricing plans. Check if there's a cheaper subscription out there for your cable TV. You may want to drop the landline for your communications media and just rely on your daily communications cell phone. These are some of the sure steps you can take to save money from fire.

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4. Negotiate Your Bills

So far, things are getting fine. You consolidated all of your spending and decided to cut some of the unnecessary spending. Your next task is to review these items and assess whether any of them can be negotiated. They may include cable TV, internet, and bills for telephones. Given the many service bundles they offer, you will be surprised by the service providers ' willingness to open a negotiation. There are all these bundles in the public domain. The internet is the best place to start, and you can check it out, not only from your current service provider, but also from the competition. You can make substantial savings if you do a good job here.

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5. Compare Grocery Shops

People simply don't look hard enough at ways to cut spending on food. My experience shows that the best way to save on grocery shopping is to find out which food products you can easily and cheaply access. Make a list of the typical foods you buy and write down which stores provide the best price for individual items. Keep making the comparison to pay the lowest possible price for any specific items at any point in time. Never spend any more than the minimum price! Weekly grocery fliers could be a good source to save you a lot of money as you find out if the items you are selling are the things you need. Also, make a conscious effort to replace generic items with brand names. Another good idea to save money quickly is to buy a coupon. All these are proven ways of quickly saving money! Start eating more at home and stop eating out altogether if possible to complement these measures. Of course, you can also expand this to other categories.

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6. Take Extreme Actions When it Necessary

If you need some real money quickly, instead of some of the more gradual ways suggested above, you may need to resort to a more drastic plan. All non-essential expenses should be stopped immediately. Granted, the home won't be the same without your cable TV operator's blockbusters. But in this extreme time, a quiet home may be what you desperately need. If you find it difficult to make your car payment, get rid of it and find a cheaper car more aligned with your budget. If it is not an option to find a cheaper car, find alternative modes of transport. You need to consider carpooling and public transport as two great alternatives.

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7. Shop Smarter

This may sound trivial, but with your shopping you just need to be smarter. The online world is full of super deals and discounts that you can benefit from. Keep an eye on the sales taking place around you and on the internet, they are your best chance to find essential items at discounted prices like new clothes. Thrift stores and yard sales are other possible sources for good bargains. If you have a real problem with spending within your means, you may need to learn to see shopping in your mind's eye as a painful exercise, which will probably trigger the right motivation for you to save some substantial money.

Right now, it's a hard time out there and you have to make tough decisions. Sure, as you step out of your comfort zone now, you will be struggling, but this offers a relatively quick way to get you out of your debt situation. The alternative is to fight for many years to come with your debt payment.