A good part of the year 2013 has been a testing time for the world economy. However the later part of it and the beginning of 2014 seems to have brought some relief. The world economy has started to breathe a little more freely. This global economic turmoil has definitely left some adverse effect on our individual finance. And if we were to take some lessons from the recent past we should try to be financially more disciplined. With the beginning of this New Year we should set ourselves some financial goal and strive to achieve them.
These outlined money saving tips will help you save some extra amount and stay on track:
Be realistic and set financial goals according
Don’t be too fancy, as ideally you cannot become rich overnight or pay off all your debts at once without a structured plan. Whether it is a question of small but recurring expenses or bigger plans such as buying a house you will need to tweak your lifestyle to give yourself that extra chance to succeed in your goal. So chalk out a suitable plan that you can execute without much hustle.
Be sensitive and responsible while using credit
Credit to me is just another form of financial trap. It is often seen that people get carried away while spending on credit card. Always remind yourself that it is you who will ultimately have to pay for it. The credit that you get now will have to be returned well on time to spare you the wrath of the interest rate cycle. If used judiciously this can be used to your good advantage and you can make very good use of the credit period provided you have the means to pay it off in full and well on time. Credit cards bring with it lots of offers, discounts and bonus point but that does not mean you will have to spend hugely to earn those point.
Buy only items that are genuinely required
If you have a habit of spending just for the sake of it then I suggest whenever you feel the urge to buy that lovely dress or that newly launched electronic gadget just walk out of the store. If it is genuinely required you will return or else you will give up. This is an effective way you can check your unnecessary spending.
Do not invest all your cash
Life is full of uncertainties and you may come across an emergency when you might need some hard cash. So it is always advisable to maintain an emergency fund to provide you with that liquidity.
Be Energy Efficient
This is probably the most easiest and effective way to cut on some expenditure. Most people have a habit of wasting energy which leads to inflated bills at the end of the month. Using utilities judiciously can save you a lot of extra money. Inculcate the habit of turning off lights when you leave the room, remember to power off the TV switch and not just the remote, check if everything is turned off properly before hitting the bed. This way you can save at least 2-5 units.
These small money saving efforts will not deprive you off your luxuries but can help to cut your budget, put aside some extra money for savings which in turn will help you meet short term goals and long term as well.