Tips on saving money

@ayeeesha (1127)
Philippines
March 16, 2013 6:51am CST
My husband and I love to eat out, watch movies and shop. But with the increase in the prices of goods plus the economy not doing so well, we both decided to start to live a simple life and save. After all, spending too much on unnecessary stuff won't do us any good and won't even help in increasing our bank account. So instead of eating out, we cook a delicious meal at home. Its healthier and less expensive. We also strictly stick to our budget and we don't bring our daughter to the grocery because she has a tendency to get anything she wants. We also limit spending too much on clothes and shoes especially when we don't really need it. How about you friends? Share your money saving tips! :)
4 people like this
11 responses
• India
16 Mar 13
Hi Ayeesha. Well you are very right. Saving is a very important in ones life. But what you are doing is just reducing your expenditure. It is not exactly saving. Most of the people are usually confused between these. You can follow my blog if you want to excel in personal wealth management. Though the blog is new and has only 3 posts so far. I am going to continue it from this week. And I can assure you that it will be a great help to all of you. Have a nice day !! SuperShames
• India
16 Mar 13
Hi ayeesha. Well in that case, do you keep record of everything. You know that you can be at least 20% richer than what you are if you keep track of your money. And by the way can I ask you on where do you deposit the money that you want to save for your daughter's future??
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
17 Mar 13
I'll try listing our expenses from now. At least we'll have an idea on what should be eliminated :) we have savings account and time deposits from various banks. We're thinking of investing in mutual funds also.
1 person likes this
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
16 Mar 13
Hello supershames! Well, we make it a point to stick to our budget and whatever's left will be deposited to our savings account. That's why we try so hard to reduce our expenses to make sure we have something left in our pockets. Every now and then, we deposit a sum of money for our daughter's future use :)
1 person likes this
@else22 (4317)
• India
16 Mar 13
I highly appreciate the way you and your husband have been dealing with the continuously growing prices.I too follow the same ways.In stead of eating out,I prefer to eat at home.Home made foods are nutritious and cheaper than what we eat at hotels and restaurants.We too have made it a point to curtail our desires and found that this has saved a lot of our hard earned money.We now buy cloths only when the older ones get unusable any longer.Apart from this,we are teaching our kids to curtail their desires and spend their savings only on the things without which they can't do.
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
16 Mar 13
Home-cooked meals are much better. We just get recipes from the Internet then cook it. Its also a way for my husband and I to bond :)
@else22 (4317)
• India
16 Mar 13
You are right.Home cooked meals strengthen the bond between husband and wife and between all members of the family.
@peavey (16936)
• United States
17 Mar 13
You've got lots of good tips already! Some of the things I do include food shopping only after a meal so I'm not hungry, cut my own hair, mend and maintain things around the house so they'll last longer and keep the car parked as much as possible. Buying clothing and household goods at thrift shops is a good way to save money. They sometimes have new things for very little and the better ones are clean, neat and organized. Drink water instead of soft drinks, liquor, tea or coffee. Cutting costs is one of those things that it seems like no matter how much you learn, there's always another way to save a little more.
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
17 Mar 13
I do that in restaurants. Instead of getting soda or juice, I always ask for water. At least I don't have to pay for something with too much sugar on it. And I do wish I know how to cut my hair because a trip to the salon can be costly at times. Thanks peavey! :)
@jricky1 (6800)
• China
16 Mar 13
What i know one tip is that do not buy things you don't need really.Thus you can save some money otherwise we'll wasted it.lol,we always attracted by things that we don't urgent to buy so i can understand why we need to do that.Anyway,it is helpful to our life.Isn't it?
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
16 Mar 13
Of course. We are easily attacted to material things that we seldom asks ourselves if buying a certain good is necessary or not. Until later on, we'll realize that we bought is not even worth it.
• India
16 Mar 13
Hey Ayeeesha, I am very happy for you that you are being prudent in spending. But I would like to say a word which you already know, Being prudent is sensible but there try to make the most of this life. Live your life every day and enjoy every moment. Coming to me in terms of how I save. Every month depending on my income I plan a fixed expenditure and try not to cross unless it is unavoidable. As money saved is same as money earned. Every month I do an analysis of my expenditures and find out areas which can be eliminated. Apart from this I always plan my big spends like buying clothing etc.. so that I do not have to spend money in huge amounts instantly.
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
16 Mar 13
Thank you gavenkatesh! :) But so far, what have you eliminated?
16 Mar 13
Great, that is a huge decision,wisdom at work.Thank God for you and your husband,keep it up,even when things get better,still cook your food and may be eat out once in a while.Cooking the way you love is always good.
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
17 Mar 13
Thanks goldenvee! :)
@maximax8 (31055)
• United Kingdom
16 Mar 13
I am delighted to hear you are not eating out anymore. Home cooked meals can be delicious and economical. I suggest only giving your daughter presents on her birthday and at Christmas time. You might be able to buy second hand clothes at a charity shop. When something is on special offer then buy a few if it won't go off or get out of date. I changed my current bank account to earn 125 pounds as a welcome. I found a high interest saving account that will last for one year with that bank. I pay my bills by direct debit and try to use lees gas to heat my home. I subscribe for free to money saving websites like Martin Lewis. Walks are free and can be very enjoyable. Well done for not taking your daughter to the grocery shop. Then you can stick to your shopping list. I check supermarket prices on-line with a site called My Supermarket. I borrow books from my local library.
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
16 Mar 13
Thanks maximax8! Its a good thing my cousin gives her daughter's clothes, which was worn only once or twice, to my daughter. Saves us money because children's clothes are really expensive (which I don't understand why) Thanks for sharing your saving tips! :)
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
17 Mar 13
Prior to my youngest daughter turning 18 and moving out on her own, we used to play a game of seeing how little we could spend each week. I've continued the game on my own and I have to say that I spend very little money that is not on necessities. I have the cheapest most basic cable/phone/internet package that there is and that is my biggest luxury. I have a trac fone for emergencies and I barely use it. it probably costs me 20.00 every 3 or 4 months ...sometimes the minutes last longer. I save all of my change in a big jug and currently have probably well over 100.00 from 2 months of saving. I turn off lights when not needed and unplug appliances that are not being used to save on electric. Like others have suggested, I do also keep track of all my spending and try to lower it each month. I only occasionally will order pizza and I can't recall the last time I ate out. Cooking at home and making good use of leftovers is another great way to save.
• Canada
17 Mar 13
If you have many different grocery stores in your area, always check out which store offers certain products the cheapest, and keep an eye out for sales. Remember that libraries can rent out movies, too, so it will be cheaper to stay in and watch a movie than to go out.
@elsino91 (440)
• Poland
16 Mar 13
These are really good steps in saving money. well done. If you really want to gain control of your money and be able to afford the things you want what you need to do is plan your spending. You need to firstly calculate exactly how much you earn each month, both you and your husband put together. You need to find out how much money you have coming in. Secondly, once you've done this, you need to list out all the things you spend your money on. If you pay rent then put rent, all the bills you pay, the average amount you spend on groceries each month, put down all the necessities to start off with. Then you need to compare the costs you incur on a typical month with the income both of you have. The basic principle of managing money is to make sure you have more money coming in then you have coming out. This means your income needs to be greater than your costs. If your costs are higher than your income there are two things you can do: a) increase your income or b) lower your costs. Its a very good money management practice to write down these incomes and expenses, it allows you to get a very clear picture of you financial situation.
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
16 Mar 13
I've never tried listing how much money we have each month less expenses. Though I always make a list before going to the supermarket. Thanks, by the way, for that input. I'll try doing that to keep track of our money and expenses. :)
16 Mar 13
Yes in today's the prices are going to increase on everything, it is so difficult to manage on Todays. Mainly when we are living in metro cities. Here is he same salary is less and expenditure are so much . Whenever i want to save money i use to avoid to go for shopping and to go on walk with friends, but still i am not able to collect enough balance.
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
16 Mar 13
The problem with living in the city? Higher cost of living. Everything else is so tempting when you're in the metro -- shopping malls, clubs, lots of recreational places. That's why its important for us to instill discipline in ourselves.