To help you save more over time, it’s important to shed any money-wasting habits that may be weighing your finances down. Here are the top 10 culprits that prevent people from saving and growing their money:

Signing Up For Too Many Subscription Services

Today, there is an unprecedented number of entertainment services that you can subscribe to for a monthly fee. Content-on-demand platforms, such as Netflix and Hulu, are popular subscription services that people sign up for, both of which can cost you at least $10 each per month. There are also monthly subscriptions for dog toys and treats, magazines, financial data services, etcetera. These recurring expenses, although seemingly small, can collectively add up to a hefty sum over time. Limit your subscriptions to essentials, and avoid having multiple subscriptions of a similar service.

Auto Renewing Your Monthly Plans/Services

The option to auto renew a service is convenient, but it can also lead to paying for services that you no longer need or want. Most companies will issue a refund, but it takes time and a phone call to get your money back. Auto-renewing services also leave you at risk of getting your bank account overdrawn if the payment is charged at the worst possible time. Rather than go through the hassle and stress, avoid setting your services to auto-renew at the start of each month, especially for services that you sign up for on a free trial basis.

Buying Brand Names

Another common money wasting habit is buying brand names instead of generic alternatives. Majority of generic choices that you will find at supermarkets and shopping centers are equally reliable but come at significantly lower price tags. Advertisement campaigns have convinced us that brand name products are a much better choice over generic brand names even though they are comparatively similar in quality. Do your own research as to where and how a consumer product is manufactured, what ingredients or materials are used, and how well received it is by recent customers.

Dining Out

In today’s fast-paced lifestyle, it’s become increasingly difficult to prepare your own meals and cook good food. You could chalk it up to lack of time and energy from a busy work schedule. Others reason their lack of skill in the kitchen. Dining out, however, has dire financial consequences that many people ignore. Depending on location and choice of cuisine, the cost per meal per person can range anywhere between $5 to $30. Multiply that to the number of times the average American eats out every week, which is 4, and the cost can be alarming. Rather than dine out, save money by cooking meals in bulk, parsing them into containers, and storing them in your fridge, or what today’s generation calls “meal prepping”.

Not Investing Enough

Bad habits concerning personal finances don’t always stem from where and how you spend your hard-earned cash. It may also come from your inability to grow it through passive investments over time. One of the good habits that successful people do is investing a portion of their savings into high-yielding assets, be it stocks, mutual funds, commodities, or cryptocurrencies. Rather than having your available funds sitting idly in a savings account that yields one percent each year, invest it in low-risk assets that can yield higher returns.

Overdoing Maintenance

Although it’s prudent to be on top of routine maintenance of your personal belongings, such as your car, electronics, and appliances, overdoing it can have a counterproductive effect on your personal finances. For example, if you are regularly changing your car’s oil for every 3,000 miles it clocks in, you are essentially tripling your cost over time as many cars can last for more than 8,000 miles without getting their oil changed, especially newer models that use synthetic oils. The same goes for professional carpet cleaning or frequent routine visits to your physician.

Not Haggling For Purchases

This is one of the many good habits that today’s generation seldom exercise. Since most of the shopping happens online, haggling has become a lost skill. That said, haggling is still one of the easiest ways to save money, especially when buying big-ticket items, such as new electronics, a new family vehicle, or a home. Learn the simple habit of asking for a price reduction. There is nothing to lose or be ashamed of by asking. And in most cases, you’ll get a good discount, if not some freebies thrown in at the very least.

Lending to the Wrong People

Of the many bad habits that waste money, lending to people who aren’t creditworthy is a very tricky one to avoid. You never know when a close friend or relative will ask you for a small loan to bridge gaps in their personal finances. And if you have it, the most likely reaction would be to lend them the money without second thoughts. Being blindly generous and helpful can greatly affect your ability to save money and grow your investments. Avoid being emotional when it comes to the subject of money and your circle of people. New habits to learn when dealing with this sensitive subject is to set clear boundaries and let them know that you’ll be treating the loan as a business transaction rather than a personal one and that they should do the same.

Buying Everything

Sure, there are things you wouldn’t want to buy secondhand – dining utensils, personal hygiene kit, food, pillows, etcetera. Typical consumer mindset, however, tends to waste money by buying everything brand new – car, appliances, electronics, luxury clothing, furniture, and the list goes on. Avoid this restricting mindset by acknowledging the fact that many secondhand items are still in “brand new” condition and not as dirty or sketchy as you skeptically think.

Underpaying Their Debt

Of course, it’s better not to have debt at all. But in this day and age, debt is inevitable and sometimes necessary. For instance, applying for and getting a credit card is the typical first step to building a credit score, something you’ll need to apply for loans, mortgages, etcetera. If you do have debt in your name, try to pay off as much of it in as little time as possible. Although seemingly infinitesimal, even single digit APRs can snowball into massive, money wasting debt.

Final Thoughts

You may just be guilty of one or all of these bad habits, but the important thing is to look at your finances from an unbiased and objective POV. Start building new habits that cut back on expenses and add on your money-making assets with the aforementioned tips above.

Did you ever consider that you can choose to eat healthy food and save money by doing so? Assuming you would like to eat healthier and save money in the process, let’s take a look at some things you can start doing today.

Consult with the Experts

Diet and health are two very popular topics on the New York Times Best Seller’s list. These are topics that are near and dear to the hearts of millions of Americans. The people who write books on these topics are experts in the food industry. When we say experts, we are talking about people who work as doctors or have devoted their lives to understanding nutrition.

Before you worry about saving money, you might want to first contemplate what it means to eat healthy food. To help you in that endeavor, here are a few books you might want to consider putting on your nightstand:

• “Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating” by Walter C. Willett M.D.
• “The 30-Day Ketogenic Cleanse” by Maria Emmerich
• “Food Freedom Forever” by Melissa Hartwig
• “Food to Live By” by Myra Goodman
• “Wildly Affordable Organic” by Linda Watson

Avoid Eating Out

If you are single there is a good chance you believe it’s more cost-efficient to eat out at restaurants. If you have a busy family life, choosing to eat out might be a matter of doing what’s convenient. Either way, there are two issues worthy of note about eating at restaurants regularly.

First, eating out is expensive, even for a single person. Aside from the marked up costs of the food, there are tips and transportation expenses that need to be added to the final tally. Taking everything into account, there is no way eating out is less expensive than eating at home.

The second issue involves nutrition. If we are to be honest, most restaurants fill their menus with delicious, savory meals. Unfortunately, nutritional value and health are not things restaurant management takes into account when putting their menus together. The surest way to bust a diet is to visit a restaurant that doesn’t feature a salad bar.

If you have any designs about eating healthy and saving money at the same time, you should make restaurant eating the exception, not the rule.

Avoid Impulse Buying

As you stroll through the aisles of the grocery store, you are surrounded by temptation. Everywhere you look, there is something on display that tantalizes your taste buds. It’s no coincidence that grocers put the “good stuff” front and center. It’s also no coincidence that the “good stuff” isn’t always nutritious nor is it inexpensive.

The problem is temptation makes it difficult to make it to the checkout counter without throwing in a few things that weren’t on your grocery list. You’ll find ways to justify any purchase if you want it bad enough. How do you avoid falling victim to temptation?

First of all, you need to have a grocery list if you are serious about saving money on groceries. Trying to shop without a list is like trying to drive across country without a map or GPS. You are going to get lost and getting lost is going to cost you money.

Second, you need discipline. If you have a grocery list and the discipline to abide about it, your trip to the grocery store will be organized and directed. You are much more likely to go in and find the things on the list without worrying about what else the store has on sale.

Finally, you should never shop on a full stomach. When someone is hungry, Their stomach is telling their brain “feed me.” The brain will likely react by directing the individual to impulsively pick up things to satisfy that hunger.

The Value of Meal Planning

Part of creating a grocery list involves thinking about what kind of meals you want to put together during the week. Of course, it’s difficult for anyone to anticipate what they might want to eat in four days. However, that should not be an issue for someone who is organized and creative.

To be clear, meal planning is not an easy thing to do. It requires people to think into the future and anticipate cravings. The payoff comes when putting a meal plan together results in being able to create that elusive well thought out grocery list. As we indicated above, walking into a grocery store with a solid grocery list is going to result in savings.

Eat for Health and Saving Money

Eating for health and eating healthy are two different concepts. People who make a conscious effort to control their diets and eat the right foods are eating for health. If someone goes to a salad bar, they would be eating healthy. It’s not a conscious effort, it’s just something they are doing by chance.

If you are interested in eating for health, you will need to learn a little bit about nutrition and the human body. The aforementioned books and more could help in this regard.

During your research, you will want to focus on what the human body needs. It would also be appropriate to focus on what the body doesn’t need. With those two pieces of information in hand, it will become clear what a healthy diet should look like.

After conceptualizing a healthy diet, you can start thinking about how to get the right foods without spending too much money. To be clear, organic foods do tend to be more expensive than processed foods. However, there is value in eating foods that fulfill hunger without creating more hunger later on.

Were you aware that the human body chews up carbs and bad sugars so fast that the metabolic process creates more hunger? These are some of the concepts a healthy eater needs to learn.

Here’s the bottom line. There is a science to eating healthy while being able to save money on food. With discipline and a little creativity, you can learn to eat like a king, worship your body temple, and improve your financial stability, all at the same time.

Women and men have been using coupons for years. The traditional way to get coupons is to clip them from newspapers. However, in the 21st-century, there are many more ways to obtain them. Here is a beginners guide to couponing:

Where Can I Get My Coupons?

Today you can get coupons from a wide variety of sources. These include:

• Online
• Apps
• Physical papers such as the Sunday paper
• Store receipts
• Store flyers
• Store coupon dispensers
• Store bulletin boards
• Social media groups such as on Facebook
• Sent to you from companies

Of the sources listed above, we’d like to expand on the first two:

Online:

Getting your coupons online is the most popular way to do it in the 21st-century. Online coupons are available from a wide variety of sources include at store websites, at websites devoted solely to coupons, and more. These sources provide you coupons that you can print or use directly from your smartphone.

Some notable websites are:

Printable Coupons

smartsource

Lozo

retailmenot

e-coupons

SavingStar

P&G Good Everyday

Kroger

Apps:

One of the hottest places to use coupons is with apps provided by stores. In this case, you download the store’s app on your smartphone or other devices, and then you can either print the coupon or, in many cases, use the coupon right off your phone. Stores will have machines, typically located at checkout, that allow you to place your phone on the device to get the savings.

How Do I Organize My Coupons?

When you need a coupon, the last thing you want is not to be able to find a coupon when you need one. If you need a coupon for eggs, you should know exactly where to go to find a coupon for eggs. Otherwise, you’re wasting time, and that should not be part of the goal.

For physical coupons, a coupon organizer separated by product categories, that you either buy or make, is an excellent way to organize print coupons. Categories could be dairy, meat and seafood, frozen foods, breads and pasta, canned goods, etc. You can make these categories broad, or you can tailor them specifically for your needs. Whatever you do, ensure that your categories coordinate well with the coupons you use.

Store your coupons in a binder, coupon wallet, recipe box, or a shoebox.

Organizing online coupons is not as straightforward. However, one way is to have a list of places where you get your online coupons, and then check the list as needed. This could take more time than organizing print coupons, but the savings could be substantial. If you give yourself a half-hour a week to check online coupons, that’s a good rule of thumb.

Overall, spend one to two hours per week to acquire and organize your coupons, including your online coupons. This may seem like a lot of time, but with practice, it will become an essential part of your week.

Choose the same day to do this activity every week, such as every Sunday. Always check the policy of a coupon before you store it away for use.

For example, if a coupon says, buy two and get one free, determine if that particular coupon is worth the savings. Do you need three of an item, or does it make more sense to use a coupon applicable for one item?

It helps to buy products with coupons when you are working from a list. This way, you can organize your coupons against the list, thereby saving time in the store and ensuring that you cover everything. It also helps you to be organized at the check-out. The goal of couponing is to save money, but saving money with coupons should not be an arduous task.

What Should I Buy First With My Coupons?

Start using coupons by purchasing what you would typically buy. You probably won’t save a lot of money in the beginning, but the more you practice the use of coupons, the more you’ll save.

Will Stores Honor My Expired Coupons?

Some stores will accept expired coupons if you bring your receipt. However, not every store will do that. It will depend on the store. So make sure you check the store’s policy to, once again, make good use of your time.

Will Stores Price Match My Coupons?

Price matching is when a product is listed for a price at one store, and you show another store the amount, and they give you the product at the first price. There are various ways to price match. You can show an ad from another store to the store that will price match. Some stores will match coupons, as well. Not every store will price match, but you end up saving lots of money with those who do. Also, price matching usually only works with local competitors.

When Is the Best Time to Buy Items With My Coupons?

Purchasing an item that is already on sale with a coupon is the best time to use one. For example, let’s say something typically $4.99 is on sale for $3.99. You buy it, but you buy it with a $1 off coupon. So you get the $4.99 product for $2.99.

Can You Get Rain Checks When I Use My Coupons?

A “rain check” means that you’re not getting the discount now, but you can get it later. Not every store will offer a rain check; however, if you have a coupon for a product, but the product is out of stock, it’s worth checking to see if they’ll give you the item at a discount when it’s back in stock.

Top Tips

Don’t get out of hand with couponing.

If you don’t need an item, buying it with a coupon doesn’t make sense. You’re not saving money, because it’s not an item you would buy.

Be careful with brand names.

Brand names are typically more expensive than non-brand names. Therefore, if you use a coupon with a brand name, you may not be saving money if you had just bought the non-brand names. Of course, if the brand name is of better quality, the savings could be significant.

Be willing to shop at different stores.

There may be stores where you always shop. Your loyalty to a brand is strong. However, if you find coupons that apply to another store and save you money, you should check it out. Be willing to branch out to save money!

Couponing can be a lot of fun if you are organized and have a system. You can save lots of money every week with the right approach.

Do you live paycheck to paycheck? Do you wish you had more money to spend on activities you enjoy, vacations, or more money to invest in retirement? Are you constantly buying things impulsively that you don’t actually need? Are you overwhelmed with all the “stuff” in your life? If you answered yes to most of these questions, I want to help you embark on a new lifestyle with the art of frugality.

When most people think of frugality, they just think it’s someone being cheap, stingy, not buying anything, living small, and not enjoying life. These are common misconceptions because frugal living is a lifestyle. It’s about many choices that make up a chance to change your life for the better. I will explain the basics you need to answer what is frugal living for yourself and why you should incorporate it into the way you live.

What is frugal living?

A common misconception about this lifestyle is that people are just being cheap. That is so far from the truth. It’s choosing to live a certain way, just as people choose to have children and raise families. It’s about not having the latest and greatest thing that comes out or spending impulsively. It’s thinking strategically about your money and spending wisely.

Why should you live a frugally?

Do you currently live paycheck to paycheck? A large number of people are in this situation. Imagine that a major setback happens and you cannot afford it. Living a frugal lifestyle will change all of this by making better decisions about how you spend your money. When setbacks occur or you have something you want to invest in, you will have the money available to handle the situation.

How do you benefit from this lifestyle?

“What’s in it for me?” you ask. There are several benefits to living frugally, so I’m going to give you a few of the most important ones.

1. While others will enter retirement with little savings, your new lifestyle will allow you to save for many years prior to retirement and allow you to make better decisions during retirement. While most Americans will question how they can survive on retirement savings or force them to work for years into retirement age, your decision to live frugally will make it easier for you to retire when the time comes.

2. Being debt-free is around the corner
Imagine having your mortgage paid off or not having credit card debt. While most Americans are struggling to pay off all their monthly bills, choosing a frugal lifestyle means paying off those debts sooner. Imagine logging into your checking and savings accounts and seeing a hefty balance each month.

3. A better credit score
A less debt-to-credit ratio means that your credit score will improve significantly! Higher credit scores will help you to get better rates and opportunities when applying for home loans or other big purchases.

4. More vacation time
Do you feel like you live to work rather than working to live? You’re not alone. When did you take your last vacation? When did you have to use a credit card to pay for your last vacation and how long did it take you to pay off? Living a frugal life means you will have more time to take off and enjoy trips and the means to pay for those trips without pulling out your credit card.

5. You will smile when you see your bank statement
Living a frugal lifestyle means saving more money. The more money you invest, the more the bank gives you in interest. Years of compounding interest will continue growing. Saying no to the impulse buys and adding that money to your savings will make you smile in the long run.

6. No more mortgage
How amazing would it be to pay off your home early? Living frugally means more money to invest in your mortgage which will result in paying it off sooner! Imagine not having a house payment each month and investing that money into your future. Paying off your home sooner also means you can invest in other properties or avenues to grow your nest egg.

7. If disaster strikes, are you ready?
We never know when life is going to throw a wrench into our day and also if it will be costly. If something breaks in your home, do you have money set aside to fix it? If your child is in an accident and insurance doesn’t cover all the medical bills, do you have enough money to cover them? Living frugally means having money set aside for these unexpected moments in your life and being able to handle them. What does that mean for you? Less anxiety and more control.

8. You can relax
Having enough money in the bank for the unexpected means that you can relax a little. Being able to cover events that happen in your life is a huge relief for you mentally and emotionally. Who needs the extra stress of worrying about the unexpected? You don’t. Living a life of frugality means having the control you need to handle everything in your life!

What now?

I explained what frugal living is, why you should engage in this lifestyle, and some common misconceptions. So, how can you act? There are ways that you can start living a frugal lifestyle today.

• Learn how to do projects yourself.
• Buy in bulk.
• Grow your own fruits and vegetables or find farms that will allow you to pick your own for less.
• Use the library over buying books.
• Create your own cleaners with vinegar instead of buying expensive cleaners.
• Find alternatives to expensive cable bills.
• Shop for discounted clothing at second-hand stores or buy clothes at the end of the season.
• Never, ever (I repeat) buy anything on impulse.

Finding the right balance.

If you choose to live frugally, it’s important to find a good balance between the ability to save money and spend thoughtfully and going to an extreme. When I say extreme, I just want to encourage you to not live cheaper in a way that negatively impacts your life. I will give you a couple of examples.

1. Be thoughtful about ways to save money on groceries, but don’t buy cheaper alternatives that are not healthy. Cheaper food is not necessarily better in some cases. Food manufacturers can make unhealthy food at a lower cost to you. Instead, buy food in bulk in order to save.

2. I encourage you to do projects on your own rather than hiring a contractor unless you pose a risk to yourself or someone else by doing so. There are some projects that should be left to the experts.

The main point of my examples is that frugal living can be taken to an unhealthy extreme. You want to be critical of your decisions and how they can impact your life. Be frugal, don’t be cheap.

If you’re excited to get started you can start small. Make it a weekly goal to tackle something on this list or create your own. It’s never too late to start living a frugal lifestyle. Here’s your motto to live by: live frugally is not to live cheaper. It’s so much more.

Fresh Start

To stop impulse buying, understand that this habit is actually ingrained in you from very early in your life. When you were hungry, you cried. Somebody fed you, and you felt better. Looking outside of ourselves is natural when we feel an emptiness. However, as we get older we understand that chocolate ice cream really won’t help when we’re dealing with a grumpy family member or an irate boss. Shopping also serves to fill that emptiness, about as ineffectively as chocolate ice cream.

To take better, more positive control of your life, the first step is to Stop the Meanness! Yes, you’ve made mistakes. It’s part of being human. You understand that you have a problem and you’re going to do something about it. Celebrate this strength instead of being cruel to yourself.

Skip the Budget (For Now)

The decision to set up a budget to help you control your finances will just add more pressure to the situation. One of the best tips to stop impulse buying is to set up an all-or-nothing mindset.

To create a spending plan with less stress, buy nothing at all for two weeks unless you’re completely out of it. If you need eggs, take a couple of dollars into the grocery store and buy eggs and nothing else. If you can’t, order them curbside and let someone else bring them to you.

At the end of these two weeks, you will have some extremely useful tools. You will

• have some money in the bank

• have a decent understanding of what you actually need, and

• be a lot more self aware in terms of where your money was going

Once you’re past the two week welded wallet challenge, go back to cash for everything but the bills you pay online. We’ve all opened our credit card statement and had a heart-clutch moment, shocked and appalled at what we’ve spent. If you have $50 in your wallet for groceries, you can spend $50 and then you may have to put some stuff back. No panic, no scary credit card bills.

Stock Up and Save

Now that you know that your family won’t perish if you don’t shop on a weekly or daily basis, it’s time to stock up and save. Paper goods, cleaning supplies, laundry products and toiletries can easily be stashed on a storage room shelf or under a bed. Designate a spot for stocking up, keep an eye on the sales and load up. If you get a coupon from a bulk store, put it to use.

Don’t be a hoarder; the world has never run out of toilet paper once. Just make sure that you have a spare container of your favorite brand of dish soap, laundry detergent and lotion in your stash.

Disconnect

If you have an app on your phone that tells you when something on your list is on sale, disable the app. One of the best tips to stop impulse buying is to make shopping a frustrating challenge. Forget your account password. Cancel the credit card that you saved on the app. Do whatever it takes to make your favorite method of impulse buying a giant pain in the neck.

Psychologist Shawn Anchor, CEO of Good Think Inc., points out that the path of good intentions is about 20 feet long. If you want to pick up a good habit or do something you know will make you happy, keep it within 20 feet of yourself. Bad things that make you sad need to be 25 feet away.

Use this on your favorite buying apps or with the email promoting a good sale. Do you need this product?

No, but I really want it because it will fill a void and buying it will be a rush.

Plus, I’ve been working hard not to spend and I deserve it!

See where this is going?

Ok, you can have it. You just need to

• get your credit card out of the attic or the basement where you stashed it for just such an urge

• reset your password because you purposely locked yourself out of the account, and

• buy the thing you don’t need that you think will make you happy even if you know it won’t.

Because this thing isn’t really anything you need, the fact that it will be a giant pain in the neck to purchase will make an impulse buy less likely. If you do go to the trouble to buy it, remember that you can probably return it, or even cancel it before it ships.

Get Visual

The “why” on controlling impulse spending is actually a very personal challenge. Are you trying to stop your impulse spending because you really can’t afford it? Is it because you can’t manage your possessions and you’re drowning in stuff you bought but no longer want?

If you’re working to stop impulse buying because you have a savings goal you want to meet, get a photo of the thing you want. Make sure that you don’t feel guilty about this thing. For example, if your family could never afford a vacation growing up and you really want to take your kids to Disneyland, you may feel some residual guilt for wanting something that seems frivolous. Fight this guilt by being proud of the memories you’re giving your kids. If anyone in your personal sphere is trying to make you feel guilty, take care not to share your dreams. Not everyone deserves them.

Keep a chart in your home to depict how you’re conquering your debt. Yes, you can view it on the computer. However, if it’s on paper you can act on it, color it, glue on a star sticker, whatever it takes to make you proud of each step on the path. You’re taking control of your life. Actions taken by you to make your monetary progress visible can give you the same jolt as buying something you don’t need. Control your finances and feel happy!

You Deserve Peace of Mind

You’ll have less stress when you know where your money has gone. A smart purchase of an item that will work exactly as you need it to isn’t exactly Nirvana, but such purchases can lead to a more fulfilling life. Knowing that you have enough can reduce the desire for more. When you control your desires, you own your own happiness in a way that impulse buying can never touch.

Conclusion

Owning everything you want as soon as you want it never ends. Someone else will always have something nicer, or at least a little different. You treat yourself to a blue what’s-it and are so happy it’s yours, and then you see someone else who has a purple what’s-it. Suddenly the blue one isn’t enough. You can’t buy your way to a more fulfilling life, but if you understand the source of the urge, you can manage it.

Tracking money is beneficial in the following ways:

• Helps you reach financial goals faster

• Stops you from stressing about money

• Unites the family

• Helps you to measure progress

• Helps you get your priorities right

• Save for Emergencies

1. Achieve your Financial Goals

We all have dreams and ambitions. Your goals right now may be to save for a house or renovations. Saving money is a must if you want to reach your finance goal. You cannot save money if you keep spending it all. You need discipline to save. It starts with tracking money and knowing your daily, weekly, and monthly expenses.

2. Stops you from Stressing about Money

Interestingly, most people don’t know how much money they have in their bank accounts. They’ll estimate how much they have based on expenses they can remember. Since they’re not sure if the figure is correct, they’re always stressed about money. When you track your expenses, you’ll know how much money you have in your bank account and that will give you peace of mind.

3. Unites the Family

The reason why couples don’t talk about money is because they have different opinions on how the money should be spent. They also have individual financial goals that they hope to achieve with that money. Since the money is limited, they avoid talking about it because it can lead to a fight. When you track your expenses as a couple, it becomes easy for you to understand each other. That’s because you know how much money you really have.

4. Calculate Progress

How will you know when you have enough money to buy a house if you don’t keep track of the expenses? When managing money, don’t use estimates, use accurate figures. Keeping track of your expenses helps you know the exact amount that you spend and how much you can save.

5. Get your Priorities Right

We all need food, shelter, and clothing. These are things that you will always spend money on. However, they have a tendency of morphing into wants. Take the example of lunch at a fancy restaurant. It’s still food, but it’s also a luxury. Why should you eat at an expensive fancy restaurant when you can save money by cooking? Tracking money helps you know the extravagant expenses and get rid of them before they make you broke.

6. Save for Emergencies

With finance, you never know when you’ll need money. There’s something that’s referred to as emergency expenses. These are costs that you never expected, but have to take care of when they come up. Take the example of a sick relative or someone in jail. You have to help that person if they’re close to you. When you track your expenses, you won’t spend everything, saving money becomes normal to you, and it’s those savings that can come in handy during unexpected situations.

Tracking your finances is a continuous process. It involves you monitoring and recording what you earn and spend daily. Use the following tracking tips to check your finances:

• Figure Out How Much You Earn

• Create a Zero-Based Budget

• Put your Money in an Envelope

• Use Apps

• Use Spreadsheets

1. Calculate your Income

Managing money starts with knowing how much you earn. If you receive a monthly paycheck from your employer, you’ll use your paycheck to know how much you earn. If you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur, the process becomes a bit detailed. You should subtract your monthly business expenses from your revenues to know your gross income. Then, subtract taxation to get your net income.

2. Create a Zero-Based Budget

There’s more to managing budget than assigning specific percentages of your income to certain expenses. With zero-based budgeting, you assign specific values to your expenses. Then, you carefully subtract those costs from your income until you’re left with a zero value. The main advantage of using this method is that it helps you to justify costs.

3. Envelope Method

After you know how much you’re going to spend on different expenses, have an envelope for every cost. You can create an envelope for food expenses, rent, clothing costs, and bills. In each envelope, put the exact amount for each cost. When you go out for grocery shopping, carry the food envelope and spend money from that envelope alone. When that money is finished, you’ve exhausted your budget allocation on food. This is one of the smartest ways of managing budget.

4. Apps

Another way to track your expenses is by using your phone. Apps like Mint and Tycoon can help you manage your finances and keep your spending in check. The great thing about apps is that most of them have reminders that will help you remember to record your daily expenses. The apps also have an inbuilt calculator that gives you the total income and expenditure amount.

5. Spreadsheet

You can also use your computer to track down expenses. Use Excel to write down a list of your daily expenditure. Then update it at the end of the day. The good thing about spreadsheets is that you can update them every month. Spreadsheets also give you automated totals. The software can also generate a report so that you can see how your expenses have been rising or going down.

Use the above tracking tips to watch over your finances. Managing money will help you achieve your financial goals and stop worrying about money all the time. Managing budget will stop you from overspending. Getting used to the above strategies will take time; therefore, be patient and maintain the highest levels of discipline. Never let the day end without knowing how much you spent. Keep doing it until you get used to it. In the end, you’ll reap the benefits.

Financial discipline refers to one’s ability to kowtow spending and saving to the set plans of achieving particular monetary goals. Do you need that beautiful home? Or that car you saw on your way home? Do you want to feel like you’re not living paycheck to paycheck?

Saving can help you to realize the monetary goals and plan for future purchases. However, saving can be challenging at times, considering your financial needs.

So, Why Should You Save?

Emergency Preparedness

Saving money helps you to plan for the unknown. With a savings plan, you can cope better with emergencies that may require you to break the piggy bank.

Mitigate Job Loss

Obviously, if you’re employed, the better. You have a salary that is a constant stream of income. You can spare a little bit of your salary every time you get paid.

Just in case you lose your job, you’ll have something to keep you going as you look for alternatives.

Further Your Education

Saving can help you get that diploma or degree that you missed out on. You can save for your education if you miss a source of funds for your school fees.

Finance Mortgage Down Payment

You may be looking to become a homeowner. Applying for a mortgage may require you to make a down payment for the property.

In case you don’t have any source of finance, you can go into your savings and get fast approval for your mortgage.

Prepare for Retirement

Managing money and saving will have long-term benefits. You can start saving on your retirement today while you have the energy to work.

A pension may not be enough to cater to your needs, and that’s enough reason for you to start saving up.

Financial Freedom

Saving money gives you absolute peace of mind. You won’t have to worry about emergency cash since your savings account has you sorted out.

Avoid Debt

With enough savings, you don’t have to rely on credit when urgent expenses arise. You can avoid the debt burden and associated liabilities. It’s better to resume saving than to worry about clearing accumulative debts.

Saving may seem like a hard thing to do, but once you get started, you get the hang of it and it will be like second nature.

Here are some budgeting tips to get you started.

Just Do It

The critical aspect of starting managing budget and saving is just to do it. Don’t beat around  the bush about it, and just go ahead. Make up your mind to start saving today.

Once you start saving, you’ll get used to it. The foundation that you lay will determine the stability of your success.

Open a Savings Account

A savings account helps you to set a target and save until the objective is achieved. A savings account is solely for saving and will separate your savings from your expenses.

Once you set up a savings account, forget it. Avoid tapping in your savings, as this will only affect your contributions. Cut up that debit card or even shred it to avoid making unnecessary withdrawals.

Monitor Your Spending

You have to be realistic about your expenditures. You may have some costly obsessions that you may want to cut off. Otherwise, you should increase your budget margin and savings amount.

Budget Planning

Managing money can be an issue sometimes, but it takes proper planning to get your finances in line. Planning your budget will help you monitor your expenses and avoid unnecessary spending.

Through budgeting, you can account for each coin and know how much to save without affecting your expenditures. Ensure that you set a realistic budget that you can stick to and minimize your spending.

Goal-Oriented Saving

Saving without an accomplishment in mind may be cumbersome and futile. Before you decide to save, ask yourself why you are doing it and what you intend to gain.

It will be much easier to save with a goal in mind as it will keep you focused and determined to achieve that particular financial goal.

Financial Frugality

Saving requires commitment and sacrifice. You should do what it takes to achieve your goals, even if it means cutting off shopping sprees or other unnecessary expenses. The sacrifice is worth it in the end.

If being frugal will get you that new home or that brand new car, why not? Self-denial will determine the success of your saving efforts. You can call it being stingy for a cause.

Budgeting Apps

There are managing budget apps that can help you track your finances. The budgeting apps will calculate your income, expenditures, and budget plan.

Your phone is a contemporary tool that will aid in managing money through easy to use applications to monitor your spending and stick to your budget.

The budgeting app may connect to your account to stream your transactions. The app will help you keep track of your expenses and provide easy budgeting tips.

Understand Needs and Wants

Survival invokes needs while desire raises wants. Determining your needs and wants is vital for efficient budget planning. Knowing your needs and wants will make your budget more realistic and achievable.

Have a Miscellaneous Category in Your Budget

You may forget about some monetary needs when planning your budget. To avoid going out of budget or tapping into your savings, create a miscellaneous category in your budget plans.

Make room in your budget for that birthday cake, anniversary present, or the little but important things that may skip your mind. This means that you will have some cash to spare that can cater for unseen expenses.

Set Up Sinking Funds

You may have that car insurance coming up or that vet appointment. You can set aside some money in advance to cater for future capital expenses.

Having a sinking fund enables you to pay for significant expenses without touching your savings.

Reward Yourself

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Set up a portion in your budget to treat yourself and your family once in a while.

Budgeting can be hard on everyone around the house, especially when the kids fail to understand why they can’t get that new video game. Rewarding yourself for good spending habits will maintain your saving enthusiasm.

You can reward yourself with some low budget options to also help you stay focused on your saving goals.

Adjust to Your Plans

You will have to make some adjustments to fit your budget. You may also realize that your planning was unrealistic at first. You may find bills cornering you contrary to your expectations.

As long as you have your goal in mind, you will make the necessary adjustments and work with what you have and achieve managing budget success.

In this case, adjust your budget accordingly as the previous month is not like the next one, and will have its expenses.

Keep Going

Once you come up with a reasonable budget plan, start a savings routine, and ensure that you stick it. You may slip along the way, but that shouldn’t stop you from achieving your goals.

Temptations will arise occasionally. We’re human after all. It happens. You have to stay motivated and remind yourself why you’re doing it. Be content with what you have.

It will get hard at first, and you need not worry, you will eventually get there.