Quick ways to save money

Damn those credit card bills right?? Yes, we all have them and if you don’t then yippie for you, you either had help from your parents and didn’t need one or you literally just knew they were trouble when they walked in.

Let’s dive in guys, what the fuck can you do to save money and why would you want to have a budget? Easy, it can help you live within your means. Spending less than you make is often cited as the most important personal finance goal.

What can you do now to save money?

STOP BUYING COFFEE EVERYDAY!

You can save 600-800+ dollars a year! Uh, yeah you might want to invest in a good coffee machine or French press like this one from Starbucks. (I love it) Trust me I know it’s hard I used it go every day and now I go 2-3x a month which has made a huuuuuge difference in my bank account. It’s a little sacrifice for bigger purchases in the future.

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS DAMMIT

Ok, if you live on your own or if you live at your parent’s you can save yourself and them some money. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs, turn the lights off when you leave the house, and turn appliances off when you’re not using them.

CALCULATING WHERE YOUR MONEY SHOULD GO

50% of your monthly income for essentials, 20% for savings, and 30% for personal use. It may take some time to get use to this but ultimately this is where you’d want to be.

EMERGENCY FUND

Life is full of surprises, sometimes those surprises cost us some money. We can’t see the future and for that reason we should have an emergency savings. The goal is to save 3-6 months of expenses. If you save $25.00 a week, you’ll have $2,600 in two years.

BUY HOUSEHOLD ITEMS IN BULK

Costco for the win or Target if you’re not a Costco member!!! It’s always a smart move to buy in bulk. Buy more now, save cash in the long run and avoid making extra trips to the store. Also saving gas money.

LET THE DIMES POUR IN

Ok, I’m not sure that make sense but the point is you can fill up 2-liter bottles full of dimes and have approximately $550.00. Are you up for the challenge? Just do it!

STOP DRINKING ALCOHOL & GOING OUT…ALL THE TIME

Ok this one is not going to sit well with a lot of you but if you stop going out every weekend, you might be surprised how much you can save. Yes, you won’t seem as fun as your friends, but you want to save money remember. You want that new car? SAVE MONEY! You want to buy a house? SAVE MONEY! You want to take that vacation? SAVE MONEY! It’s not a secret if you want something you have to put in work.

$5.00 BILL CHALLENGE

Another quick way to save some money, every time you have a five-dollar bill, save it. You’d be surprised how much you save at the end of the year.

HOW TO PAY OFF DEBT QUICKLY

THE SNOWBALL METHOD

This is an easy way to tackle debt. List your debts from smallest to largest. Make minimum payments on all of your debts except the smallest. Pay as much as possible on your smallest debt. Repeat until each debt is paid off.  I did this one and have gone from 6 credit cards to 4 in less that 2 years or so. It works and ultimately feels fantastic to pay that debt off.

p.s I know you’ll be tempted seeing your balance go down and limit increase, don’t give in. Keep paying it off and cut that credit card once you’re done.

That’s it for me today. Again, thank you for reading!

xx

Damaris Sanchez.