Do you find yourself spending a little extra over the festive season? We often become a little bit reckless with our money towards the end of the year, which leaves us starting the new year strapped for cash. Saving over the festive season doesn’t have to be difficult. Take a look at some smart ways to save money:
Automate your savings
Do this now! If you automate your savings to go off at the beginning of the month, you won’t even realise that you had that money in the first place. Don’t fool yourself by choosing to save “ïf you have money left over at the end of the month”.
Round up all your monthly costs
Let’s say, hypothetically, you spend about R5750 on rent and R4650 on your car payments every month, when you set up your budget, round up the figures so that you have extra money to play around with once your monthly expenses come off your card. So, for example, your budget sheet will show that you need to spend R6000 on rent and R5000 on your car payments. What can you use the extra money for at the end of the month? Absolutely anything, including debt payments, savings and emergency expenses.
Delete all your online shopping apps
Do whatever you can to make shopping for unnecessary things difficult. Unsubscribe to all the “daily deals” emails, delete shopping apps and only make planned purchases when you go shopping. This way, you won’t find yourself spending money that you don’t have on things that you don’t need.
Save with a purpose
Following on from the previous point, don’t shop for unnecessary goods. Rather plan your purchases and save for something you want to buy. At the end of the day, it’s so easy to rack up debt on purchases; however, if you save for something specific, you will think carefully about if you need it or not and you will not buy it on credit.
Keep your accounts separate
Separate your cheque and savings accounts so that it’s not too easy to transfer money out of your savings.
Shop with cash
If you’re heading out to the shops, withdraw cash before you go shopping so that you don’t overspend. Swiping your card is just too easy, but paying with cash if you’ve drawn out a specific amount will help you keep within the refinements of your budget.
Speak to a debt counsellor
If you are struggling to make ends meet, speak to a debt counsellor today. Debt Rescue can help you pay off your debts while still ensuring you have provision for all your other expenses.
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