10 Tried Out Ways To Save Money With Limited Income.

Using only cash is not enough.

Earning more money is not always the solution to problems, unless you learn how to save it.

I will not give a big introduction about the importance and concept of saving money. You know already about it. Also, you want to save more money, that’s why you clicked on this post.

Tonnes of money-saving techniques are already available online. But today I will highlight the tips that worked for me personally, and I completely swear by these techniques-

Separate monthly savings first and forget about it.

I will not repeat “pay yourself first rule” from the book “Richest Man in Babylonian”. My mother taught me this trick to transfer the fixed amount in another bank account (that you are planning to save) or withdraw it and forget that amount exists.

Instead of trying to save the money by the end of the month, I kept our targeted money separate and then forgot about it. This helps me in knowing my limitations, how much I can spend in a month.

When you see the small budgeted amount, you can spend. You automatically try to look for ways to save money.

Shop with a list.

I once ended up buying a cute teddy bear while shopping for food. I had zero control over what I purchased in the Grocery store. This one simple trick helped in cutting my grocery bill into half.

Even if I controlled my urge to buy nothing other than food. I realized a lot of food was getting spoilt and I was buying more than I could use. I started shopping with a list and sticking to it.

I started planning my meals around the offers. Rather than grocery shopping around the meals.

I compared the weekly offers from different supermarkets and design my weekly meal plan. It completely changed my outlook and helped me genuinely reducing my grocery shopping cost in half.

No-Spend days.

How I follow this rule is I decided three days in a week not to spend any money. It exempts necessities like grocery, or gas from this rule. I tried not to buy even groceries once in a while.

Many people follow weeks or months of no-spend rule. Thought of it was overwhelming for me. So I follow a simpler version of this rule for me. These spending fasts helped me a lot in curbing my impulsive shopping habit.

Wait 5 days before a major purchase.

Many people follow three days Wait rule, but I wait for 5 days before making any purchases above €20. Why? because all the small purchases add up to big ones that ultimately screw up your saving plans.

It also curbed my impulsive shopping habit. If I really want to buy something I add it in my purchase list and wait. Mostly when I don’t need something, I forget about it. And If I need something, I refer to my list whenever I go shopping.

Save all pennies.

Age-old trick and I have been saving pennies since I was a Kid. But now I do it religiously to save a larger amount. I have a rule of emptying my pocket every week and saving all the pennies.

A penny saved is a penny earned — Benjamin Franklin

I saved €60 in six months and used that money to buy a home appliance I needed. Save all the pennies in a jar and use it after months for an unexpected expense.

Envelope Budgeting method using the mobile app.

I dreaded tracking my expenses. It made me feel bad and guilty about my spending habits. I changed my outlook towards it when I started using the envelope method in the mobile app.

First, when I tried the Envelope method, I made various envelopes with cash but failed. Most of the time I forgot to take the respective envelope and ended up paying with a card.

Instead, now I pay with cash but track it in the app with separate envelopes categories.

The app is way more convenient to use and I can check when I am about to overspend in a category. Another advantage I noticed a pattern in my spending habits.

I shopped more the days I felt homesick and used shopping as a coping mechanism. Once I acknowledged the pattern, I started changing my spending habits.

Limit eating out to 4 times a month.

I don’t feel like cooking most of the days and this was the most difficult personally. I limited the dining-out experience to just four times a month, including breakfast. That compelled me to cook more at home and save costs.

I didn’t constrain myself to specific days I could either eat 4 times in the first or last week of the month. I usually plan on meeting my friends at lunch or for a coffee, so I can limit the expenses.

I also planned not to spend over €15 on a one-time meal. This helped me to look for better deals or happy hours and ultimately reduced the total dining out the cost by 30%.

Minimize regular expenses.

Sometimes we don’t even realize what we are spending and if there is a possibility of reducing the expenses. It’s like we have been going on autopilot and never realized to wait and smell the roses.

I never realized that I paid three subscriptions for watching content online and used just one. By unsubscribing, I saved nearly €20 per month, which adds up to €240 per year.

Look at all your monthly expenses of all the categories. Look for alternatives to reduce expenses as much as possible. The recurring cost will contribute to a sizeable chunk of savings.

Try minimalism.

I am not here to sell the concept of minimalism, but it really helped me get my priorities straight. Especially when I decluttered in terms of clothing and food, I regretted spending money on useless stuff that I didn’t use.

I make myself richer by making my wants few- Thoreau

As I decluttered my house, I started to comprehended want vs need concept. It also changed my perspective, as I became more intentional with my purchases. Minimalism gravitated me more towards focusing on things I needed rather than what I wanted.

Avoid online shopping.

My favorite pastime has been to check what I can buy on Amazon or Mango. I don’t always buy things unnecessary stuff, but I noticed a pattern in my online shopping.

To avoid the delivery cost, I added more stuff than I actually needed. This happened every other month. I love the convenience of online shopping because I hate going to the store and look for stuff.

But online shopping was doing more harm to my budget than I realized. What’s the point of trying to save €3 and end up spending 10 more euros on things I didn’t need. I try to look for store availability than buying things online.

Hope you found these tips helpful, and it encourages you to save more money. To sum it up -

1. Separate monthly saving in a separate account and forget about it.
2. Shop with a list, especially during Grocery shopping.
3. No-Spend days.
4. Wait for 5 days before making any major purchase.
5. Save all the pennies every week.
6. Envelope Budgeting method using the mobile app.
7. Limit eating out to four times a month.
8. Minimize recurring monthly expenses.
9. Try minimalism to change perspective from consumerism mindset.
10. Avoid online shopping.

Let me know your money-saving techniques in the response section below.