How to Save Money Each Month
Saving money is an important habit that can help you live in a more convenient life. People often find it harder to manage their money and don’t understand how to save them in a calculative manner.
They earn money but don’t know where and how to invest, make it grow and how to save each month.
Due to the lack of managing ability, they mostly end up spending all the money and keep their account dry by the end of the month.
Many have the misconception about financial security is that saving money means cutting down the expenses. I strongly disagree.
You can attain long term financial security only if you maintain a habit of understanding money.
We all know that there are several ways to save more money and live a frugal life.
I believe, you don’t have to live frugally to save money each month. Just be calculative.
There are no secret just a few solid financial habits that can save you more money and give you the peace of mind that you crave for.
How Much of Your Salary Should You Save Every Month?
It is a question we all ask ourselves: how much of my salary should I save every month? The answer, unfortunately, is not as simple as a straight percentage.
It depends on a variety of factors, including your age, your financial goals, your current debt, and your overall financial picture. That said, there are some general guidelines you can follow.
If you are just starting out in your career, you may not have a lot of discretionary income to put towards savings. If you are carrying student loans or other debt, you may need to focus on paying that off first.
And if you are already well established in your career, you may be able to save more.
Ultimately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.
The amount of money you should save each month depends on your individual circumstances.
But generally, you should aim to save at least 10% of your salary each month. If you can manage to save more than that, great! But if you are struggling to make ends meet, 10% is a good starting point.
If you are just starting out, you may want to save 10% of your income. If you have a comfortable cushion of savings, you may be able to save less. Ultimately, the amount you save should align with your financial goals.
If you want to retire comfortably, you will need to start saving early and contribute a significant portion of your income. A good rule of thumb is to save 10-15% of your salary for retirement.
If you have debt, your top priority should be to pay off your high-interest debt as quickly as possible. Once you have done that, you can start saving 10% of your monthly income.
Whatever route you choose, the important thing is to make sure that you are automatically saving something each month so that it becomes part of your regular budget.
How to Save Money Each Month
To save money each month, you don’t have to be a master of money management. The primary thing that you would need to do to save monthly is by assessing your monthly expenses.
Expenses that you have regularly, expenses that you can’t subtract from your monthly income. Create a balance sheet and categorize your monthly expenditure.
Record all your spending on the balance sheet, like your phone bill, rent, loan payment, utility bills, groceries, medical expenditure and other unpredictable things.
Once you know what your spending are, tally them with your monthly income. See how much you are spending and how much money left with you.
Now, the best and easiest way to save money monthly is by adding the remaining amount directly into your existing savings account.
Make sure you wouldn’t touch them.
This is the basic process of tracking monthly expenses. Often people cannot track their expenses and keep on guessing by the end of the month where all the money is gone.
Initially, it will be a laborious task, but once you are committed to the new habit of tracking your monthly expenses, it will be easier for you to comprehend money matters.
Save on Your Groceries Each Month
I have written a detailed article on how to save money on grocery shopping. You should check out that post. The post contains ways that could save you hundreds of dollars monthly only on groceries.
To save money on groceries, you don’t need to constantly hunt for coupons. You can take advantage of store sales, using credit card cashback, different stores for price matching, and so on.
You certainly can’t avoid grocery expenses monthly, but you can plan wisely and save a certain amount that can add up to your monthly savings.
Save Money on Utility Bills
You can also help yourself save money each month on utility bills. It is doable. There are many ways through which you can save money on utility bills, which will save you a great deal of amount on a monthly basis.
One of the best ways to save on utility bills is by installing solar panels. Solar panels are highly recommended to use by the governmental bodies. We have installed a solar geyser in our apartment.
There is another benefit of using solar panels at home. You can save money on taxes as you are encouraging and using an environmental-friendly product.
If not with the solar panel, you can save on utility bills by adapting a few habits, like turning off the lights and fans when not in use.
Reducing electrical usage can help you cut back on your expenses. You can do a onetime investment by installing a cool roof to stabilize the temperature.
Replacing old appliances and investing in new technology products that are environmental-friendly can help you reduce your home energy consumption.
These are the few things that can help reduce your utility bills monthly.
Go Debt Free
Debt free living is possible with a little planning, discipline and determination. Debt is the one of the main reasons why people go dry in their finances.
If you have debt, try to get rid of it as soon as possible. Figure out your monthly budget and expenses. See the possible way out to get debt free.
Keep a check on your spending. Even if your earning is more, do not get tempted by it and overspend without keeping a track.
Try not to involve in any kind of debt. Managing debt is tricky, and it never gives mental peace.
Save on Gas
Gas prices are always on the rise and the public are helpless. You can’t fight the government. But you can certainly mend your ways and save money on gas.
Living in a city or rural, owning a vehicle has become important for transportation. Going to the office, stores, or anywhere, we all depend on cars.
For example, I have only one car in my family and I spend almost INR 4200 a month, which is around USD 56. In dollars, it is cheap, but in rupees it cost quite a lot.
Either way, the best trick to save on gas is to drive a fuel-efficient car. My car gives a quite good mileage when driving on the highways. Even in the city, the mileage is good as compared to other vehicles (car).
You can also save money by considering carpooling more often.
Save on Daily Meals
Food is something we all have to spend money on. To save money each month, planning meals weekly is important. It enables you to shop wisely and efficiently. You know what all items you have to buy and what you don’t.
The more meals you cook at home, the more you can save on food. For example, I cook at home daily. My husband and I buy weekly groceries and store them neatly in the refrigerator.
I plan to cook 3 days non-veg and 3 days veg. Sunday is a relaxing day. We mostly grab our lunch outside or order for home delivery on Sundays. The rest of days we cook every meal at home, keeping a variety of food options open.
For example, if l cook Indian on Monday and Tuesday, for Wednesday I cook Asian or pasta. I keep on changing the meal menu to cut the monotony.
Also, if you care about our nature, it will give you rewards in terms of money. Get creative with food that will reduce food waste.
For example, if you have stale bread, you can make bread crumbs and store them in a jar. Thus, you don’t have to buy a packet of breadcrumbs when you have already made it at home. Hence, you saved a few dollars easy way.
Shop During Sales
In today’s market, sales play a significant role in the marketing industry in influencing people’s purchasing behaviour.
Every middle-class person looks for ways to save more money every month. You can do that by considering shopping during sales.
Almost every stores put on sales on their products on festivals, weekends and special occasions to increase their sell. Before you purchase, consider making a budget list and stick on to it.
Look for stores that are giving better sales and coupons. Tally the prices of the products before buying and consider buying in bulk to save money.
Not only groceries, you can save a lot by doing online shopping too. Ecommerce giant like Amazon always give sales to their product. They keep on changing their discount percentage, keep checking on the products where you can save more money.
Spend Less on Entertainment Subscriptions
We all need a little relaxing time and entertainment in our lives to beat the constant tension and stress. We consume entertainment at least an hour a day on average.
The entertainment industry is growing fast and the sudden shift from the traditional cable-TV to the OTT streaming services has brought a massive change in the audience’s behaviour of entertainment consumption.
There are so many streaming channels now and each are competing against the other to be the best and to get more subscriptions.
Without subscription, you can not access these OTT channels.
For Example, I have the subscriptions of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar, and Zee.
Thus, I am paying for four OTT platforms. For me, these channels serves me the purpose and since I am consuming their content regularly, I don’t mind paying.
But you can save money by identifying which OTT streaming platform you are not using yet you are paying for them.
List out everything that you have subscribed to and record where your money is going waste. To reduce the monthly cost, it is necessary to understand what services are fulfilling your demands and worth the money you are paying for.
Save More by Paying Cash
I live in a city now but I grew up in the rural. Few years ago, using a credit card was not a very common thing for me. I used to pay in cash everywhere. I have never seen my parents using credit card either. Carrying cash is pretty much what I have always known.
When I grew up, I understood why paying cash is beneficial than using a credit card. First, paying cash is effortless as you don’t have to put a pin number when you swipe.
Paying cash helps to know how much debt are you in.
Cash makes it easier to stick to the budget.
For example, if you have USD 50 in your wallet and you landed yourself in a store to buy something. You know how much money you have that you spend and money you need to keep.
Cash always keeps your purchase limit in control, which eventually helps you save more.
Here is a real example, I always keep INR 500 in my wallet for emergency. I never intend to spend the 500 rupees. Whatever amount of money I carry, I always spend them in a calculative way. I make sure I don’t overspend on unnecessary things.
And whatever money is left, INR 100, INR 200, I save them in a separate wallet when I return home.
This isn’t the same case when you use cards. As it is cashless, the money is invisible to you and its out of your mind. If you are using a credit card, you must know how to control your purchasing impulses.
Credit card companies always push you to increase the spending limit. For example, I have a credit card as well that has a spending limit of INR 80k. Though my credit card usage is very limited.
But those who love to shop for them it can be an issue. If you can watch a movie named ‘Confession of a shopaholic’ you will understand how credit card can ruin you if not controlled.
Say Goodbye to Your Addictive Habits
Addictive habits are unfortunately a fact of life that can easily drain you financially. The longer one maintains an addiction, the quicker it will affect your finances.
But if you want to control your situation and don’t want to put you and your family into deep financial trouble, you need to first identify and understand your addictive behaviour. Then, consider what’s needed to be done to eliminate the habit.
You might need a professional help to control your addictive behaviour. Once you are clean, your behaviour will no longer influence your finances.
Have a Short and Long-Term Financial Goals
It is always good to have a short and long-tern financial goal to avoid overspending and to save more money.
Financial goals are the one that you plan for future security. To plan your financial goals, you need to first analyze your current financial situation. Get a clear understanding of your finances.
You can plan both short and long-term financial goals.
Short term financial goals could be to save enough money to buy something now.
For example, you want to buy an iPhone 13 Pro on your birthday, for that you have set a short-term financial goal. You have opened a savings account with your bank and start putting some money by the end of each month for a year to meet your goal.
While long-term savings are your future financial safety net. These are the financial goals for the next 10-15 years. You can open a PPF account, invest in company bonds or mutual funds.
These are the funds where you invest now to get a certain amount in the future which can provide you the financial security.
If you have a hard time saving money. The best way to save is by categorizing your finances. Just keep it neat. Focus on monthly expenses, stick to your monthly budget, keep a track of your monthly spending and set financial goals.
Cook More at Home
This is one of the easiest ways to save money each month. To control your family economy, cooking more at home is certainly the best option. It not only allows you to save money, but also makes you healthier.
The internet is full with great quick and easy recipes that anyone can cook at home.
If you are running out of time, learn to make one-pot meals instead of eating outside. You can stop spending 10 dollars everyday on a meal. Instead, make your sandwiches at home and pack them for your office lunchbox. If you calculate, you are saving approximately 50 dollars weekly on one meal, if you stop eating outside.
Home cook meals are always healthier and cost-efficient. Make a weekly meal plan, buy the groceries and stick to the menu, simple.
Do Your Own Cleaning
Many wonder if they can save money by cleaning their own home and maintenance. Cleaning staff usually charge hundreds of dollars for cleaning and maintenance of a house.
You can control those costs with DIY cleaning and home maintenance tips. Cleaning is something that is required to be done every day.
The only difference is if you have a small home, you can do it on your own and if your house is a big one, you may want to hire professionals from outside.
The most efficient way of cleaning at home is to follow a routine. A good maintenance plan will help reduce the frequency of deep-cleaning job.
For example, I live in an apartment of 2bhk and I don’t hire maid for my home cleaning, instead I do it on my own. I could be able to save INR 1400 each month.
Indeed, keeping my home clean every day can be a challenging task. Someday I get tired so much after office work, cooking, taking care of my baby, cleaning the home takes a toll on my health.
But again, with proper planning, support and rest, I bounce back in no time.
Apart from cleaning, you can also save money each month in mowing the grass of your backyard, raking the leaves, repairing and installing household appliances.
Thus, with changing habits, following tips and by making setting up financial goals, you can certainly take control of your economy.
Resist Your Shopping Impulses
When you are constantly getting messages of store sales, at one point you might think of checking out the store.
It’s your shopping impulse pushing you to visit the store. For some, resisting to shopping impulses gets difficult and they end up purchasing stuffs offline or online.
Shopping impulses denotes when you buy things needlessly. You need to resist and restrict these impulses to save money.
Whenever you visit a store or getting messages, think of your monthly budget. Avoid those stores or places that sell things you want to buy and they have put it on sales.
Just because there is a weekend sale going on, that doesn’t mean you have to buy. Remind yourself about your monthly targeted savings.
Start a Side Hustle
The idea of starting a side hustle is not new. People increasingly prefer working remotely. However, it’s never been easier to earn money from a side hustle. It would require time engagement, skill, and proper networking.
You can always earn an extra from a side hustle.
For example, if you are a teacher and you want to make more money, you can start giving online tuitions. The money you will earn from your side hustle, you can add them in your monthly savings account.
There are unlimited ways to earn money. Side hustle is one of them.
Make Small Changes in Your Life
Habits are something that impact your life heavily. When we talk about savings, even a small pleasant habit can add up value to your life.
Keep a healthy lifestyle to avoid any medical issues. Maintaining a good food habits preferably home cooked meal can save you more money.
A simple financial habit like keeping a track of all your daily expenses can bring a significant change in your economy.
We often don’t count the minor changes/notes. If you save 5 dollars every day for 1 months, you will save $150. You can do or buy so many things.
If you save $5 every day for 6 months, you will have $900. You can buy a smartphone, repair your car, do maintenance work at home and so on.
Thus, habits are always important.
Spend Wisely
To save money each month, keep yourself remind of not to overspend. Spending wisely and smartly is important.
If you have $50, aim to save at least $10. Stop yourself from spending on unnecessary things. Evaluate first. Do you need the XYZ item now or can you buy it later.
Develop a habit of measuring your spending limit.
If you follow all these, you will never go dry on your savings account.
Not everyone is rich. Keep your money safe.
Last words–
Money savings is an art. Learn how to save money each month with the above mentioned winning tricks.
