“I’ve created a budget and know exactly how much I should save.” “For me, it’s always not enough: I can’t help spending my savings.” “I’ve heard of the 50/30/20 rule; they say it’ll help me save big.”

Savings, cash shortage, and money in general are among the most widely discussed topics in daily life. Despite all the discussions evolving, we eventually face our thoughts all alone, and the big question is: “How to save money?” Before we get to the possible answers to this question, let’s understand how on earth we spend more than planned, whether we really need to save money, and what this 50/30/20 rule is.

How do we overspend?

Here are a few reasons why this might happen:

• When sad, we want to cheer ourselves up. As a result, we put on clothes and go shopping right away! Another version: we stay home and grab our phones, going through the “showrooms” of the online store.

• We see something new and want to give it a try. We go away from the section but are back after a few minutes. We are caught between a rock and a hard place; should we buy it or give it up, leave it, and forget it?

• We become marketing victims. Despite realizing that “it’s all marketing,” we still fall into the trap. The special offers and discounts marked with yellow and red, the nonaccidental arrangement of sections, and other techniques are there to sell more and catch your attention.

Overspending has a lot to do with impulse buying. In such situations, we don’t give ourselves enough time to weigh the importance of what we are interested in. Moreover, we don’t substitute the purchase desire with a more valuable thing to engage in.

However, are we on the right track by being too obsessed with saving money? Should each buy be important and valuable by all means?

Save money or live this day as if it were your last

Some people say that we never know what life has in store for us, so we should always have some money put aside. Yet, we may reflect on our short lives and decide to spend money on what makes us happy without thinking about cutting costs.

When it comes to this question, there is no established formula: go ahead and do what is dear to you and suits your lifestyle.

Meanwhile, the wish to both save and spend may not leave your mind, and you may find it unreasonable to give up on any of them. A hint: you can actually balance saving money and indulging in some nice shopping. Here comes the 50/30/20 rule, according to which 50% of money goes to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings.

If you think this balance is the right fit for you or saving is your priority, we have tips on how to cut costs, save money for a rainy day, or, way better, for cherished goals.

9 tips on saving big

Let’s note in advance that you don’t need to feel overwhelmed and strive to follow all the tips from day one. You can still increase your savings by using one or two techniques simultaneously.

1. Pay off your debts

To save money with no mental burden, try to get rid of debts as soon as possible. This way, you will ease your mind and do both the lender and yourself a big favor. You can collect the money you owe by using the abovementioned 50/30/20 rule and the other tips awaiting you.

2. Create a savings account

A savings account will help you separate the money to be spent from the money to be saved. By regularly transferring a certain amount to your savings account, you will see your savings grow over time.

3. Give yourself 24 hours

You see it, you like it, you want it, you get it. Just a bit later, you realize you could live and be happy without it, too.

Impulse buying sometimes makes us regret, no matter how much we are told not to regret anything in life. While you stare lovingly at that shirt, notebook, piece of furniture, or those shoes, try to bring yourself back to reality, arm yourself with patience, and consider to what extent the given piece will help improve your quality of life.

4. Make a spending plan

According to a survey by CFP Board, 55% of consumers feel confident having a budget. When you create a shopping list beforehand and stick to it, it’s easier for you to make rational purchases and spend the money as planned.

5. Cancel unused subscriptions

If you suspect that you may have purchased a premium subscription plan and forgotten about it, check your subscriptions and identify those that you no longer use. Keep an eye on subscriptions you rarely use or can replace with a free alternative. Lastly, when you get in a free trial, set up a reminder in your digital calendar so that you cancel the subscription before the trial ends.

6. Sell things you don’t use

Make the most of all the stuff you don’t find useful anymore or haven’t ever used. Analyze your belongings, set apart what you don’t use, and sell them. This way, you will declutter your personal space from unnecessary items and make extra money.

7. Reassess your spending habits

Do you happen to keep the lights on when leaving a room? Do you turn the tap off when brushing your teeth? What about looking inside the fridge and noticing food you could skip eating and, therefore, buying?

You can identify where you spend more than the necessary amount by asking yourself simple questions about your habits. Thus, replacing some habits or breaking them would be a purposeful and important step. By doing so, you will also take control of your finances. But that’s not all; by being a conscious consumer, you will take care of nature.

8. Have a no-spend day

To make saving money a habit, you can try spending not even a single dram once a month. It assumes making meals with food available at home, entertaining yourself at the park or home, reading a book in the library, and much more.

After you have successfully completed the experiment, you can gradually increase the number of your no-spend days. Thus, you will save a pretty amount of money and feel obliged to spend it responsibly.

9. Track spending

Yes, it’s too time-consuming to keep a written record of all your payments made throughout the day. For this reason, many thrifty people prefer cashless payments to track expenses through financial pie charts easily.

In the easywallet app, you’ve got this. Statistics show where you spend your money and help you understand which payments you can get rid of. Two or three unexpected expenses worth a few hundred or thousand drams may seem trivial. However, they can eventually turn into a great deal of money.

Of course, you cannot escape from every unexpected expense. But you can definitely bring such costs to a minimum by preparing a budget and keeping track of your payments.

Ways to save money are plenty, and so are the reasons to do that. The first steps to managing your money are setting savings goals, choosing ways to cut costs, and mastering the latter. Take your time and try not to feel dissatisfied with yourself if you don’t reach your savings goal in the first month.

Whatever tip you choose to follow, keep in mind to track your spending from time to time. For this purpose, easywallet is there for you every day and everywhere.