It’s a new month again, which means that it’s a new opportunity for you to find other ways to save money. If you don’t know where you can get extra money for your savings, check out these five tips and see if they apply to you:
Have a daily quota for using cellphone credits. If you find yourself calling and texting often, exercise a bit of discrimination when sending out messages. Avoid sending out forwarded messages the entire month. My cousin once asked me to be honest about how much I load my cellphone each week, expecting that I’d tell him a large amount. He was shocked to find out that I usually just spend P30 per month, and I almost never spend more than P90.
While I understand that there are some professionals that may find this difficult, at least try to cut back on using your cellphone for texting or calling friends and relatives. Opt for free ways to communicate instead, such as via instant messaging, landline-to-landline calls, Facebook, or email. (Of course, this isn’t applicable if you don’t have easy access to the internet, or if you need to call long distance.)
Don’t buy new clothes this month. Unless your house was accidentally set on fire or your clothes were stolen as you left them hanging out on the clothesline, don’t buy any new clothes this month. I know quite a few people whose monthly income is mostly spent on clothes shopping, and as they tell me they can’t find any money to save, I just want to slap my forehead in disappointment. Just eliminate shopping for clothes or shoes this month. It won’t kill you, I promise.
Discontinue newspaper and magazine subscriptions. I don’t subscribe to any newspapers, mostly because I just read them online. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star, and The Manila Times all have online editions. Apart from the subscription savings, you’ll also have access to breaking news, and you won’t have old newspapers cluttering up your house.
I also don’t subscribe to magazines, but this doesn’t mean I won’t buy the occasional magazine that catches my eye. I just happen to be very choosy and I make sure that the content and value that I get from the magazine won’t be found for free elsewhere.
Cut dining and drinking out by half. If you find yourself going out often, such as more than once a week, cut this by half. This includes going out for coffee or lunch during the regular workday. Brew your own coffee or pack your own lunch instead. If friends invite you out and you don’t want to let them down, try my suggestions for making a gimik more affordable.
Automatically send at least P500 to your savings account as soon as you receive your paycheck. It’s wise to keep a separate account for your savings, apart from your payroll account (as I’ve mentioned in a previous post). By setting aside your savings as soon as you receive your income, you have a lower chance of spending it.
Do you have additional money saving tips? Please share them in the comments.
Wow! Thanks for this great tips! I am really forcing myself to save every pay day but it always turns out that I needed more because there’s just a lot to spend to. I hope I can work it out. Thanks!
The above tips are great! Being frugal is the best way for us to be financially free. Hence, allowing us to achieve our dreams/goals. Allow me to share some essential things to make our dream come true… Well, frugality is always there… 1. Desire (hmmm… picture out your dream)… 2. Belief (that you can achieve your dream/goal)… 3. Action (you have to plan and take action religiously accordingly to the timeline)! Kudos!
Cut the daily latte! haha
Thanks for the tips. They are all helpful and your blog inspires me to save more
pay youself first. don’t buy things or stuff on impulses. save for emergencies, its nice to have things that everyone’s got, but in reality you really can’t afford that lifestyle. love yourself first and don’t give in to peer pressure and things around you. look for things that is fun without spending any money. i know that it is hard when your income is very little. but we as pilipino’s have the will power to survive. i see it there everyday when i was visiting for 3 months in my province. our people just need the knowledge on how to save and pay themselves so they don’t go hungry. i think that schools there in the philippines should teach about money and financial responsibily. like investing and creating a business. i myself didn’t have money about 10 years ago when i got out of the u.s. navy. they did not teach me about how to save so i just spent my money every month. so savings or anything to show, but 2 kids and bills that i created. then i met a multi millionare who told me that he can afford to so much money and yet did not worry about it. i was working that time in a casino in las vegas. he told that he invested his money in stocks and it paid off very handsomely for him. i ask on what can i do to be in that situation, and he told me that pay yourself every pay day and love yourself. so now years after his advice to me we live very peacefully and i stay home now for more than 2 years. my own story can be yours if you put your heart into it. i wish to retire in my homeland soon after the kids are old enough so i can spend my time in the beach and watch the sun go down. maybe i’ll open up a small business just to keep myself busy. thank you….
hmmm with this suggestions, i can say i’m frugal. i just need to follow religiously especially the last one.
mabuhay!