If you’ve never heard someone say “I’m totally broke”, you clearly have been living under a rock. Since I went to Uni, it looks like money flies away from my wallet and I don’t even notice it. Recently I have been doing some simple things that help me not only save more money but also to keep track of how much money I spend daily.

Prioritise

Most times there’s one expensive thing that we really want but that we never get because we can never save enough money to buy it. Don’t spend 40€ on this pair of shoes that you don’t even need when you could be saving that money to buy what you really want. If you keep things rational, it will be easier because if you keep spending money on superfluous things, you won’t get the thing you want the most.

Have a piggy bank

Having a piggy bank is a great way of saving money if you promise yourself you won’t take any just because you want to go have some coffee with your friends. Set yourself a time ban such as “I’ll only open that piggy bank in six months”.

Disown small value coins

Establish what coins you won’t be keeping in your wallet: every time I have coins that are less than 20 cent value, I’ll put them in my piggy bank. You can use whatever coin value you feel like. You can start with small value coins or you can decide to do it with more valuable coins.

Always carry snacks and a bottle of water

This is something I’ve done my entire life and that actually works. If I had to spend money every time I’m feeling hungry or thirsty, I’d be even more broke than I currently am. If you keep a snack and a bottle of water on your bag, you won’t been to go to that café down the street to buy anything not even the things you don’t need!

Take your lunch from home

Whenever I have the chance, I either prepare something to take with me or I take the leftovers from the night before. This is the hardest step for me to accomplish because I already take so many things with me when I’m going to Uni that I never want to take lunch so I end up buying food there.

Have a spending ban

Throughout the month we spend a lot more money than we probably should without even realising. By creating a spending ban you’ll stay focused on what really matters and it will stop you from buying thing you don’t really need because you only have an X amount of money to spend on that area. At the moment I’m trying to spend the least I can on beauty products so I’m only buying new products when I run out of the ones I have.

Write down your spending

By writing down at the end of each day how much money you’ve spent and on what things, it will give you an idea of what areas you spend the most, the ones that you can cut and the ones you really can’t and that you need to save for. Initially you might find out that you actually spend more money that you’ve ever thought you did.

What small tricks and tips do you have for saving money?

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