6 Tips on Saving Money- From a Banker
Tired of living from paycheck to paycheck? Bankers watch how we spend our money and get a birds-eye view of how we are spending it. As such, they've picked up a habit or two that helps them to save. You can do the same!
Here are some tips that bankers use to save money on their own.
1. Pack a Lunch and Cook Your Own Food
You'd be surprised how much you spend on lunch daily. 'Convenience' adds up to a very inconvenient amount if you total it up every week. Get yourself a lunch box and pack some goodies for the day in.
Fruits, sandwiches, some pasta you've frozen to microwave later. If you get creative often times you can eat much healthier and much more cheaply as well. Try it for just a month and see how much you save.
2. Get a Library Card
A library card is a cheap entertainment that is good for you. 'But my library doesn't have a lot of books', you say. Ever heard of 'interlibrary loan'? If your local library doesn't have the books that you are looking for then you can fill out a card and they will request the books from other libraries.
It takes about a week and typically you get to keep these titles longer. Libraries also have movies you can check out. If you pick up a stack of books on the weekend it can keep you busy and less bored during the week and save you a small fortune. Try it!
3. Don't Carry a Lot of Cash with You
Keep that extra cash in the bank or in a jar at home. Why? If you carry too much it's easy to make financial decisions based on 'Do I have the money in my pocket?'.
Having to go that extra step to get your cash can help you save more of it and ward off impulse purchases. Oh, and leave the debit card at home unless the fee for using it will keep you away. No cheating
4. Don't Live in the City Center
An apartment downtown is fun and certainly gets you attention. It also gets you, in most cases, a place the size of a glorified shoebox with an amazingly high price tag. In most cases, you can live on the outskirts of town for a fraction of the cost.
This means a bigger apartment, maybe a nice bathtub to soak in instead of a box-shower, and who knows, maybe a small garden to go with your place. Unless you are going out every night that places downtown isn't worth the upkeep and the hit on your wallet. Live on the outskirts of the city to save money and enjoy a better quality of life.
5. Get Clothes That you Can Wear Outside and to Work
When you are selecting your clothing, try to find items that you can wear outside or at work. They might cost a little more at the offset but it will still be cheaper than buying a 'work' set and a 'home' set. You can still get that occasional concert shirt or not-safe-for-work outfit but try to get as many items as you can which will fit in both worlds. It will save you money and ensure that you always look sharp.
6. Direct Deposit for Two
Make yourself a savings account. Now, on your direct deposit form for work, set it so that any cash over a certain amount on your paycheck will go to your savings. This is a good way to budget and save because you will get used to budgeting off the set amount you define in the beginning.
Don't get a debit card for that savings account, either, so that if you want money from it, you will actually need to go to the bank. After awhile this will get you in the habit of not touching the savings account and when you need it, the money will be there. You will be surprised how much it adds up in a year.
Use these tips and with a little patience you can build up a decent nest egg to get you by in times of trouble or maybe to one day make a down-payment on a house. The sky is the limit so use our tips and save!
