It takes time to develop saving habits. I would like to talk about 9 useful daily saving habits to save money.
We can start with little things to make a habit when we start an exercise or meditation. Saving money starts with making saving habits in daily life.
9 useful daily habits to save money
According to a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, on average, people in their 30s and 40s spend an average of $208 per day, although there are some age differences. Expenses for basic living such as food and utilities are unavoidable.
But there are ways to save money with a little practice.
How about dreaming of a long-term investment with the money you saved?
Are you saving to meet your long-term financial goals?
So let’s look at those methods.
1. Write a finance plan.
Many people manage their income and expenses through banking apps using digital tools. These are tools that help a lot in terms of saving time.
However, I do not use these tools to manage my finances.
Each person has different income and expenses, lifestyles, and spending patterns, so these tools are nothing more than a way to track my spending habits.
I manage my finances using an excel spreadsheet and a financial planner.
I can easily draw my own financial plan just by typing or writing it down by hand.
Many finance consultants say it.
“It’s hard to save money if you don’t know where it’s going.”
It helps you track how much you spend and make smart spending habits.
Write a journal about your expenses the way we journal every day. 10 minutes a day is enough. You can get our Free Printable budget planner to start!
Printable Budget Planner
2. Become your very own barista
Many of you know the happiness of having a cup of coffee in the morning. Is there a regular coffee shop that you stop by before going to work?
According to news reports, it costs about $1,100 per year in coffee spending (in US terms). Also, according to an article in Korea’s Dong-A Ilbo, the average daily coffee expenditure of office workers was 4,178 won(around US$4-5) as of 2019, which is 120,000 won per month.
As a coffee lover, I drink 4-5 cups of coffee a day. Coffee in Australia is priced very differently depending on the coffee shop. Roughly, I’ve been spending 20-30 AUD per day on coffee. Just a few years ago, I was spending about $400 a month or $4800 in the year on coffee.
Have your own coffee maker
However, I couldn’t give up coffee. So I decided to buy my own coffee machine. I found a way to enjoy the taste of high-quality coffee with little money.
Of course, there was an initial cost to purchasing a coffee machine, but in the long run, the purchase price of a coffee machine was about the cost of coffee I spent for a month or two. It was the best way to save money while drinking your favorite coffee at home.
3. Reduce utility spending.
Most home appliances these days are energy efficient. When purchasing an appliance, be sure to check the energy rating and also make sure that it has a power-saving mode function.
Try ways to cut down on leaking electricity bills in your home.
These little habits are also a way to save money.
Use of home appliances with high energy efficiency.
Regular maintenance and cleaning
When not in use, turn off the power or switch to sleep mode.
Wash in cold water when using the washing machine
Refrain from using a dryer and dry it in a dryer. (The cost of electricity using Dryers is about 12% of household electricity bills.)
Use the dishwasher about once a week (on days with a lot of dishes)
The above methods are energy-saving methods I am practicing.
4. Write your wish list.
We all enjoy shopping. My husband and I also spend time shopping occasionally. Of course, the purpose of market research is bigger for me, though.
A common mistake we make when shopping is impulse buying. Reducing impulsive spending is one way to save money.
The way I do it is to write a wish list.
In life, whether small or large, there are things that you want to buy or feel the need for.
I write these down with the date I put them on my wish list.
And wait for 30 days to decide whether to buy or not.
Most people don’t have much urge to buy after 30 days, so they only buy things they really need.
Wishlist
5. Make a meal plan.
We are living in an era where delivery services have become very popular, and you can easily eat your favorite food at a restaurant.
However, saving on food costs is not only economically beneficial but also healthy.
Plan your meals on a weekly basis.
I fill out the next week’s meal plan on Friday evening and purchase the necessary ingredients according to the plan on Saturday morning. At this time, measure the quantities of food ingredients according to my meal plan and purchase the right amount.
Of course, it was difficult to measure at first. For example, when purchasing beef, it was difficult to determine how much a week I would need and whether I would need steak or bulgogi meat.
However, by using Meal Plan, I learned the average amount of food my family consumes, so now I am less likely to purchase unnecessary ingredients.
Cook at home
Also, because I cook at home, I can reduce the cost of food delivery.
In Australia, unlike in Korea, the buyer has to add an expensive delivery fee to all food orders. Even if it is a restaurant close to home, there is always a delivery fee.
Even if picked up from a restaurant, it can wait for 15 to 30 minutes. However, cooking at home saves you on these delivery costs and the time it takes to pick up.
6. Review your bank statement.
One of the things that keep my finance plan is to help you review fees from your bank or other banking institutions.
Most banks in Australia have a monthly fee. Of course, there is a wave method depending on the trading volume, so if the trading volume is high, the fee is waived.
Categorize your expenses.
In my case, I print out a bank statement every month and review it with a highlighter pen by category.
Many people teased me for being outdated, but this method taught me how to not only measure costs and budgets, create a budget flow, but also find and benefit from better banks and make good deals with my old bank.
Am I the only one who thinks that even a small amount of money is strangely stolen from the bank in the name of commission?
Even if the financial experts knew it, we learned from watching Australian banks that we should study Finance.
7. Organise and declutter your home.
Did you know that cluttering the house and piling up things actually drains your money?
Daily clean home
Take 15 to 30 minutes a day to organize your home.
Take a look at the items in the house while cleaning. You will find that the items you bought expensively are not being used and are just taking up space.
Donation or Sell
Make a donation or register on the second-hand market to earn extra income.
If you donate, not only will you increase your self-fulfillment, but you will also be able to get tax reduction benefits at the end of the year.
Also, if you sell to a second-hand dealer, you can not only earn extra income but also get a little experience with your personal online store.
Selling, of course, takes time and money, but it will save you time to organize your unused items and keep your house tidy and tidy.
Are you interested in Decluttering and organizing your home and workspace? You read our article “How to downsize your wardrobe.- wardrobe Organizing.” to find out. you can get our free workbook and checklist to organize your wardrobe.
8. Make a piggy bank.
Every Korean has a memory of a red piggy bank. I remember receiving allowances from my parents and putting some of them in a red piggy bank.
I keep a red piggy bank on the debit card I use in my daily life.
What am I talking about?
This is a roundup method implemented by some banks in Australia. Each time a transaction occurs, it is defined as 1 dollar or 5 dollars, paid in cents, and the remaining cents are put into a savings account.
For example, if I refuel my car and pay a gas fee of AU$44.25, my debit card will cost $45. $44.25 goes to gas, and 65 cents goes into my savings account.
Some of you may be wondering what the benefit of saving a few cents is.
The habit of saving even a small amount of money is formed by many habits in life.
I, too, have been doing round-ups, where at first I only save one cent per dollar, but now I’m doing round-ups that are priced in units of $5.
In this way, I learned that even a small unit of money that I thought was trivial rather than the amount of savings could be usefully used. We often don’t know that 10 won or 50 won coins are very valuable.
Also, no matter what you buy, the feeling of saving as much as you spend makes your purchase more satisfying.
9. Use Coupons
When I first got married, my grandmother gave me a box that she cherished. The box was full of coupons for items used in daily life, including food coupons. At that time, I was a young housewife, and I did not understand why it was necessary, but I remember receiving it because it was given to me by my grandmother-in-law.
But now that I am getting older, I have learned about his grandmother’s intentions. Lifestyle habits are important. It is a habit of finding and practicing saving money in life.
Coupons, these days, are even digitizing, so coupon boxes are no longer needed. But applying this habit will help you save money on items you use regularly.
Make a list of the stores you frequent, such as supermarkets and restaurants.
Visit individual sites and sign up for our newsletter.
If there is a QR code in the store, download the app, save it in the mobile folder, and use it in the field to receive the bow.
Use the site that does the cashing(Shpoback or OKCashback etc).
In this way, I have learned the habit of saving.
Conclusion
When I was a child, talking about money was taboo socially. But now the study of economics is becoming more and more important. You need to know the economy to create a better life.
That small action is to understand one’s financial condition and establish a plan accordingly.
In addition, saving habits in life are a great help in achieving your planned saving goals more quickly.
Investing is important to save money. Doing something that makes a lot of money is important to be rich. However, the most important thing is to have a healthy habit to save money and make a financial plan for a better life.
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