Start Saving Your Money!

Have you ever felt like you are stuck in a position where you are determined to save money but you cannot hold yourself back when you saw that new lipstick MAC just launched, or that very cute top at Forever21? Well, if your answer is yes, then read on!

I am a shopaholic, I admit. I mean, I was. Every time I receive my allowance from my Dad or every time I make money from anything, I will always find a way to spend it all. Yes, all. Not a single cent to save. I always find something at the mall that I can spend my money on. The easiest way to say this is that I wasted my money on things I don't even need. I was a spender, not a saver. 

After reading some self help books, I realized that if I had saved all the money I earned before, I could have bought myself a Balenciaga and I would still have extra money after. But I told myself that it's not too late to start saving. It's not too late to actually change myself and stop that shopaholic attitude as if I had all the money in the world. I once read, the rich buy luxuries last and the poor buy luxuries first. I couldn't agree more with that statement because I've been in that 'poor' category before. I used to buy everything I set my eyes on if I have the money. My mind was set that I have to spend everything until it's all gone. Luckily, I read all these books and feel the need to change my mindset. Here I have some tips that worked for me and I already started to save money instead of spending. Who knows, these tips might help some of you too!

TIP #1 : AVOID GOING TO THE MALL/ONLINE SHOPS

For all you chronic shopaholics, this might be the hardest thing to do. Trust me, I had the hardest time to do this but I managed to do it anyway. So if I can do it, of course you can too. Start by not going to the mall without a strong purpose. Unless your family wants to have a family day out or a dinner, there's no need for you to go step foot in a mall.

TIP #2 : STAY HOME

I know some of you love to meet up with friends, talk and hang out. Sounds fun huh? Well, I hate to break it to you, but hanging out with friends requires money. If you think back about it, every time you go out with your friends, your money flows like water. I know it's all fun to be out and about with friends but try to tone it down a little. Instead of hanging out with your friends twice a week, make it only once a week, then when you're ready, tone it down a little bit more to once every fortnight. This one is not as hard for me as I am a home kind of girl. I love staying home but it feels great to go out sometimes. Just don't go out too often because once you step out of the house, chances are, you'll be spending your money. A little money or a lot of money, doesn't matter. It's the spending we want to avoid, despite the amount. So, learn to say no to your friends when they ask you to hang out!

TIP #3 : COOK OR EAT AT HOME

This is obvious. Outside food may sound very easy but if you put your thought around to it, there are so many bad things about outside food. It's unhealthy, for one. Food can be pricey too nowadays. So trust me, if you avoid eating outside, you'll be doing yourself a huge favour in terms of health and financial. I used to love outside food especially fast foods. Now that I avoid eating outside, and eat at home instead, I save a whole lot more! You'll be shocked to see the amount you pay for outside food because when you buy food outside everyday, you won't even realize the total amount you spent just to get a piece of hamburger or that cup of milkshake by the end of the month.

TIP #4 : STOP BEING SHY AND PUT THAT THICK FACE ON!

I know some of us have the confidence but to some of us, we probably encountered situations where you go out with a bunch of friends for dinner. Then, when the bill comes, everyone pinch in their money for their meals. However, you don't have small change, so you ended up paying the bill and logically, your friends will have to pay their portion to you. In some cases, people tend to say "Okay, you pay first, I'll pay you back later." Okay, first, you need to remind them to pay you no matter what the situation is because hello, we all need money to survive. No one can let others pay for their meals unwillingly. So, brave up and ask them for your money. No matter how small the amount is. If they owe you $1 for that matter, just ask. They may not pay you back because they forgot or they thought you didn't mind paying for them. Any small amount of money can be amounted to a big sum. So don't brush off that $1 if you feel like you need it. Don't be shy to ask for the money people owe you because you have the rights to ask for it.

TIP #5 : RECORD YOUR INCOME AND EXPENSES

This sounds like a hassle. No one has the time to buy a book and make an account for their income and expenses nowadays. But fret not, as I have a solution for that. I found an amazing app for you to download so you can keep track of your income and expenses. The app is called Spending and it's free on the App Store! So go download it now. Since I first had this app, I have been keeping good tracks on my spendings and earnings. I don't stray on my budget anymore and it feels really great!

You can see a summary of your expenses and income for the month. 

 When you tilt your phone, it will show a graph of your expenses and income, so you'll know whether you spend or earn more.

When you click on the "cash flow" tab at the bottom on the other hand, you'll see a pie chart, showing you the percentages of your expenses. This way, you'll know how much you spend on a certain things and what you need to cut from your expenses. As you can see on the picture, I clearly need to practise what I preach, which is to cut my expenses from eating out. *oops*

You can also see the exact amount you spent on specific things on the "transaction" tab at the bottom.

These are the categories of expenses you can choose from and you can also create a new name for your expenses and it will be automatically saved.

 These are the categories for your income. You can also create a new name for the income category as well.

And here are the settings that you can change according to your preferences!

This app is so easy to use and very useful to me. You should try it too if you have troubles at keeping track of your budget and cash flows.

I hope you guys find these tips helpful and let's start saving for the future!

Next time you go to a mall, tell yourself "no, you certainly do not need that new purse when you already have more than one at home."

GOOD LUCK! ❤︎