How To Save Money

Do you find that you’re always spending an excessive amount of money on things that you never end up using? Today’s blog post is dedicated to tips on how to save money – which can be quite useful to anyone so feel free to share these tips with your friends and family!

My Personal Experience (Before):

When I was younger, about 16 or so, I had my first job and I found that I’d spend money quite a lot, and often on random things. It’s always exciting to start a job, especially a new/first one because you can finally provide for yourself financially, without any help from others. My very first job was at Chemist Warehouse, a drugstore in Australia. Back then, I wasn’t that into makeup (yet) and didn’t purchase a heap of makeup, despite all the raging sales. However, during work time, me and my co-workers would snack on the confectionery stand, as our shifts were long, tedious and made us very hungry. We’d spend a couple of dollars every time we worked. The confectionery was fairly cheap, $1AUD for a chocolate bar etc. Although it doesn’t seem like a huge amount, at the end of the week, all the little things add up.

Whilst working, I’d sometimes buy lunch/dinner, if I didn’t prepare anything for the day. Another way that I’d spend money on things, where I could’ve easily saved a few dollars. Lunch was never cheap, especially if you wanted to buy something more filling, it’d cost at least $10AUD for a meal. I mostly worked after school, and sometimes on the weekend. When I worked after school, I’d usually eat something small, because I’d have to work from 4pm-9pm, meaning I didn’t exactly have a chance to eat dinner. There was a McDonalds across the street from my work place, and I’d sometimes buy dinner there – just a snack, to hold me until I got home and had a proper dinner. Or I’d go to Coles and get something small, if I wasn’t in the mood for fast food.

Apart from spending money on food, I’d buy things from my workplace – mainly skincare items that were on sale. I’d also buy other things that I didn’t need, just random junk that I bought because I could, because I had the money. This was a very bad way to think, because you’ll obviously run out of money quickly.

My Personal Experience (Now):

Compared to now, about 2-3 years later, I definitely do not spend my money so carelessly. It’s funny, because the other day, me and a friend were discussing what we spent most of our money on. My money was pretty much spent on food and travel, and he was about the same. As I don’t have my full license and I don’t travel around frequently, I depend on public transport – to get to university and to work, or just to the city for leisure.

In terms of saving money, I’d say I have come a long way.

Tips on How to Save Money:

• Shop for SALES

That shirt you’ve been eyeing for a week, and are hesitant on purchasing due to the price – just wait it out. Many shops turnover their stock every few months, meaning they’ll have to clear out all the old stock, which = sales. I bought a Sephora lipstick in May, and I saw it on sale for $14AUD cheaper last month. It wasn’t a product that I was thinking of buying, it was more in the moment. Now that I think about it, I should not have bought it because I didn’t need it…which brings me to my next tip.

• Only purchase what you NEED

We all get so easily sucked in by the tiniest things: packaging, price, sales, hype, etc. If you stick to buying what you need, you’ll save so much money. I know it’s easy to go off on a shopping tangent, but the item you want to buy is just a want, and that can wait. Purchase what you need, before looking at items that you want.

• THINK before you BUY

If you’re considering on buying something quite expensive, think it over 50 times before purchasing. With our society becoming more cashless, it’s so easy to let a piece of plastic manipulate us into buying things that we don’t need.

When I go shopping for things that I need, I always see things that I want to purchase as well. But before I go to the checkout, I always think to myself, “Do I really want/need this?” and I consider the price, the use of the product or whether I will get a lot of use out of said product. It’s a good habit to get into asking yourself these questions, before you make any purchase. If you have all the right answers, then go for it. But if you find that it’s something you really shouldn’t be buying right now, or you know you won’t get a lot of use out of it, then put it back.

• Go on a SPENDING BAN and KEEP TO IT

Throughout June-July, I’ve seen a lot of beauty instagrammers going on spending bans. This is where you don’t buy anything for the whole month. Everyone has different reasons on why they do this, but as hard as it may be for some – seriously try to stick to it. The days will go faster than you think and before you know it, you’ve reached the end of the month – time to treat yourself.

• LISTS

When going shopping, write a list and buy everything on it and NOTHING ELSE. Fight the urge, I know you can!

And lastly,

• COMPARE

Compare the prices of products and if there’s not a big difference – go for the cheaper one! For everyday items such as pasta, flour, sugar, etc. I personally go for the home brand products. These are staples and chances are you’ll be purchasing these quite frequently so going for the cheaper option never really hurt anybody. I don’t think there’s much of a difference for these everyday staples, some often have the same quality and ingredients anyways. Other items such as ice cream, butter and cheese, people may go for the option that costs a little more, just because they feel that the quality doesn’t compare to the one that costs a bit more.

If anyone has any other tips that they use to save money, feel free to comment them below so we can all learn and share! Thanks for reading this post and I hope you found it entertaining or helpful because we all should be aware of how much we’re spending and how we’re spending it!

Until next time xxx