If there is still so much month left at the end of the money, then there can be two reasons: Either the income is really barely enough, or it is due to poor financial planning. If the latter is the case and you have the feeling that your salary is just trickling away in your hands, here are a few tips for saving money today. We always need money. What if our boiler breaks down and we need to fix it? Or an emergency trip to the dentist, or perhaps even a car accident and you need to hire a car accident attorney. You need to be prepared. Your best ally in the fight against disappearing money is the good old budget book, which is now available as an app, as well as the right mindset.
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Tips to save money
1. The 50/30/20 budget
How much rent can you afford and what amount could you save each month? The 50/30/20 method will help you answer these questions. This rule of thumb for dealing with money can be a good starting point for your own budget – and the categorization is really fixed. The basis is your income after taxes or the amount of money that is available to you. For example, if you have projects that bring money in addition to your main job, you add everything up. Then the following is briefly calculated:
- 50 percent of your income is earmarked for fixed costs. This covers all essential things: rent, insurance, public transport tickets, groceries etc.
- You can spend 30 percent of your available finances however you want: vacation, eating out, new racing bike – go for it!
- You use 20 percent of the money to pay off debts, fill your savings account or save in other ways.
2. See it as a challenge
If you respond particularly well to challenges, you can consider a money challenge. The no -spend-day is a very popular challenge: A day on which you are absolutely not allowed to spend anything. Especially ambitious, try to create several days in a row. A day without spending can be eye-opening, especially for impulse buyers.
3. The good old piggy bank
What would saving be without a piggy bank?! Get in the habit of regularly fetching change from your wallet and tossing it into your own jar, money box, or classic piggy bank. Anyone who often pays with bills knows that over time there will be quite a few coins in their wallets.
4. Social times
Before investing or spending, ask yourself the following question: How long does what I buy make me happy? Estimate how many hours your investment will make you happy.
5. Little helpers on your smartphone
If you want to keep track of your expenses, you should make it a habit to put everything in writing. Household book apps can help you with this. If you enjoy it, you can keep track of all costs on an ongoing basis, but a month or two is sufficient for an initial overview of your habits. Money Manager works in a similar way, here you can also set budgets and group all expenses into categories (for iOs and Android).
