Top Saving Habits to Have

Do you have too much month left at the end of your money? Are you struggling to make ends meet? In most cases, many of our financial woes can be solved by implementing and maintaining healthy saving habits. Learn more about the top saving habits you should have...

Saving for a Rainy Day

While saving money for future, potential expenses is still a good habit to have, saving money doesn’t need to feel like a painful chore. Savings can also go towards a well-deserved holiday , a pair of shoes you’ve had your eyes on forever, or a fishing trip with friends. The key to saving money is the positive behavioural changes you adopt and keep once you start saving that enable you to protect yourself in the case of financial emergencies, and which allow rewards like that new pair of heels. Take a look at these top savings habits you could adopt.

Track Expenses and Build a Budget

Knowing where your money goes is crucial to saving money. It’s important to keep track of what you spend money on to help you see where you can cut back. To do this, you could keep the receipts you get from stores, regularly check and monitor credit card and bank account statements, or even make manual notes marking what you’ve purchased. A budget works well with this saving habit because you can contrast what you’ve spent against what you budget for. For example, if you have a weekly food budget but are spending over this amount each week, you can decide what to cut back on and where you can purchase cheaper brand options of the same products.

Stick to the Shopping List!

Grocery shopping may seem like a simple task, but sticking to the weekly or monthly shopping list is harder than you think! We are all guilty of impulse buying or emotional spending, especially when it comes to food, and we often land up buying a bunch of things we didn’t actually need. These purchases quickly add up and will not only have you way over your budget but may even have you short on funds before the end of the month! Following and sticking to your shopping list is thus a simple but effective savings habit to have.

Pay Off Your Debt

From credit cards and overdue overdraft payments, and everything in between, most of us have debt in some form or another. And while we may budget to cover the repayments on these facilities every month, it’s beneficial to pay them off as quickly as possible. You can speed up debt repayments by using bonus payments or extra, unexpected money, or where possible, add a little extra towards the repayment amount every month.

Use All The Tools You Can to Save Money

The digital era is a blessing for those who enjoy the seamless manner in which it allows us to manage our money. We can transfer money between bank accounts with barely a thought, open a savings account on our cell phones, and even get coupons and discounts online! By using these tools, we have greater control over our money and can more easily make a habit out of positive money management. This means putting money away every month, investing extra funds, or participating in a rewards scheme.

Save, Save, Save!

The best savings habit to have by far is by actually saving money! Whether you want to open and utilise a savings account, start an investment, save for retirement or even use a piggy bank, stowing money each month is a healthy and useful habit to develop. Seeing your savings grow is satisfying and having money to fall back on when things go awry provides much comfort!

More Savings Habits and Tips

Here are other beneficial savings habits to develop:

• - spend less than you earn
• - dine out less often
• - setup automatic payments to transfer your set savings amount each month
• - prioritise your spending
• - set savings goals
• - regularly review your finances and budget
• - use your utilities conservatively
• - pre-pack lunches and snacks
• - compare prices at multiple stores for big purchases

Plan Ahead with Aspire Money

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