Tips For Maintaining Your Lifestyle On A Budget

Tips For Maintaining Your Lifestyle On A Budget

Spending money to live a good life is normal but there are some pitfalls to spending over your means.

Don’t feel alone if you do this as it is a common thing for people to spend beyond their means.

Some simple adjustments to how you spend your hard earned money can make a world of difference and relieve a lot of stress. If you need financial assistance why not use the services of a trusted professional team such as Jacaranda Finance.

1 – Use money-saving apps

There are lots of apps that are useful when it comes to saving on groceries or finding discounts. Fetch Rewards is an absolute favourite.

This app will allow you to view receipts at home or in business. Once you earn enough points, it's possible to use these to buy a gift card.

Thousands of online retailers offer rewards to customers who buy from a store.

Planning is one of the best solutions to spending money recklessly and using an app might help you to control the urge to spend.

2- Choose the right budgeting method

There are many methods to create budgets. If your budget doesn't work, it's possible that your spending habits might need a check.

A common budget method is zero-based, which involves assigning each dollar of income towards expenses, debts and savings. 

The idea here is to have a zero balance at the end of each month having assigned all of your income to one of the categories.

The cash envelope method is primarily based on zero budgeting and is able to serve as an additional alternative. 

Create envelopes for each budget category and divide up your income accordingly.

3 – Try a simple budgeting plan

The popular -80/20/20 budget recommends maximum money savings. 80% of the money spent after tax is spent on essentials, 20% is spent on needs, and 20% is spent on savings and debt repayment.

If you follow these recommendations you can have manageable debts, in the end, you do need room to indulge a few times so save enough cash to cover unplanned and unpredictable expenses.

Budgeting effectively is one of the only ways to achieve financial freedom. This is the first step to securing finances for your retirement.

4 – Save before you spend

In an economy that has been harsh in recent times, it is not necessary to lose your savings and get a loan. 

Proper adherence to some advice from an accounting professional can make a significant difference in planning your spending.

Think about saving around 10 – 20% of your salary in a savings account each month.

It's easy to spend money so it's time to start changing your mindset. Spend on necessary fixed expenses first and make sure that you have saved enough to spend on needs and wants.

Decide on the amount you want and then spend the remainder.

5 – Buy store brands

If you want something that is recognizable from advertisements you will get a high price. Choose stores that offer similar products and are often almost identical.

The major food chains will oftentimes create an in-store brand that they will retail at the local grocery store. This is a fantastic alternative to the more pricey brand name options.

For example, coconut milk might be quite expensive however you could be saving money by choosing the in-store brand. Leading a healthy lifestyle

6 – Reduce utility costs

This may be the biggest financial tip out there, but it could be a huge cost saving to reduce electricity usage.

There are many unexpected expenses that arise from unnecessary utility usage. Leaving chargers plugged in and constantly using appliances such as a dishwasher can affect your expendable monthly income.

7 – Plan Your Meals

A fantastic money-saving tip is to plan meals for the week but to live within a budget. All meals are planned at the best price to ensure budgeting success.

Plan each meal you eat this week and then write down all the ingredients in a grocery list. Stick to the list when you head to the store and keep the cost of groceries within your budget.

This dentist who does dental bridges in Harrisburg also suggests getting regular health checkups. This may seem counterintuitive to maintaining a lifestyle on a budget, however, if you consider its long-term effects, it's definitely worth it. With frequent health checkups, your doctors are more likely to detect issues earlier. You'll probably pay less when a health issue is diagnosed at its early stage than when it's already severe.

8 – Buy frozen fruits and vegetables

If fresh food doesn't make it to the budget, you should choose frozen products. Typically these are cheaper than fresh food and contain lots of nutrients.

Often frozen fruit and vegetable products can be more nutritious as they are picked to peak maturity before freezing, which retains nutrients.

9 – Lower heating & cooling

Try to lower your heating temperature during a cold winter and run your AC a little cooler during warm summer months.

Set the timer before you shower so that your water is not wasted. Install insulation in the home and remove the stripping for draughty windows.

You may have already heard the phrase thousands but there is a reason, it's true! You could easily reduce your utility bill by $50 or by this one simple trick.