Your guide to saving money

If you’re living paycheck to paycheck you’re certainly not alone, and it’s OK to speak up about it. While saving money isn’t the most exciting topic to bring up over lunch, or even in your own mind, acknowledging the importance of doing so and getting on top isn’t as hard as you may think. All it comes down to is a few simple tweaks in everyday life.

Track your spending

It’s pretty hard to budget for savings when you don’t know where your money goes every week. It’s also very easy to do a whole lot of unnecessary spending when you don’t regularly assess your habits. Keep the process really simple with an expense tracker app, like Pocketbook, MoneyBrilliant or Mint.

Or, just get into the habit of writing down everything you spend money on and how much it is. When the cost of a spontaneous purchase you’ll never use is in front of you in black and white, just acknowledging it is enough to curb the desire next time - and pop that cash into savings instead.

Create a money-making mindset

Forcing yourself to scrimp and save isn’t something anyone wants to do. It’s also not a great mindset to encourage, as it leads to feeling deprived and unmotivated during the process. Instead, focus on ways to increase your income and view saving money as a cherished goal that does just that, rather than something that attacks your lifestyle.

Look at the bigger picture for increasing your income in order to add to savings, which doesn’t necessarily mean a higher-paying job (however, if you deserve a pay rise, ask for it!). Can you launch into a fun side hustle? Are you surrounded by stuff you no longer want, that you could sell to kickstart your savings? Always remember that saving money is investing in your future by paying yourself first, rather than that pricey restaurant down the road.

Start off small to increase motivation

There’s nothing like the mental boost that comes from seeing even a small stash of money sitting in your bank account, whether you’re saving for a holiday or an investment property. When you start off small, by paying yourself as soon as you get paid, that small stash builds up quickly and you don’t even notice a difference in your lifestyle.

The thing is, once that momentum gets going, you’ll feel an overriding desire to add to your savings account more and more, just for the thrill of seeing it rise towards achieving your financial goals. You’ll start weighing up the value of what you buy now, with what you stand to get if you keep on building that wealth instead.

In other words, just taking the first step with easy lifestyle tweaks is all it takes to get on track with savings. Your own excitement at seeing the progress will take over from there and ensure you keep kicking financial goals.