Feeling like your money’s gone the moment you get paid? After paying off bills, buying your essentials, and treating yourself, your bank account is nearing zero again. Indulging here and there might feed good–short-term–until you’re scrambling for cash. Although increasing your income is one solution, making more money is only half the battle.
If you’re spending without a clear blueprint, you’re building your financial future on a faulty foundation. The good news is, you can start tracking your money and implementing a few money savings tips to stop spending money arbitrarily today!
1. Stick to your budget
The less glamorous side of adulthood – budgeting. However, once you get your rhythm down, it’s quite satisfying to see your hard work manifest in dollar signs. To get started, sit down and write out your flow of money, this means every cent. Track what’s coming in and what’s going out. This will give you a much clearer picture of where you can cut back, reevaluate your spending habits and get you closer to your goals.
2. Tracking every dollar
A few dollars here and there adds up and before you know it, you’ve blown your gas money on miscellaneous purchases. When you’re a MoneyLion member, tracking your spending habits has never been easier with powerhouse finance and banking tools designed to make your life easier. It only takes a few minutes to sign up!
To begin, download the MoneyLion app and sign up for a $1/month RoarMoney® account. Once you’re in, you can fund your account and link an external bank account and begin tracking! The spend tracker report gives you weekly updates of your spending by category. And the Financial Heartbeat® tool is your roadmap to reaching financial planning goals powered by expert advice.
3. Delayed gratification
Wait to take a vacation, buy new clothes, or get your daily coffee until you have built habits around paying off debt and saving. Instead of the instant gratification of spending for the now, make it a goal for yourself to set aside funds for the extra things in life.
Being able to spend on a vacation or a little shopping spree will feel less stressful because you’ve already paid down debt and established savings.
4. Limit shopping
Have a little bit of fun, but budget for it. Set aside some cash here and there and allow for some spending money. Treating yourself will help you avoid the burnout feeling of constantly counting every penny. If your budget doesn’t allow for splurge money, find some items around your house or thrift store to flip for a quick profit.
5. Capsule wardrobe
A capsule wardrobe is a small collection of your favorite clothing pieces that can be used interchangeably throughout all seasons, usually consisting of quality-made pieces. Only buy pieces you absolutely love, which means you might spend a little bit more per piece. Quality and comfort over quantity! Not only does this make laundry day easier( and faster), but it’s also less stressful to pick out outfits.
6. Avoid social media ads
Don’t tempt yourself with the latest must-have influencer gadgets. Trust us, you don’t need it as much as they say you do.
7. Cut back or eliminate eating out
Who doesn’t love to skip the hassle of cooking and heading out the door to your favorite taco shop? Unfortunately, eating out can cost you nearly 7 times the amount you’d spend to make a meal at home. Once you get the hang of meal prepping, planning meals, buying in bulk, and whipping up one-pot meals, you wonder why you wait so long to start.
8. Avoid the sales
This one is tough to avoid, especially around the holidays when all of your favorite stores are advertising killer deals. Think of it like this, that product you think you so desperately need will likely still be available in 6 months. Albeit, it might not be on sale, but it will give you time to think about it and save up without paying interest on a credit card.
But it’s on sale! Trust us, we love a good sale, however, using up your grocery budget on a pair of shoes will leave you with buyer’s remorse.
9. If you can’t buy it cash, don’t buy it
Credit cards should only be used for emergencies or in a responsible way to build credit. If you make purchases with a rewards credit card, make sure you pay it back on the due date to avoid interest or the rewards aren’t worth it.
10. Make your coffee at home
There are tons of cool coffee makers, espresso machines, and tasty coffee syrups available for you to be your own barista. Skip out on a week’s worth of Starbucks vanilla sweet cream cold brew coffees and you can buy your own cold brew coffee maker–and avoid the long lines. You’d be saving thousands of dollars yearly with this hack alone!
11. Only shop off your list
Never go into a grocery store hungry! Instead of your budget leading the way through the isles, your growling stomach is going to take you right to the expensive snacks. Eat before you go grocery shopping and bring your grocery list curated specifically to meal plans and budget. Saving time and money is the name of the game!
12. Learn how to say no
You’re not required to say yes to every event, party, and fundraiser you’re invited to. However, if it’s not in your budget and it’s really important that go, find a couple of side hustles or borrow up to $250 from Instacash to cover you until payday. Here’s to saying yes to the things that matter most!
13. Check your account often
Keep a close eye on your finances easily from your mobile MoneyLion app. You can track your spending by category with weekly updates, transfer money between accounts, and get paid up to two days early!
14. 5-day rule
Psychologists say there are many reasons why we feel good when we buy stuff or get a good deal. That high you get from feeling like you need to have “it” is dangerously tempting. Try this: wait five days and then decide if you need it. The extra time and separation can dissipate those feelings and provide some necessary clarity.
15. Leave the credit cards at home
Can’t control your plastic money spending? Solution: leave it at home. You’ll be tempted to use a credit card if your bank account or debit card is running low.
What happens if I have an emergency and I need my credit card? MoneyLion offers instant financial help right from your smartphone! You can apply for a Credit Builder Loan within the MoneyLion app in a few minutes! Get up to $1000 with same-day funding and foster a healthy credit score in the process.
2% Cashback every month from MoneyLion
Getting a bird’s eye view of your budget is only the first step to spending less. Figuring out how you can stop spending and earn more money is the ultimate goal. One of the easiest ways to do that is by earning for spending. Through our rotating online deals, Priceless Surprises and Shake n Bank rewards earning side cash has never been so simple!
Sign up today and earn up to 2% cashback from different vendors each month when you use a RoarMoney virtual card or MoneyLion Debit Mastercard.
