Have you ever thought about why it’s difficult to save money especially when you are already living life on a low budget?
Sometimes even after cutting so many extra expenses, you are not able to save money.
And that is because of a few reasons where we have to pay at least once a month like home rent, Car Loan EMI, Insurance premiums, Credit card payments, etc.
Some of the bills from this list can be the biggest bill on your monthly budget.
You can easily reduce these bills but sure you can lower some of them like moving to a smaller rental house will lower your monthly rent.
(Tip: You can also share your room with a partner to divide your rental if possible.)
You can not use any magic trick to reduce your bills and save more money but you will have to work on it.
Taking some small steps can help you to grow your savings and control your monthly expenses.
5 Tips for How to Save Money if Your Monthly Income is low
1. Find ways to earn extra money.
There’s no way around this one: Even when you have a bare-bones budget, sometimes saving money just isn’t possible.
One reason is that your fixed costs, like your rent or mortgage, medical insurance and car payments are often your biggest expenses — and those are the hardest to lower.
If you’ve cut everything you can and still can’t save, it’s time to find ways to make extra money.
Read: 5 Websites to make money online
Switching to a higher-paying job isn’t always realistic, but you can still take on a side hustle, find a work-from-home job you can do part-time or make extra cash selling stuff online.
2. Find cheap ways to treat yourself.
Any successful savings plan has a little built-in flexibility so you can treat yourself from time to time.
Rather than downing drinks at happy hour, buy yourself a good but cheap bottle of wine to enjoy at home.
Have a DIY spa day using simple ingredients you probably have on hand. If you’ve been stuck at home for too long, you can refresh your home’s look without spending a dime.
Read: 25 Best Personal Finance Blogs In India
3. Travel on two wheels whenever possible.
Even if it’s not feasible to ditch your car, bike commuting a couple of days a week can help you save money on obvious expenses, like gas and parking.
But there’s a bonus here: When you’re on your bike, you can fit a lot less in your basket or backpack than you can in your car trunk.
So if you have a habit of making extra trips to the grocery store or stopping for takeout on your way home, travelling by bike reduces the temptation.
4. Repair what’s broken instead of buying a new one.
Just because something’s broken doesn’t mean it’s destroyed.
By learning some basic DIY techniques, you can make your lightly damaged goods like new again without shelling out for repairs.
For instance, learning a few basic sewing stitches will help you repair your clothing for you and your family, even if you don’t have a sewing machine.
There are plenty of ways to learn home repair skills for free online.
But for major repairs, know when to call a pro. It’s worth the cost when you’re repairing a big-ticket item or doing anything that could jeopardize your safety.
Read: How to earn money on YouTube?
5. Cancel automated purchases for non-necessities.
Curbing mindless spending isn’t just about cutting out late-night Amazon purchases and impulse grocery buys.
You probably have monthly subscriptions and memberships that are draining your bank account each month for things you rarely, if ever, use.
One of the best ways to save money is to look carefully at gym memberships, streaming services, subscription boxes and anything else that you automatically pay for each month.
If you haven’t used it in the past month, it probably belongs on the chopping block. Also, be on the lookout for any free trials you forgot to cancel.
6. Smash your credit card debt once and for all.
The average APR for people who carry credit card debt is well over 16%. Your bank jumps for joy when you don’t pay off your balance because it’s getting rich off all that interest.
Quit padding your bank’s coffers and break up with your credit card debt forever. Some tactics to try:
The debt snowball method, where you attack the smallest balance first.
The debt avalanche method is where you focus on the card with the highest interest rate.
A debt consolidation loan, is where you merge your debts into a single payment. This is only a good option if you’re lowering your interest rates.
A balance transfer credit card, where you transfer your balances to a card with a 0% promotional interest rate.
That zero-interest period typically only lasts 12 to 18 months, though, so this approach is best if you don’t have tons of debt.
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