Saving Money
Everyone likes to have money. Having money gives you the freedom to do what you want, when you want. The best way I’ve found to earn money is simply to save what you’ve got. I feel that I’ve got quite good at saving money in my 14 years. Let me share with you a few techniques that I’ve found that help me to save money.
Only have as much money on you as you need. For example, if you are going out to see a film, only take as much money with you as you know you will need to pay for the ticket. If you absolutely must, take a small amount more than you need in the off chance that you need to pay for something else, but try your best not to spend this extra money.
Wrap coins in piles of 10€ (or whatever is convenient for your currency). Personally, I wrap my money using plastic wrap. This way, whenever I want to spend money, I have to unwrap it, and this act really makes me think about whether the 10€ that I’m unwrapping could be better used in another place.
If ever you see something in a shop, and you think you might want it, stop. Ask yourself Do I really need this? What do I gain by having this thing? Is this benefit worth the price?
Then go home and sleep on it. Literally. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll probably realise that you don’t actually need a new all-in-one toaster-fridge-computer-telephone-TV. Your money will be saved for another day.
I use The Birdy to track my expenses. It’s a free web app that sends you an email once a day asking you what you spend that day. You give each item a title, and you can also add #tags to it. The Birdy then generates pretty graphs and charts for you that helps you to understand your spending habits. I highly recommend it.
These techniques help me to limit my spending. What do you do to control your spending?
