Part 2 of our spend less and save more blog post. Learn how to save more and spend money in the more important areas of life. It is time you start to plan more effectively and learn how to motivate yourself to save. You’ll also be surprised by the amount of money you spend on things you don’t necessarily need. Keep your lifestyle inflation in check and swap those restaurant meals for ‘potluck’ dinners with family and friends. Read part 2 of ‘How to spend less, save more and reap the benefits’.
Keep lifestyle inflation in check
As your income begins to rise, you’ll be tempted to upgrade your lifestyle as well. You should never miss the opportunity to enjoy your hard-earned cash, but often there is a fine line between enjoyment and excess. Before you start checking out new phones or buying a new car every year, take a moment to reflect and ask yourself: do I truly need this? A more simplistic example is shopping.
Typically as your income increases you are inclined to start shopping in places you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to shop in before and you’ll also start to buy more things. If you already had enough food to sustain yourself and your family; why spend more? Yes, we do like to indulge but don’t let that be at the cost of an extra €50 or €100 a week. That is €2600 and €5200 a year. Do that over 10 years and that becomes €26,000 and €52,000. Do yourself a favour and look at other options, such as savings, retirement funds and investments. That income could easily generate more value for you.
Plan ahead
When you don’t plan ahead you get desperate and are more inclined to throw money at a problem than think it through more carefully. This is usually a result of naivety through bad planning. Some people are excellent at planning, but you don’t have to be to save money. Today you may decide to go on an excursion to Dublin, but before you do, scout out free parking ahead of time.
Plan your weekly meals in advance, so you will never be tempted to buy a takeaway because you don’t know what to cook. Visit many open houses before you consider buying a house. You’ll know exactly what you want at the end and the right price that you should pay (Plus it’s fun). Now imagine if you were to plan more things; how much money will you save?
Despite the nifty savings you can make from planning ahead, consider for a moment the benefits of planning ahead financially. Are you buying a house? There are several options available to you which are effective methods to build up a lump sum for a down payment on your mortgage. Bank interest rates are currently negligible, so there is not much point in having money on deposit. There are saving bonds available which provide a significant income through interest with a low risk of loss (based on past performances).
While this does not guarantee you lots of money, it can potentially provide a steady level of income, rather than getting a 1% interest on a deposit with a 41% DIRT tax charge on interest earned. This logic extends to your pension options as well with many more pathways available for you to diversify into.
There should be someone contacting you on a regular basis as monitoring your money and keeping you informed is of paramount importance. Perhaps you may have had a bad experience in the past in regard to an investment or your pension and if you had we highly recommend that you contact us to get a second opinion on your options.
Swap restaurants for potlucks
What makes Christmas dinner fantastic? Yes, it is that jolly festive time of the year, but it is also important because we spend more time with family and friends. We enjoy this dinner more than any other throughout the year. Going to a restaurant is very enjoyable, but you can have this experience at home. Spend time with your friends, but for a fraction of the cost. Hone your cooking skills and ask everyone to bring something along. There is no doubt that it will be an enjoyable experience.
Get people involved and rotate hosts for a change of scenery. This comes back to your lifestyle inflation. The more money you earn, the more inclined you’ll be to eat out. Beat bad habits before they start and organise a potluck.
Save and say no to paying for entertainment
There are plenty of ways to spend your free without spending money. We have become so addicted to our phones and laptops that we have forgotten there is a whole wide world outside our door. Yes, we can experience some of this through the internet, but why pay for it when it’s available for free? Go for walks, and runs and visit museums and woods. You are guaranteed an immersive experience without opening your wallet. You do not need to spend money to enjoy the world around you.
We hope you enjoyed this read and if you do have any queries or need any financial advice (it’s free), be sure to get in contact with us by sending an email to: dvarian@alphawealth.ie or messaging us on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin.
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