Today I wanted to share with y’all five tips I have to manage your money better and save some $$$ this year. It is a lot of people’s resolutions to be better with their money, so now is the time to start!
My husband and I are obsessive with saving money lately, since we are trying to save up for a house eventually. I don’t want to make myself out to sound like some kind of expert (cause I am for sure not and cannot stick to a budget for the life of me), but my husband and I did manage to pay off all of his student loans in under a year and we haven’t been in debt since. We save about 30-40% of the money we make, so we have a pretty decent nest egg saved up so far.
I hate to see people struggle with money and it always terrifies me by the amount of people my age (early 20s) who have NO SAVINGS and tons of crippling debt. Money can be such a stress and burden for people, and my hope is that some of these tips will help move your finances in a better direction this year!
1. Have a savings plan
2. De-clutter and sell the stuff you don’t use
I’ve promoted Poshmark before and I’ll do it again– I’ve been selling my old clothes on Poshmark for almost 2 years now and have made almost $1300. It’s super easy to use, and my closet username is @saburroughs.
And if you need a new outfit, check out Poshmark! Not only does buying used save you money, but it is better for the environment too 🙂 If you sign up with my code saburroughs, you will get a free $5 to spend to buy some clothes on Poshmark.
You can also sell old textbooks you might have lying around on Amazon, sell old electronics on Amazon, and sell anything else on eBay for some extra money to save.
3. Shop at discount grocery stores
I never realized how much money I could save by doing this until this last year. I can get a week’s worth of groceries at Aldi for like $60 vs. $100 at Harris Teeter. That adds up, guys! Plus, most of their produce is pretty good and they have a good selection of organic foods.
4. Meal Planning
My husband and I have a little white board on our fridge so that we can plan out every Sunday what we will eat for the week. It takes like <10 minutes but forces us to take inventory of what we have, what we could make with what we already have, and what we need so we can make a grocery list. Otherwise I will be winging it at the grocery store where I will ultimately end up buying wayyyy too much. Meal planning also keeps us from eating out as much. Eating out (or even take out) can REALLY add up throughout the month, but if you have a plan for the week, you’re less likely to have to eat out last minute. My husband and I also use meal planning as a way to plan out eating less meat. We try to have a meatless meal at least once a week. Not only is this great for your health and the environment, but it’s also nicer to your wallet!
5. Make a hidden savings account
This sounds weird, but hear me out haha
My husband and I have our joint checking and savings account and a brokerage account, but I also have a high-yield savings account that I made when I was in high school. It is through a different bank than our main bank accounts and has a (relatively) high interest that it gives you.
Every two weeks when we get paid, I have an automatic withdrawal that deducts from our bank account to this other “hidden” savings account. Because it is through a completely different bank, when I log on to our main accounts, I don’t see this hidden one. Tbh, I completely forgot about it for like 4 months one time and realized we had a few thousand dollars in it! Out of sight, out of mind. You might not be tempted to rely on the hidden savings account if its separate from your other accounts and then when you need it most, the money will be there 🙂
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