Happiness does not lie in money, yet, it is necessary and crucial to live a decent life. To avoid being broke, you have to be smart with the way you handle your money. But if you have no idea of how to go about it, not to worry. In today’s article, we bring you some useful tips to spend and save your money in a more intelligent way. Keep reading to learn more.
1. Live below your means! Don’t buy things you don’t need and always sleep on the big purchases.
2. Before you buy something, ask yourself if what you intend to buy will bring you good and joy when you get home or if the pleasure will only come from the purchase itself.
3. Do you own a stocks? Stop looking at the stock market every day. If you are a long term investor, which you should be with stocks, then it doesn’t matter how the stock market goes up and down and that all the reporters who paid to have us read about it are experts at scaring us. Check the stock market from time to time, evaluate and act.
4. Take some time now and then to see how much money you’ve spent. Write down every penny you generally spend and evaluate it at the end of each month. This makes it easy to see where your money might be wasted on silly things. And, perhaps, that money can be put into a travel fund for the future.
5. Do a list of non-essential purchases for a month. Set an amount and all purchases over that amount should be put on a waiting list for a month. After that, if you still think you need the thing, buy it.
6. Buy and use items that don’t require much maintenance. When you are faced with a purchase, think about how much maintenance the item requires.
7. Simplify your finances. How many credit cards, savings accounts, stock accounts and other accounts do you have? Are them scattered all over the place and do they just create clutter and paperwork? Then you know what to do.
8. Don’t do the shopping as an activity. Make sure you are having fun, are well-rested and de-stressed when going shopping so you won’t need to shop to satisfy a need.
9. Have a goal with your money and it will be much easier to keep the money you have left.
10. Use cash when you make purchases. It feels better when you pay than when you use a card.
11. Examine your own reactions to the people around you. If you are jealous of them, ask yourself why. There may be something missing in your life, but trust us, it most probably has nothing to do with them.
12. Before you buy anything, ask yourself: Do I have something at home that does the same thing?
13. Ignore the neighbors’ new car. Over-consumption benefits no one but the companies that sell these products.
14. Be firm when someone tries to overload you with work. It does wonders for self-confidence and somehow magically, others start treating you with more respect at the same time.
15. Enjoy things without owning them. Admire the shop windows, the art in the gallery, the beautiful flowers in the garden without getting them for yourself. You often get more pleasure out of things when you don’t have the responsibility of ownership.
16. Shop when you need it. In other words, don’t go into stores to look, don’t read catalogs or on websites to look for things you need. Your needs will come up by themselves. You don’t have to chase after them.
Here you are! If you follow those 16 suggestions, you should be able to save money and spend much less. Did we miss any tips? Let us know in the comments below.
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