If your goal is to save money – you need to work it into your budget. Read on for tips on how to budget to save money.
Key Points:
- You may need to be a little more creative in order to save money on a small income, but it is possible.
- Be realistic while creating your budget and savings goals and you may be more likely to stick to it.
- The 30-day rule can help prevent impulse buys and may even be able to pad your savings account.
How can I save money on a small income budget?
While it may be a little more difficult, you can still save money with a small income budget. In order to save, however, you may need to cut back on other areas in your budget. Sometimes it’s easier said than done, but one way to save money is by learning to stop spending money! Get creative when cutting back on bills, though here are some tips to help you get started:
- Find out what your library offers, it’s most likely more than just books. It may depend on where you live but some libraries can offer a variety of entertainment options from DVDs to baking pans. Visit your local library to learn more about what they offer.
- Use coupons or rewards to lower your bills. Stack coupons for even more bang for your buck.
- Borrow or buy used and save the money you would have spent on the item or service.
By lowering your expenses, you may have more money available to put into savings. This may change every month and that’s okay! A flexible budget is best for any size income because you never know when an expense or income may change.
What is the best way to budget and save money?
The best way to budget is to set yourself up for success. Choosing a budget plan that you will be able to stick to long term is the first step to saving money. You should also take into consideration if you will commit better with a hard copy of your budget or if a virtual version will be more helpful.
The best way to save money through budgeting is, of course, to include your savings as a line item in your budget. If you don’t have enough income to cover all of your expenses, you may need to cut back on some of your bills.
Cutting back on your bills doesn’t have to be painful. Choose the ones that are easiest to cut back rather than cut out as much as you can to continue your lifestyle. For example, if you have multiple streaming services, you can just subscribe to one at a time in a rotation. When you get sick of the one you have this month, subscribe to another next month.
Educate yourself on budgeting to ensure you get the most out of yours each month. Test your knowledge with our budget quiz to see what pieces you are missing.
What is the 50-20-30 budget rule?
The 50-20-30 budget rule can be a great guide while creating your budget plan. This rule determines what percentages of your income should go toward each category:
- 50% of your income should go toward essential bills such as housing, car expenses, groceries, etc.
- 20% of your income should go toward savings, including your emergency fund.
- 30% of your income should go toward non-essential bills such as streaming services, magazine subscriptions, etc.
Using this rule could be a good start to your budget, especially if you are unsure what you should be spending on each line item. Our budget template may be able to help ensure you have included all or most of your bills and incomes.
What is the 30-day rule?
The 30-day rule helps prevent unplanned purchases by having you wait for 30 days before buying the product or service. The rule dictates that you put the money you would have spent on an impulse buy in your savings instead for a month. When those 30 days are over, you can take the money out and spend it on your purchase if you decide you still want it. If not, the money stays in savings.
This rule can help prevent you from spending money frivolously. It gives you time to think about whether or not you really need to spend that money. This may also be helpful in building your savings, especially if you can’t commit to a set amount each month. With this method of saving, you will only put in what you can afford in order to stay on budget.
If budgeting to save money isn’t enough to get you out of debt, give a ClearOne Advantage Certified Debt Specialist a call at 866-481-1597 to discuss your best debt relief options and get a free savings estimate.
