It never hurts to spend wisely; getting in the habit of making good financial choices! It doesn’t take a genius to understand that a few simple money-hacks have the ability to make improvements in your finances over time. Here are a few ways that you can make your hard earned cash work for you; elevating your #aesthetic!
GROCERIES
When you live in a bustling city, it can be a temptation to want to try the latest and greatest trending restaurant. But eating out every other day (let alone every week) can do a lot of wear and tear on your wallet! Take the time to invest in your diet by planning out your meals in advance. You can make a list of 4-6 dishes you’d like to prepare for dinner (within a month). They can be meals that use similar ingredients enabling you to spend less. Sometimes when preparing a meal you may have left overs that you can have for another night or take to work as your lunch. Cooking may seem daunting to some, but over time you will see the benefits when it comes to your money. If you eat out more than 3 times a week that can add up to a month’s worth of groceries!
BUY IN BULK
In the moment it can seem convenient to buy as you go; such as purchasing toothpaste the moment you run out. If you’re wanting to tighten up your spending habits (making better choices that enable you to save money), then I suggest buying in bulk. You don’t have to shop and store up items like the world is coming to an end, but rather take advantage of the sales that are available at your favorite store(s). These sales include buy 1 get 1 free (2 for the price of 1) and buying multiples in a pack instead of an individual item. It looks like it’s more expensive on the surface. Yet, it is actually costing you more to shop as you go instead of buying in bulk (setting the extras aside for a future time). We can take change for granted and not consider the added tax that gets placed on items once we reach the check out line. This change adds up, but buying in bulk will enable you to save more!
CREDIT SCORE
Credit Karma (creditkarma.com) is a great resource when it comes to knowing what your credit score is. They also recommend credit cards that you are most likely to get an approval from. These banks are ones that have a sponsored partnership with the online resource. I would still recommend comparing the ones that they endorse to one that you may be interested in or currently using. It’s important to know where your credit score stands and to understand how you can improve it. Credit Karma sends you recommendations in weekly emails on how you can improve your score. They also give you updates letting you know how your efforts have impacted your overall score. I like that it shares with me what effects my score. Your credit score determines whether a bank will approve you for a loan to your financial competence in buying your first home! That is why spending wisely is so crucial and especially at our age as #millennials. We need to make the best financial decisions now so that our future-selves and our families will benefit from it in the long run.
SET IT ASIDE
The most basic and simplistic way to save money is to set a portion of your income aside in a savings (or even cash set aside in your home). I would recommend setting aside 10% of your paycheck. It never hurts to have extra saved in case of an emergency or any other unexpected event that demands $$
Over time as you begin to generate a nice chunk of change that you have saved up; you can consider investing in stock in order to gain more income. For those interested, I suggest checking out Robinhood.com for more information on investing. Personally, I’m not into Trading, but I have an interest in investing in a stock or two; waiting over time for its value to increase before opting out. This will enable me to double my investment as a way of making some extra money that I can use later on OR put in a savings for a rainy day!
Like I said before, it’s vital that we reevaluate our spending habits; making wise financial decisions that we will benefit from in the years to come. This will elevate our #aesthetic and enable us to live the #millenniallife that we desire!
Santé
