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How to Adhere to your New Year Resolution to Save Money

Everybody makes New Year resolutions, but most of us fail to stick to them. With every start of a new year, we want to change our lives for the best, but because of lack of proper planning and genuine determination, we only follow the resolutions for a couple of weeks, and afterwards, we completely forget about them. But this year, it doesn’t have to be the same, does it?

You see, the trick to sticking to your New Year resolution is to come up with effective ways to follow them, even after the January bustle ends. Financial goals are, probably, the most popular ones. Thus, keep yourself motivated throughout the year by taking into account the following tips.

Sticking to your New Year Resolution

Set realistic goals

The first thing about resolutions is that we tend to set outrageous, slightly unrealistic objectives, which discourage us from even thinking about them. Thus, the key to accomplishing your goals is making sure they’re achievable and realistic. Set specific, measurable money targets.

Make a budget

Establishing a budget is the next step you need to take so that you manage to stick to your New Year Resolution of saving money. Budgeting will allow you to know how much you’re spending, and whether you’re spending more than you’re bringing in. When designing your budget, make sure to include household necessities such as the monthly rent, bills, commute, food and so on, as well as leisure activities such as shopping, eating out, travelling costs, and others.

Next, establish how much money you earn monthly. If you have fixed wages, it will be easier for you to settle that, if not, just set an approximate sum based on your salary from the last couple of months.

Keep track of your spending

As you track down your spending, you will realize where your money goes, something that perhaps missed your attention in the past. Keeping track of your spending will only show you that saving up small amounts of money can make a world of difference in the long run. Ideally, we recommend you consider to track your spending for at least one month, to observe your spending habits, and where a great deal of your money goes to. You will be surprised.

Replace habits, but don’t aim at eliminating them completely

As you realize that your habits make you spend a lot of money, you need to comprehend that you ought to replace them, as eliminating them won’t suffice. For instance, if a large amount of cash goes to eating lunch out, you need to start cooking your own meals. Buy groceries and plan your meals ahead, so that you don’t feel tempted to eat out. Just educate yourself and you’ll be successful in sticking to your New Year resolution to save money.

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Ways to Save Money if you’re Unemployed

There are a number of ways to save money especially if you are unemployed. To those who are experiencing the same thing, it is not the end of the world. It may take quite some time before you find another job and the best thing that you can do is to save your last resources and make the most of what you have in hand.

You’ll never know when unemployment is going to hit you and it may be because of various reasons; economic crisis, questionable number of sick days, poor performance, incompetence, or failure to demonstrate productivity. Finding a new career is not easy so there is a need to find ways to save money. Here’s what you can do:

Gather your resources

It may be in the form of savings, separation pay and other benefits that you will receive as soon as you leave.

  1. Search for a new career – It might take time before you land a full time job. Don’t lose hope; keep on submitting your resume.
  2. Part time job – It is not bad at all, it will save you from getting in debt. Getting a part time job is better than nothing.

Ways to save money

  1. Transportation – Make use of public transportation. Gas is a major expense. Public transportation is just a cheaper option, but drive when necessary.
  2. Avoid dining out – If you are used to Starbucks and getting take out, this is the time to pack snacks and lunches. Always bring water so you can avoid using the vending machine for bottled water.
  3. Make an attainable spending plan – Saving money is going to be tough. Prepare a spending plan that is attainable and stick to your plan.
  4. Cut unnecessary expenses – Subscribing to a magazine, paying for music downloads, spending on online games, these are just a few expenses that you can live without. Your priority is how to be able to pay for rent, water and electricity.

Spend less

Spending less is one of the most effective ways to save money. Try these tips:

  1. Shop with a list – If you are heading to the grocery store, make sure that you have a list of what you need. Without it, there’s a tendency to buy things that you don’t really need.
  2. Save water & electricity – Cut your water and electric bill. Don’t keep the water running when you’re not using it and turn off power switches when not in use.
  3. Use alternative brands – Signature items and big brand items are expensive, be brand flexible.