My top 10 effective saving tips
Time
flies so fast. We are now in the second
quarter of the year. I am sure most of
us have listed “savings” as one of our new year’s resolutions. As for me, every last month of the first
quarter, I sit down and check how I have been doing with my new year’s
resolution, especially on saving money.
It is a good thing that every year shows an improvement in my
finances. Frugality is my best friend
when it comes to savings.
The
following are my top 10 most effective ways of saving, and hopefully help in
beating my financial giant.
- List system. When grocery shopping, I list down all the
things that I need to buy. If I stick to my list, there is a great chance
that I will not overspend or buy something that will end up unused or kept
in the cabinet.
- Delayed gratification. I used to be an impulsive buyer. Whenever I want things or whenever there
are new mobile models, I would surely have it the next day. This gave a big impact on my finances,
especially on the use of credit cards.
I have learned that delaying my gratification also delays my
spending, thereby saving me money.
This not only helps in my savings but also in practicing the virtue
of discipline.
- Give more. If you give something, it comes right
back to you. Have you heard of good
karma and do unto others as you would want others do unto you? Giving is like an echo. Whatever you give, it bounces back to
you. So, better share your
financial blessings than curses to others.
- Shop online. When shopping online, I get not only the
promos and free deliveries but it also saves my time commuting and going
through traffics of Dubai – saving not only money but also my energy.
- The”happy meal” eat
outs. As much as possible, I do not
dine out. In case my friends and I
decide to eat out, our index in buying a meal is the McDonald’s happy meal. We only eat meals with the same price as
the happy meal or less.
- It depends upon the
face. I do not always buy branded
clothes. Now a days, it does not
matter anymore what brand you wear because China can always imitate the
expensive brands. J What matters most is character. If you carry happy thoughts, it will
radiate and show on your face, thereby no need for costly clothes or makeup.
Beauty depends upon the face and
not on the brand of the clothes you wear.
- Be creative. In this high technology world, people
tend to forget the importance of hallmark cards. For me, it is more personal when I make
my own gift. Making my own card,
creating accessories, molding clays or even baking bring back the personal
touch on gift giving, and is cheaper than buying from expensive malls.
- Bring lunch at work. Instead of buying or ordering daily from
restaurants, cook your own meal and bring it at work. Aside from the assurance that you know
where your food came from, this will lessen your monthly food budget
compared to buying from outside daily.
- Sell your unwanted gifts and
unused items at home. One day, I checked
my cabinet and found out that there were things I have bought and have not
been using for a long time. Some
were unopened gifts. I took a
picture and sold the items online.
It gave me additional 200 AED or more.
- Good ol’ coin bank. I have two coin banks, one personal and
one for my chosen charity, ANCOP (Answering the Cry of the Poor) ministry. Every day, I push myself to put a one
dirham coin in each coin bank. If I
forget, I will make it up the next day or the next week, depending on how
many days I missed. With this
practice, at the end of the year, I have 365 AED or 100 USD that goes to
my stock or mutual fund investments and to the scholars of ANCOP. Do not underestimate the power of 1 AED,
you may never know how far your 1 AED can go.
These are just my top 10 effective ways. There are a lot more things we can do to pay
off our debts, finish our family projects quickly, and eventually retire early
back to our home country while we can still enjoy the fruits of our labor.
My coin bank for the scholars of ANCOP
