Hello there!
Hope you all had a great start to the week. I know when I first arrived here in New York, I literally wanted to buy everything I saw. It was so hard not to spend money, because there were so many temptations… Coming from such a tiny village, where there is only a grocery store and nothing else, the big city was a frightening place for my wallet. But eventually I managed to control myself and came up with a few tricks to keep me on the right path, when it came to saving and not spending every cent I had.
- Start a Budget spreadsheet That’s how I started to keep track of my spendings. I would write down how much I earned and how much I was spending, with details of what it was exactly. At the end of each month I had an overview of what I was spending, where I was spending the most and it helped me cut out on unnecessary thing. For example I used to drink two lattes every day (which is ridiculous) and making that spreadsheet made me realize how much I was spending on coffee. Now I make coffee at home and my lattes are a special occasion.
- Walk instead of taking the Taxi/Uber Even if it’s just once a week, it adds up at the end of the month. If you live in the city, it’s really not that bad too walk for 30 minutes (I do it twice everyday and it gives me an excuse to wake up earlier). Considering you’re at school or work for most of the day, it’s really good for your head and body to take a walk and have some fresh air. But if you’re really not into walking take the subway instead.
- Don’t eat out! Obviously I’m not saying you can’t go out at all. But make it a special occasion, like once a month. It really makes a big difference, if you start cooking for yourself. Start planning meals and shopping ahead. You’re wallet will thank you! I know eating out is really convenient, but we’re still students and we can’t really afford to go out all the time.
- And lastly spend less than what you have/make! The best feeling is when you look into your savings account and you have money saved up. Start making it a thing to put aside every month half of your income, you never know when you will need it. And it’s really good to have some kind of financial security once you get out of school.
Hope these tips were helpful! If you have any tips you want to share leave them in the comments below.
xoxo
Zorya