Financial crisis can come anytime to anybody. It is always difficult to face money problems if you aren’t prepared for it. If you are born rich and have a never-ending financial support then you may not prepare for it. There are many families with tight budget. They need to have good financial planning for the future. If you haven’t done your financial planning, then please start right away.
What if you haven’t planned for a financial crisis and one occurs? It can be a difficult time to pay your bills on the due date or go on a family trip. During a financial crisis, these simple tips may come handy to save money.
Here is the list of ten simple tips to save money during financial crisis:
10. Sell Unwanted Items
Prepare a list of items you aren’t using or tend to have become unwanted. It can be your old radio or TV. There are several services available online and offline who give good value for your old stuffs. Consult some of your friends and relatives to know about the local shops where you can sell off your unwanted items. Once you are ready, start to sell the items. You may even put it on auction if you believe the value of the product is quite high. This tip will give you some extra money without disturbing your lifestyle much. Spend the money on something useful.
9. Go For Offers, Discounts, Points and Cashback
During a financial crunch, never hesitate to look for offers, discounts and cashbacks on the items you buy. There are many websites which offer price comparisons on the items you shop online. In superstores you will definitely find products with discounts and offers. Buy the items which are discounted. Today, carrots may be cheaper and tomorrow cabbage may become cheaper, so plan accordingly. Ask for offers if you are a regular customer. Lot of money could be saved through offers and discounts.
8. Move To a Bank With Higher Interest Rates
If your current bank isn’t giving you enough interests, move to a different bank that gives good returns. Keep this as your savings account. Never remove money from this account. Transfer some percentage of your earnings to this account on a regular basis. Keep this money during critical times. Even during difficult times, deposit some money, may be 2% of the sum you posses to this account. In the long run, this will help you. You are not only saving some money but also going to secure your future as this account will give you good interests.
7. Use Public Transport
This is one of the most important tips to follow during a financial crisis. If your area has enough public transport, then make good utilization of it than using your personal vehicle. Public transport systems are generally cheaper than your car or bike. Some of the public transport system offers monthly and yearly passes to obtain more benefits. To maintain a car or bike, you need to spend on gasoline, insurance and maintenance. All these things can be saved by transiting on public trams, trains and buses. It is obvious and final that transiting through public transports is way cheaper than your personal vehicles.
6. Save on Utility Bills
Save energy to save on utility bills. The more you consume, the more you spend. A whopping 13 percent of the electricity consumption goes into heating water. This can be avoided by using solar energy. Solar energy is comparably cheaper than electricity. Install ceiling fans instead of AC. Switch off any devices not in use. Do not cook what is not needed. After reducing the consumption of energy, if you still feel the electricity bills are high then go for an energy audit to find the leaks.
5. Prepare Your Own Food and Never Waste
Never waste your food. Always value the food even if you aren’t on a financial problem. Food is precious during a crisis, so try to avoid wastage as much as possible. It is always cost-effective to prepare your own food instead of dinning out or buying outside packaged foods. Buy the optimal items needed to prepare your daily food so that wastage is minimized. Sometimes you need entertainment even during financial problems. It is preferable to go for takeaway food or trying a cheaper dine-out restaurant for some relaxation and fun.
4. Buy Groceries from Wholesalers or Online
This is one of the most important things during a financial issue. You have to buy your groceries on a large-scale to save money. It could be bought from large-scale/wholesale retailers. Some of the online retailers give discounts on groceries when bought in large quantities. Go for it! This will help you to store the surplus for future and save money. This will be a onetime investment, may be for 3 to 4 months you need not invest on these groceries products. Grocery items that do not perish easily can be bought this way like grains, apples, garlic, onions, pepper, spices and oats.
3. Shop Only What is Needed
Unnecessary things bought during a financial crisis will increase your financial problems even more. It is very important to control your shopping trends. Never buy things that are not needed. For example, never buy a new pair of shoes when you already have one. Buy only the important things like grains, vegetables and fruits to keep you healthy. Never waste your money. Plan your expenses by creating a list of important items needed for the month and stick to it. This way you can easily save a great deal of money.
2. Keep Track of Expenses
This is a very important step to save money during financial problems. You need to identify where your expenses are more. Keep track of all your daily expenses in a notebook or Microsoft excel. There are several apps which can easily track your expenses. Once you take charge of all your expenses, find which is costing you more. Try to control the expenses which are not necessary. You can segregate the expenses into two sections – important and not-important. Concentrate more on the not-important things to save some money.
1. Sell Your Spare Time (Extra Job)
Find your hobby which can earn you extra money. Do not waste your free time thinking about your financial problems. Act fast and find an extra job to earn some income. Your hobby could be dancing, music, painting, photography or anything that you may convert to a job. There are also several freelancing jobs available online and offline. Search seriously for one. Go to your local pizza or grocery shop and get a job which they are ready to offer during your free time. There is nothing wrong in trying than not-trying. It is possible that your hobby or spare job could turn into a full-time job soon.