5 Small Life Changes that Can Boost Your Monetary Savings
Aristotle once quoted that excellence is not an act, but a habit. The quote of the famous Greek philosopher can also be applied to managing your personal finances. You significantly improve your financial position by making small changes in your habits. Don’t know which habits to change to attain greater financial freedom? Then read on as we detail 5 small changes in your life that can improve your finances and your life.
1. Consider Switching Banks
Most banks silently eat away our money all throughout the year. You may only come to realize this reality when the bank sends you a bank-statement near the end of the year. There are hidden charges and fees attached with the bank services. The bank silently deducts these fees whenever you avail one of their services. These fees and charges quickly deplete your already limited amount in the bank.
The charges and fees differ significantly among different banks. You may be surprised to know the amount you can save by switching to a different bank that charges low fees for its services.
2. Save up On Energy Bills
You can slice the energy bills in half by installing energy efficient appliances. All home appliances look the same. But they vary greatly in terms of energy efficiency. Energy efficient appliances consume significantly less power resulting in reduced energy bills. You should read the energy efficient label that is attached to most electrical appliances. These labels state the estimated annual energy consumption of the appliances. You should select the appliance that consumes the least power to operate. In this way, you would not only lower your annual energy bill but also help protect the environment.
3. Sign up for Free Customer Rewards Program
Another way you can boost your monetary savings is to sign for free customer reward programs offered by the seller. You should collect every reward programs offered in a shop, even if you do not buy stuffs from that place.
You should set up an email account dedicated solely for collecting reward programs. You should sign up for the reward program whenever you come across one while browsing the net. Eventually, you will collect enough coupons and discounts that you can utilize to save great amount of money on shopping.
4. Automate Savings
Complete this sentence. “I had intended to save for ___________ this year, but I _______________________ to stick to the plan.” You may have filled the sentence with emergency fund, college tuition, vacation trip, retirement savings, or all of them at once. Almost all of us have gone through the experience of making great plans for saving up for an important expense; just to have that plan put to dust due to some “unavoidable” circumstances.
The solution to this problem is to automate your savings. You should direct your bank to deduct a certain sum from your current account and put it in your savings or investment account. The savings will quietly grow in your account that will help you when you are facing tough financial times.
5. Practice Self Discipline
The final small change that you can make to double up your money is to practice self-discipline. You should try to avoid splurging your money on unnecessary expenses that do not provide value to you. Most of us make expenses without thinking whether it will provide any benefit to us. It is important that you practice self-discipline when spending your money. This small change in habit will go a long way in building up your wealth.
Bottom-line, you could significantly improve your finances by making small changes in your life.
