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Spend less and save more. Only people who don’t have your financial stress can think it’s that easy. Not so. Let’s look at ways to put the fun into saving.
With July being National Savings Month in South Africa, now is a good time to think about saving in a new way. If you aren’t a regular saver already, or if you think that you don’t have money to save, use this month to play with savings. Yes, that’s right – play.
A good way to start a new habit, is to have fun with it and to get going with small steps, instead of shooting for the big goal right away. Here are some ideas to put the fun into saving, and to get you started.
Once you have noted the savings successes and lessons of the past month, take the time to capture them in your budget. Using the example above, decrease the entertainment amount in your budget to twice a month and allocate some of it to savings and some to pay off debt quicker. This will improve your credit health.
If, for instance, you spent more on groceries during the challenge month, (because you were eating at home instead of in restaurants or getting takeaways) adjust your groceries budget accordingly – and then start thinking about ways to use the food you buy more cost effectively. For instance, experiment with planning your meals a few days in advance and doing a grocery shop once or twice a week based on your plan. Not only will you save money, but a meal plan makes your life easier as you don’t have to start thinking about supper when you get home from work. Another idea is to prepare more food than your household can eat in one meal. Freeze the leftovers and again make life easier in future when, instead of cooking, you can just defrost.
As you work on your personal budget and keep refining it, use this handy budget calculator to keep getting better at saving and planning for the future, while also reducing your financial stress.
Saving your way to financial health is a journey, but it doesn’t have to be a slog. If you make it fun for yourself and build some rewards into the process, you are much more likely to stick with it. Even if you are a regular saver, a savings challenge for a month can be a fun and powerful way to rethink your spending.
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