8 Ways To Save Money & Manage Your Finances

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During this weird year of our lives, with COVID-19 and lockdown, it’s the perfect time to start knuckling down on our finances and savings. With restaurants, cinema trips and holidays not an option for us right now, that money we would usually use on our social lives can go and sit safely in our bank accounts instead. And hopefully this whole situation will help us reconsider how we use and spend our money in a positive way.

Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

I know for me personally, this situation has made me focus much more on my finances and savings and most importantly, making as much money as possible. I’m a full-time blogger and I work from home on a permanent basis. I couldn’t even get another job right now if I wanted to, given the current climate.

So really getting organised with my finances is really important to me – given that I manage them solely by myself. May has been my highest paid month since becoming self employed and I wholeheartedly believe that some of the points I’ve listed below have aided me with that.

Related: How To Get Your First Paid Sponsored Post

Over the course of the last year in particular, I’ve become much more accustomed talking about money. I don’t see it as this dirty, secretive word any more than we all need to be hush-hush about. Of course it’s your own personal decision whether you want to talk about money but for me, I enjoy it. I like making money. I like saving money. I like managing my money.

So today I wanted to share with you 8 ways that you can not only SAVE and MAKE more money but also manage your finances in a much healthier and efficient way. Let’s get into it!

Note down all your incomings and outgoings

This has helped me MASSIVELY when it comes to managing my finances and my money mindset (which we’re getting into shortly). Noting down everything that comes IN – down to every last penny that you find on the street – really helps in shifting your mindset in a way to make you notice the money coming in to your life.

In terms of noting down your outgoings, well, that’s just common sense, really. Making a note of every penny you spend helps you realise what you’re spending too much on and can allow you to narrow it down accordingly.

Re-evaluate your money mindset

I’m going to go straight ahead and direct you to Abundance Academy; a course designed to help you clear those money blocks and help you establish a healthier mindset around money. Thus attracting and making more of it in the process! I loved this course and the tools I’ve learned have helped me make and save more and more money.

Of course this ALONE isn’t going to save you any money. You need to put in the work as well. But I do believe that having a healthier mindset when it comes to money can really help you in the long run.

Utilize second hand stores

Ebay, Depop, charity shorts – these are all fantastic options when it comes to buying new things. Not only are you not buying into fast fashion retailers and doing your bit for the environment by shopping more sustainably (if you’re shopping for clothes that is), it’s also a great way to save, save, save!

Sell your unwanted clothes, bags etc.

And as well as actually BUYING second hand, selling your unwanted items instead of binning them is also a two birds with one stone sorta thing. Less environmental damage AND extra cash to go into your savings account! Who doesn’t want that? There are SO many options for selling unwanted items online, from websites that exclusively buy books and DVD’s (I’ve used these before), to more well known options like eBay and depop.

Somewhere like Chapes-JPL could be a great option if you have some higher value items, such as jewelry to get rid of. With over 38 years experience, these guys buy your gold and jewelry in any condition and your money is with you in a matter of minutes! They will buy your gold jewelry, gold coins, scrap gold, platinum jewelry, engagement rings and more! And being one of the leading Rolex buyers in Atlanta GA, watches can go to them too.

Cut down on takeaways and unnecessary subscriptions

This is where the noting down all your outgoings comes in super handy. I don’t know about you but there’s been times where I’ve been literally ashamed at the amount of takeaways I’ve ordered. Monday: sushi. Tuesday: McDonald’s. Friday: Chinese. Nobody needs that many takeaways! So take a look at your spending habits and see what you can cut down on. Be ruthless too.

Don’t online shop because you’re bored

DON’T. STOP IT. PUT DOWN THE LAPTOP. This is so easy to do, I know. But it’s unnecessary. Shopping because you’re bored, lonely or sad can make a huge dent in your savings. And I bet that half of the things you buy during these periods rarely, if ever, get used. We buy things to make ourselves feel better sometimes. But perhaps focus on other areas of self care instead.

Consider all realistic income streams for you

If you’re looking to make extra cash and boost those savings, I’d highly suggest creating a list of ALL the realistic income streams for you. This doesn’t mean getting 2 extra jobs on top of the one you already have. But consider your situation and list accordingly. For example…

If you have a blog on the side, what can you do to make extra money through that? Are you in a position to work with and pitch to brands? If so, check out this eBook (aff – use code JENNY for 10% off!). Perhaps you can offer advertising packages for other bloggers or look into affiliate marketing.

Or outside of blogging, perhaps you can sell things online, open an Etsy shop, offer dog walking services, do a boot sale, freelance – there’s a huge number of options!

Make extra cash through survey sites and cashback apps

And finally, not something that will make you millions but certainly something to put a bit of extra cash back into your savings account. Cashback apps are great for making purchases that you were going to make anyway but also getting a little bit of cash BACK on that purchase.

Survey sites are also a great alternative because over time, you can built up quite a bit of extra cash and that’s Christmas sorted for that year! Check out this post for 3 survey sites I used to make extra money!

How do you boost your savings account? Any tips to add to this list?