How to save money in times of crisis?

The first – and perhaps most important step – is controlling your budget. When there are difficult times, every penny is essential for short, medium and long-term planning. Therefore, be sure to write down anything that enters or leaves your finances.

This goes even for a cup of coffee that you drink on the street on a daily basis. This has a direct impact (as we will see later) on decision-making and directing values ​​towards things that really should be prioritized.

And you know what is better? When you start to practice this habit, not only does registering budget entries and exits become everyday, but the practice becomes a pleasure – after all, you will know exactly what your model of life is in relation to money.

But this is one of the steps, which must come in line with several others.

Financial control through apps

But, how to do this financial control that we talked about above?

Simple: with a multitude of applications, programs and websites, many of them free, that make the entire process automated for you and your pocket. In addition to saving time, it reduces the incidence of errors, such as manual filling in notes on paper or even the use of Excel spreadsheets.

In these applications, programs and websites, you can share your finances directly through:

– Fixed inputs, such as the salary you receive monthly;

– Variable income, which includes dividends from investments, additional work performed, among others;

– Fixed expenses, such as rent, installments, water bills, electricity, etc.;

– In addition to various expenses, such as the supermarket of the month, leisure options and the like;

The advantage of financial control applications is that they have a very clear division of categories, which go beyond what we bring above. Thus, it is possible to move on to our next tip on how to save money in times of crisis.

Prioritize getting out of debt

There is no point in thinking about making any kind of savings if debt interest consumes your entire budget. Therefore, if you have amounts to be paid off, prioritize getting rid of them before saving any money.

If necessary, find lines of credit through loans that have a lower interest rate or, even, longer terms in relation to your current debt. It is much easier to have an amount left over when it is not destined, in large part, to pay what you owe, without leaving the place.

Get rid of unnecessary expenses

Remember what we said about coffee earlier? Is it really necessary or can it be replaced with a cup at home, or even eradicated? Remember: difficult times require many sacrifices – and the smallest ones are the easiest to make.

Therefore, in a crisis, any and all unnecessary expenses should be avoided as much as possible, making you have more resources, even without earning an additional penny. By identifying the non-primary costs in the control mentioned above, it is easier to direct your money to a financial reserve.

‘Pay yourself’ before anything else

An essential measure for effective discipline, especially in the most varied crises, is to set aside money for the financial reserve before any other type of payment. That is, always set aside part of what you earn, as soon as you receive an amount, even as a priority in relation to accounts.

This helps, for example, to find mechanisms to cover expenses that arise. Also, it makes this action a habit even in the best economic times, which makes saving money not an option, but a priority.

Find alternative sources of income

The big problem for those who cannot save money is, of course, spending more than earning. However, the person may have religious financial discipline, but the basic costs of survival consume almost all of their income.

The solution is to seek alternative sources of income, especially those focused on what we discuss in the article: saving money. In times of crisis, job offers are reduced, for example, but extra income options are opened.

After all, with a more malleable market, businessmen and customers are looking for people who sell products or offer services on demand. Thus, taking advantage of opportunities in difficult times is an assertive method to save your precious money.

Engage and discuss family finances

Tightening your belt in the crisis when you have a family can be difficult. However, this is essential so that there is money left over that is everyone’s emergency reserve. Therefore, involving and discussing finances with family members is essential.

If each one gives up a little, a very significant economy can be generated. Also, it increases everyone’s ability to have a financial education that will last for long periods, helping in the future, especially for the new generations.

 

Search, search and search

The solution, of course, is research. Taking time to see where food is cheaper, which gas station has quality and good price on gasoline, take advantage of promotions to buy clothes and shoes, among other measures, can help your pocket.

This also applies if you need to take out a loan, for example. Opt for those who offer more soluble conditions and that put you in control of payments, avoiding bureaucratic financing that could be avoided with a search.

Maintain discipline at any cost

Yes. There are situations where it’s difficult to follow all the tips we brought above to save money, especially in times of crisis. But, the secret is always to maintain your discipline, even if the most varied difficulties may arise.

Remember that when you lie down in bed and know that you’ve overcome another day without touching your financial reserve, this will give you additional ‘gas’ to solve any problem. The important thing is, day after day, to follow through with your planning and, if possible, make it more rigid until the crisis passes.

Other key tips

To complement, we will bring a series of fundamental tips that can help you understand how to save money in times of crisis. Are they:

– Put your money saved in applications that have a good return, making the ‘magic’ of compound interest help you to have an even more pompous reserve – of course, without leaving security aside;

– Talk to friends, family, experts and don’t be afraid to ask for tips to help you come up with new ideas, habits and ways to save your capital;

– In the context mentioned above, train yourself whenever possible, reading articles (like this one), financial education books, videos that address the management of personal and/or family finances, in addition to those that are focused on investments;

– Set goals: they help you to better position which financial actions should be taken so that, month after month, you can move forward in an effective and forceful economy.

Start all this before the crisis

To close, a more than precious tip: apply all of this even when there is no crisis. That is, in times of a good economy, with opportunities and wealth generation, a booming market, among other factors, take the opportunity to ‘surf’ this wave.

That way, when another crisis comes along – and they come and go – you can anticipate and won’t have to go through the difficulties that are required to save money. In addition, you will have more investment opportunities, something essential to make your equity grow.