Learn The Best Way To Save Money

The path to saving involves organizing your finances, having well-established goals, in addition to devising strategies to spend less than you earn monthly. In some cases, you will need to find sources of extra income to achieve your goal. In others, a little more organization and avoiding temptations is enough.

The tips in this post serve different financial realities, as they must be applied in a particular way in each monthly budget. In addition, we also remember the importance of an emergency reserve and talk about how to start building yours, if you don’t already have one. Read on to find out more!

After all, what is the importance of saving money?

First, the importance of saving money is having a reserve for emergencies . After all, unforeseen events can happen to anyone and that’s exactly why the reserve has that name, it’s to be used in emergency cases. But do you know what types of unforeseen can happen? See some examples:

• Resignation;
• Accidents;
• Car repairs;
• Emergency work at home;
• Unexpected loss of source of income or part of it;
• For the self-employed, a month with low sales;
• Health problems;
• Among other situations.

Therefore, when we talk about saving money, even though the term is quite broad, it is important to remember that building an emergency reserve should be the first objective of those who started saving.

On the other hand, this recommendation applies to those who do not have debt. Therefore, if you are in default, your goal should be to pay off debts , so that they do not turn into a real snowball.

With no debt and your emergency reserve ready, you can save money for other purposes. The following tips are for different situations, which, regardless of what they are, are meant to help you catch up on your finances and save money .

First steps to save money

There is no magic formula for saving money. This goal involves a lot of planning, knowledge about your monthly income, as well as knowing exactly where you allocate that income. For this reason, there is no other way but to sit down, grab a pen and paper (which can be a spreadsheet, app or other means) and get organized.

So, check out our tips:

organize your finances

The first step is to become more organized when it comes to finances. For this, everything will depend on your profile and which method you prefer. There are from classic methods, such as writing everything down in a notebook or spreadsheets, to the use of more recent applications or methods, such as 50/30/20. Here’s a little more about each one of them to start getting organized:

Note in notebook or spreadsheet

The most basic and classic of all. It consists of writing down your monthly income and observing how it is being distributed in your daily life. You can also write down the ways you usually pay your bills. For example, if you usually pay in cash, if you pay in installments frequently and observe some patterns in your spending. The goal is to learn more about your financial profile.

Expense control apps

There are a number of apps for organizing and controlling expenses. They all have similar tools, with space to include your monthly income, the day you receive your salary, in addition to being able to register the due date of bills, which can help you not to delay payments and thus avoid paying a series of fines and fees. . In addition, it is also possible to register your goals in relation to saving money and to organize yourself better.

Some apps also offer spending pattern charts and other extra functions. Some interesting app options for you to organize yourself:

• Easy Budget;
• Organize;
• My savings;
• Money Lover;
• Moneyy.

Method 50/30/20

It’s a way to divide your monthly income into three parts, bringing more financial organization. It works as follows:

• 50%: fixed expenses, such as rent or installment of financing and supermarket;
• 30%: here are variable expenses, such as the energy bill, gas, credit card, leisure and others with variable cost;
• 20% : finally, the remaining 20% ​​should be used to create your emergency reserve, if you don’t already have one. If there are debts, this portion can be used for discharge. Or, for those who already have a reserve, this amount can be allocated to other financial priorities. It can be invested, for example.

Take control of your fixed and variable expenses

Defining ways to organize yourself, let’s move on to the stage in which fixed and variable expenses are differentiated. Understand:

• Fixed expenses: expenses that do not vary or vary very little. These are predictable expenses, such as rent, condominium, supermarket, card bill, monthly fees and others.
• Variable expenses: here come bills that vary, such as the energy bill, water, leisure expenses, shopping and other less predictable expenses.

However, even if an expense is not predictable, it is important to set a limit for it . After all, in many cases, the lack of financial control occurs precisely in variable expenses.

spend less than you earn

By better understanding what fixed and variable expenses are, it is necessary to have strategies to spend less than you earn. One of the best ways to ensure this is not to see credit purchases as an extension of your salary .

Remember, the credit card is an incredible tool to increase your purchasing power, as it allows you to pay in installments. However, it must be used wisely and within your financial means.

Escape the temptations!

The path to saving money includes prioritizing some things while giving up others. So run away from temptations while saving money! By having more financial organization, it is possible to observe which expenses can be left for later, such as ordering delivery very often.

Avoid places and situations that lead to financial loss, such as going for a walk in the mall. Constantly remind yourself of your goals to stay motivated during this process.

Create goals to have an emergency reserve

Finally, if you still don’t have an emergency reserve, remember that it is extremely relevant! According to financial expert Nathalia Arcuri, the emergency reserve should cover your cost of living for a certain period, in case of unforeseen circumstances. The specialist still recommends that the reserve be:

• 6 months of your cost of living, in the case of people working under the CLT regime;
• 12 months of your cost of living, in the case of self-employed workers.