One of the best ways to reach your financial goals is to learn how to save more money and maintain your budget. The more you can save, the more quickly you will be able to reach your financial goals. Your prime goals should be paying off debt, saving for retirement, buying your first home, building your investment portfolio, etc.
Most of us normally focus on bulk saving. It is like saving through working extra, or saving on shopping, or buying through cash instead of using credit cash. But, have you ever thought of saving on the everyday items that you use daily? What daily items? I am going to tell you a few such budget-friendly money-saving hacks that you may apply daily to save more money.
1. Remove water stains
The issue: You might have seen that your fancy coasters and your beautiful wooden table are getting multiple white rings or water stains whenever you drink any beverages like soda, beer, or juice. If you quickly wipe the surface, the stains might get removed. But if you do not… it will leave a sticky, nasty mark which might catch germs. Cleaning is also not easy. You might need a good quality, expensive surface cleaner, and a good dishwashing solution to do the work.
Solution: Apply a tablespoon of mayonnaise right onto those water stains. Rub gently for a few seconds and leave. Wipe it in less than 10 minutes; it will work and the surface will be as good as new.
2. Remove dirt marks on glass windows and furniture
The issue: There are multiple incidents where I have broken my window glasses while cleaning them up. Practically, with the costly cleaning solution, they (advertisers) used to say “you just need two drops of it”. Trust me! Two drops won’t do anything better. I used more drops and rubbed roughly to clean my window glasses, and… they’re gone! I had to spend a lot on the new glasses.
Solution: Do you buy newspapers or keep them at your house? Bring them and make them wet by spraying water. Before the water gets dry, rub those wet newspapers directly on any glass surface. Let them dry there. After that take a clean cloth and clean it by rubbing gently. The glasses will shine like diamonds.
3. Buy prescribed medicines at Costco
The issue: More or less we all have some sort of health issues and for that, we often visit doctors and get prescribed drugs. As a regular individual, you might tend to buy meds from your nearest store when required. But doing that may cost you a bit more and affect your monthly budget. Buying medicines from your local stores can not get you a good discount. But to buy drugs in bulk and get a discount, you might have to subscribe to a costly membership in a popular drug warehouse store. That also hampers your budget.
Solution: Membership warehouse stores such as Costco may give you good discounts on prescription meds. And guess what! You don’t need to be a member to buy them.
Access to medicinal drugs is regulated by the federal government, so medical warehouse stores aren’t allowed to sell medicines only to the members. Customers may use the pharmacy without being a member. You may take advantage of and save money on medicines along with membership subscriptions.
4. Keep journals of your expenses
Issue: Believe it or not, we all overspend!
Yes, it is true. Somewhere down the line, in any part of our life, we all have wasted money without thinking about the future. Spending without tracking is bad for you.
Solution: This is one of the most budget-friendly money-saving hacks of all. You may cut your bad spending habits easily if you can track down the total amount you are spending in a certain period. You just need to write down every cash outflow by keeping a daily journal.
After a certain period, let’s say 1 month, you can review how much you have spent and for what reason. This way you may analyze all your expenses and decide which one was necessary and which ones are a waste of money.
With this journal, you can maintain the balance of your income and expenses. You may be able to organize your budget and help you reach your financial goals.
5. Extend the life of razor blades
The issue: You’re getting annoyed for constantly buying new packages of razor cartridges. They are quite expensive and you can’t possibly always buy them in bulk.
Solution: This might sound weird, but I have tried it at home, trust me it works! Get an old pair of jeans, lay them on a flat surface, and run a clean, dry old used razor several times up the pants leg. Repeat it several times on both legs.
What a catch! You have to run the blades backward, don’t shave the jeans. Just hold the razor in the opposite direction. The threads on the jeans will sharpen the blades, similar to a barber sharpening their blades on a leather strap. If you do it correctly, you may keep your blades sharp for months.
6. Drink water as your primary beverage
The issue: You are too obsessed with sodas and other beverages that are harmful to your health.
Solution: One of the most frugal and budget-friendly money-saving hacks is using your home kitchen sink faucet every time you need to drink water.
Fill your cup or a bottle with fresh water, and drink it down. The cost will be nothing compared to those colorful sodas or beers. The bonus? Long-term health care costs have also become less expensive than expected.
Normally these days people become ill due to junk food and those colored beverages. Drinking a sufficient amount of water daily is good for health and cheaper than buying sodas. It also keeps you away from multiple health issues, especially from urinary diseases. Have a water bottle with you full of cold water so that whenever you get thirsty, you can avoid a vending machine to buy a beverage. Remember that each time you do it, you’re saving at least $1, and then simply enjoy the water.