We’d all love to find extra money I’m sure, so here are 5 steps to follow to go and find it. This however is not about making extra money or some super investment scheme, it’s about going through your expenses and seeing where your money goes to.
Take a listen to my interview with Tebogo on how he is saving more money.
Step 1 : Look at your bank statement
Look at your bank statement as well as your credit card statement for the past month or two and make a list of all automatic payments that are deducted (eg internet bill, mobile phone, insurance, Netflix, etc). You can find your statements online and either print them out or export them to a spreadsheet.
Step 2 : Analyze all payments
One-by-one look at each automatic payment and ask:
- Do I need this service / subscription or whatever it is?
- Do I need all the features I pay for? Can I downgrade at all or pay for less?
- If it is a store card, do you need the extra’s such as insurance, magazine, etc?
- If it is a debt repayment, how much interest am I paying? What must I do to pay it off?
Step 3 : Save money on insurance
Pay special attention to your insurance payment. Look at your latest insurance policy or contact the company for it. Are the values correct? Now, get new quotes and see if you can find a cheaper option. In fact why not try Naked Insure for a super easy 90-second online quote!
Look at optional features you may have on any insurance, store card or debt policies. Perhaps you have the same benefits offered by different policies; in that case you can cancel some and find extra money.
Step 4 : Find extra money in wasted money
Look at your monthly expenses and take special note of the following:
- Eating Out / Take-Aways
- Groceries
- Clothing
- Gifts
- Entertaining at home
- Alcohol bought
- Luxuries
- Telephone
- Electricity
- Internet
- Make-up
Can you spend less on any of the above? Try for just 1 month to spend less than the previous month and you will see that you really can survive quite easily! There may be some small places here to find extra money.
Important note is that what you save today should not be spent tomorrow, don’t feel tempted to spend your savings on other things. See when saving is not really saving.
Step 5 : Be strict with yourself
Make a list of every area where you feel you can save a little and be strict with yourself over the next month to actually do this!
Remember: You cannot measure what you don’t track! Want to find extra money? Then actively look for it!
