Reasonable savings. Principles of reasonable savings

Hello friends!

Yaroslav Andriyanov is in touch. Maybe you saw it on my blog? If you look at the date of publication, you will understand that I have been interested in the principles of wise use of material resources for a long time. And over the past 3 years I have accumulated a lot of them.

At one time he even went to extremes: he ripped out unused pockets on his pants and threw out everything from the house that had been lying around for more than a year. Then I realized that such an extreme use of decluttering deprives me of something very important - the memory of people dear to me with whom certain things were associated. Therefore, I stopped and began to take a new approach to reasonable savings of time, money and even emotions.

The largest part of the funds, of course, goes to purchases in stores. And if with food it’s somehow more difficult for me, then with things everything is simple.

To be honest, I'm incredibly tired of low-quality rubbish. You want to throw it away quickly, and things of indistinct quality themselves quickly become unusable. Therefore, I try to take a minimum of things of the highest possible quality at the most reasonable price-quality combination. Oh how I twisted it!

A good thing makes me happy throughout its entire service life, and even when it loses its external luster a little, its internal content becomes even more valuable. History appears, and with it some vintageness. Plus - Mother Earth remains cleaner: because if you throw out 2-3 low-quality things, only 1 is thrown away. Why not practical ecology?

For shopping, I have long chosen discount centers and started using online stores.

Savings: up to 50% of money and an incalculable amount of nerves and time (choosing clothes for myself tires me out)

For additional discounts I use method 2.

Method 2. Cashback

I’ll tell you a little about the essence. Cashback (from the English cash back - cash back) is a return to your card of part of the money spent on a purchase. Usually varies from 2 to 10% and is achieved by purchasing special “cashback” cards or using the so-called. cashback services.

Since cards with such a trick are usually credit cards (and I try not to even touch credit), I use the services.

Their name is legion, but I only use two:

letishops— a super-aggregator with a bunch of stores and services (Aliexpress, Lamoda, wildberries, booking, agoda, etc.). I most often book hotels in Asia through it or use it for Ali Express.
epn.bz- exclusively for Aliexpress for the sake of a 7% cashback.

Both of these apps have browser extensions, which are very convenient. Do you go to some online store and immediately see whether it has cash back or not?

If you want to save more and are not afraid of credit cards, you can apply for credit card for Ali Express from Tinkoff.

I also use cashbacks for .

Method 3. Payment by card

I have been using the Yandex map for a long time and am very pleased with it. However, when cashing out, Yasha charges me another 3% + 45 rubles, in addition to the conversion. Feeding the bank just makes me feel like a nasty toad, so I try to pay by card.

And in such wonderful places as Aliexpress, in general, it is possible to pay directly with Yandex.money. As a result, you spend exactly as much as you see in the “price” column.

True, in beloved India, most stores like to charge an additional 3% for banking services. However, even in this case, using the card is more profitable.

There is one thing here: using cards is very chilling. It seems that you have an infinite amount of money, because you don’t physically feel its presence or absence as much as you feel a wad of banknotes. I have repeatedly encountered the fact that I spend with a card much easier than when paying with cash. I'm studying, damn it.

Method 4. Payment online

I buy tickets for trains, planes and buses exclusively online. It saves not only money (you don’t pay useless agents), but also a lot of time.

Even in a controversial country like India, online shopping has started to become widespread. Trains, hotels, buses and even bed linen - everything can be bought in online services or stores.

Method 5. Earn money - save 10%

I noticed this habit among people considered successful. 10% is a small amount to feel like it’s missing, so every time you come, it’s very easy to put it aside for a deposit.

Allows you to save money for a pleasant trip or unexpected expenses.

In general, I developed the habit of saving since childhood, when desired purchases suddenly became available after some time. This is probably one of the most important skills of my mustacheless adolescence, which I still use today.

Method 6. Planning

For irrational people like me, it can be hard to start keeping lists, but they are very helpful in preventing impulsive actions. Therefore, additional funds are set aside for the future for some planned upgrades.

The same applies to going to the store. I always make a list in advance and don’t take anything beyond it. The latter is fraught not only with the wallet, but also with the stomach :)

The old rule: go to the grocery store well-fed.

Method 7. Aliexpress

Yes, yes, you can save a lot by delegating part of your purchases to this wonderful service. For example, the USB cords with which I charge my equipment often break down. Therefore, every now and then I go to AliExpress (having previously enabled the browser extension) and collect a parcel from the list.

Most often its contents are as follows:

cords and chargers
cases and glasses for smartphones
power-bank from trusted Chinese brands, such as xiaomi
Chinese teas (I'm a big fan of pu-erh and teguanin)
all sorts of handbags, straps, organizers (indispensable when traveling)
components for laptops and photographic equipment (batteries, mice, protective glasses).

I use it in conjunction with a cashback service epn.

Method 8. Repair instead of buying a new one

I love things with history, and I’m just cringing with indignation when I see that my favorite player suddenly cannot be repaired. Marketing scams put us in an extremely uncomfortable position, just like in the book “Brave New World” by O. Huxley, where everything that is even a little broken is necessarily thrown away.

And thank you very much to the craftsmen, whose hands grow out of their shoulders, for being able to repair a broken favorite gadget and saving me from the need to spend money and spend a long time studying reviews on the Internet.

We repair bicycles in Nepal

Here I almost screwed up and instead of fixing my favorite Pocketbook reader, whose screen somehow started to work strangely, I already started choosing a new one. The inner miser pulled me back and sent me to look for a service center.

The service was found in 10 minutes, expenses amounted to 5,000 tenge for repairs (about 900 rubles), versus 30,000 for the purchase of a new book with more modest functionality.

Method 9: Reuse

How we love to wrap any little thing in ten packages, and even plastic ones. And sell water in endless bottles, which are then thrown away and accumulate as non-recyclable garbage on the surface of our long-suffering land.

After staying for almost a year and looking at the garbage collapse, I learned to reuse bags, plastic bottles and all sorts of different tubs, jars, etc., because very often the main pricing factor is not the contents, but the packaging!

For the same reason, I do not accept thoughtless gift wrapping and always try to use a minimum of decorations for this.

Method 10. Buying used instead of new

I love it very much, and I know that people often sell their equipment in very good condition at very reasonable prices. Because new things are very expensive, and a quality item in mountain tourism is not a luxury, but an absolute necessity.

I often go to thrift stores to look for good travel items. So, in one of them I repeatedly came across excellent Italian trekking boots for $40. It’s a pity that they don’t sell backpacks there; you could probably find something of super-quality at super-discounts.

My arsenal of equipment before the training camp in Ala-Archa

The same applies to good technique. So, I bought my entire arsenal of photographic equipment exclusively second-hand, and remained satisfied with it throughout its entire lifespan.

Of course, you need to understand a little about the item you are buying so as not to buy yourself outright rubbish. Because they are openly actively trying to leak something like this.

How else can you cut costs?

In general, the concept of “saving correctly” has very specific criteria:

the purchase must be of high quality
the thing must be necessary (no “just in case”)
the price should be low

Things (clothes, shoes)

I try to somehow predict my needs. Well, be sure to go to discount centers, because there, like nowhere else, you can buy good things at good prices.

At the same time, I don’t really care that this T-shirt is last season, but these pants only have 2 colors left. My gut feeling doesn’t deceive me, so I don’t remember the last time I felt disappointed with a purchase.

Gadgets

If I need to upgrade my phone, I don't choose between Samsung and Apple. God bless, in the Middle Kingdom Nowadays we have learned to make excellent smartphones that, having less sonorous names (such as Meizu, Huawei or Xiaomi), come out much cheaper than their more popular counterparts.

Food

I love homemade food, prepared with love and care. I visit public catering and restaurants only in moments of extreme aggravation of gastronomic cravings, because the last few times I was very disappointed in some establishments, from where I left not only with an empty wallet, but also with an empty stomach.

Our miracle dinner in Sri Lanka

In stores I try to buy only seasonal fruits and vegetables, and I’m not too lazy to go to the market to buy real cheese, which is not only better in quality, but also much cheaper in price. Of course, this is the case if I live at home. the situation is somewhat different.

Well, it’s a plus, although I don’t consider myself a vegetarian, I hardly eat meat, which allows me to eat not only cheaper, but also healthier. When I travel, however, I really miss our simple oatmeal in the morning, with milk and butter.

Esoteric approach to saving

Several years spent among people actively involved in various spiritualities, one way or another left an imprint on my pragmatic-materialistic consciousness.

I have repeatedly been convinced that opportunities to fulfill some desires come on their own. The principle is old - concentrate on the goal, not the means. The means come by themselves: a project appears, people and circumstances come, and with them opportunities.

Therefore, I try to approach saving money correctly from all sides available to me. And, of course, without the beggar idiocy, when for the sake of a hypothetical 10 dollars you spend a huge amount of time and nerves. In this case, I show lordly manners and, instead of saving money, I start saving time.

How to save money? Reasonable! Reasonable saving is one of the life hacks that every housewife should strive to master, and then the question “how to save money” will once and for all become a thing of the past.

How to save money

The truth about spending

Having set out to answer the question “how to save money,” at first you will be stunned by the truth revealed to you about the world of money and your role in it. You may unexpectedly discover that you, who considered yourself frugal by nature, are unnoticed by squandering money left and right. You may be surprised to discover that the family car you took out on credit could easily have been taken out in installments, i.e. on an interest-free loan and not give the bank twenty percent of its value for the joy of standing in traffic jams in the interior of a new car. Smokers will find that if, instead of buying a pack of cigarettes, they put money into a piggy bank, then within a year they can buy themselves a diamond ring. And heavy smokers, those who buy more than one pack of cigarettes a day, will also be able to afford earrings... The main thing is not to fall into despair when it turns out that spending on spontaneous snacks - buns, chocolate bars, waffles, burgers and ice cream, that's all what causes ears to grow on your waist, in a year, results in an amount equal to the cost of a subscription to a sports club, where you have long wanted to go to get rid of ears, but cannot find the money to buy a club card.. In general, the world is beautiful and amazing.

Reasonable savings, it is reasonable because all expenses occur with the participation of the head. This rules out buying a third yellow blouse for your wardrobe at 50 percent off, because

A. She’s already the third, and you don’t wear yellow.

B. The space for blouses in the closet will end here.

B. You just don’t need it.

Smart savings means saving all the resources in your life, monetary, time, space, energy, emotional and others.

Be careful, many, having embarked on the path of reasonable savings, go to great lengths and, with sporting passion, begin to ardently save where they can and where they cannot. It would be good to insure yourself against this in advance and determine for yourself where there is reasonable saving, where there is saving for the sake of saving, and where it is just stupidity.

Family budget

Your first steps on the path to reasonable saving will inevitably lead you to realize the need to plan and control the family budget, because, indeed, it is very difficult to save if you do not know the starting and final amounts. This is a painstaking task and requires patience, but the result will amaze you.

Everyone chooses a pleasant and convenient way for them to plan a family budget and plan money: an account book, an Excel file, special programs, envelopes, the choice is yours. To begin, divide your expenses into

Necessary, i.e. vital: rent, food, medicine (not aesthetic), loan payment (if any)

Desirable: sports, clothing, travel, beauty, fuel for the car (maybe in the “necessary” category), etc.

Pleasant excesses: to each their own

For one month, we take into account spending on all these categories. Compare income and expenses. If expenses are greater than income, then we plan for the next month as follows: first, we distribute funds in the “Necessary expenses” category, then we audit “Desirable expenses” and, if the overspending was too large, we are left without pleasant excesses, at least for the coming month, comprehending the principles of reasonable savings. During this month, we review the budget several times and take into account how else you can save money. If expenses are less than income, we rejoice and comprehend the principles of reasonable saving with even greater diligence, because the chances of making life more pleasant and interesting increase.

Principles of reasonable savings

Let's start with what you shouldn't save on - health. This means that reasonable expenses for food (no more than 20 percent of the budget) and medical expenses should be reduced last, and sports and healthy recreation - second to last. It would be more correct if food expenses are not limited to a certain amount, but a certain percentage of your income is allocated to them. 20 percent is the most optimal amount. If you spend less, then either you are familiar with the art of smart saving, or you are a Rockefeller.

Principles of reasonable savings for articles:

Communal payments. We install meters, energy-saving lamps or light sensors for motion.

Food. We plan, we learn not to throw away food, i.e. either buy only the quantity needed or use excess product. We give up small snacks and eating out in favor of home-cooked food that we take to work.

Personal car. When you are planning to get behind the wheel, evaluate how profitable this trip is for you; perhaps it is easier to go underground or use ground transport?

Clothes and shoes. It is on these categories of goods that unreasonably large sums are often spent. Increase self-control, avoid spontaneous purchases when going to the store, take a limited amount of money, do not buy just because you are uncomfortable in front of the salesman who was rushing from the hall to the fitting room. Evaluate discounts carefully. Buy only when you know what the item was priced before the discount. Participate in. Don't be fooled by the hype and popularity of the brand. Get rid of such expensive entertainment as shopping for no reason.

Vacation, rest. It is ideal to plan your vacation in advance during the low tourist season. Buy tickets and book hotels several months before your intended trip. Set up mailing lists from airline companies and buy tickets on sales or use special search engines for cheap tickets. Master it, especially if you are with a child.

Child. If you think that a child and saving are incompatible, then you are mistaken, and if you calculate how much you spend on the child’s spontaneous whims, you will be horrified. You definitely need to know about the principle of reasonable savings on whims!

I have no doubt that once you have mastered the principles of smart money saving, you will not stop there and will continue to improve your time and space saving skills. You can read about time management for young mothers here and here.

Once introduced into your life, the principles of reasonable savings will make it better and more interesting. Please share your methods of saving and maintaining a family budget in the comments!

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Building your financial future, whether it's saving for retirement, your family's future needs, or simply achieving personal goals and financial fitness, it all starts with saving.

Saving- this is not only reducing spending on purchases, but also saving money for a rainy day or major goals. Saving is also the first step on the path to wealth and a measured life.

What needs to be done to learn how to save? We will talk about all this further.

1. Calculate where the money is spent. Most people don't question how much money they spend on electricity or leave at the grocery store every day. However, you need to know this. Then you will see that the costs are not as large as they seem at first glance, and you could have a lot more money left over if you did not spend it on expensive entertainment, going out to restaurants too often, gifts for friends, etc.

2. Do not take goods or services on credit. Before you take out a loan for half a million rubles, think about whether you really need a new foreign car, or can your old car serve you for decades? One way or another, the loan will force you to work for yourself, and one fine day everything may collapse. Of course, you should only take out a loan if you are planning to start your own business.

3. Make smart purchases. According to research, most people buy things they don't need at all. These can be small things or very expensive things. Marketing is a very tricky science, which we fall victim to every day. And the price of advertising, as you know, is included in the price of the product. Think about your purchase for more than one day. (Cm. )

How it works

No matter how much you earn, it is almost always not enough to satisfy all your needs, because, as a rule, “appetites” grow along with your income. That is, the more you receive, the more noticeable your craving for a variety of material goods becomes. In this case, it makes sense to think about how to save on your current expenses, and not about where to find an additional source of income. Moreover, in this case, we are not talking about tightening our belts and starting to strictly limit ourselves in everything, but about overcoming the passion for wastefulness and excess.

If you feel that you have a tendency to buy things that you don't use later or that you can do without, try to make it a rule not to indulge your immediate desires. Impulse purchases are budget killers. When you get excited about the idea of purchasing something, give yourself a few days to “sleep” with this thought, weigh the pros and cons and make an intelligent decision. Quite often, although not always, of course, this decision will be to refuse a new thing.

In addition, sometimes even without making obviously thoughtless and senseless purchases, it seems that money flows away like water into sand. The good news is that you can cope with this, and without driving yourself into depression.

The secret is that we often “squander” hard-earned money completely unnoticed, for example, leaving the light on in an empty room, not taking out the uselessly dangling charger from the socket, or not turning off the tap with water flowing away without a trace while we brush our teeth.

That is, most often the stone on your neck is not an extra piece of sausage or a new toy for your child, but seemingly insignificant little things that actually drain your budget.

To prevent your salary from leaking away, and to start using your earnings wisely, you should take note of a number of simple and practical tips on how to save on simple things.

Household tricks

Make sure that the lights are turned on only in the room where you are directly located at the moment.
Use energy-saving light bulbs. They are more expensive than ordinary ones, but are guaranteed to provide you with savings in the long term, because they last on average 8 times longer and consume 6-10 times less energy;
Remove plugs from electrical sockets from appliances that are not currently in use (washing machines, microwaves, ovens, tuners, routers, chargers, etc.).
When purchasing household appliances, pay attention to their energy efficiency class. Energy-saving devices are often more expensive, but they help save about 20% of electricity and will also “make a difference” in your personal budget in the long term.
Make sure the toilet tank and faucets are working properly and are not leaking.
Turn off the water tap when you wash your hair, brush your teeth, or shave. This saves on average about 40 liters of water per day.
Do not wash dishes under running water, but rather use two containers - for dirty dishes and for rinsing.

Purchases

Get rid of the habit of buying all your products in one supermarket. On the one hand, this is convenient, on the other hand, by going to several stores, you can compare prices and buy what you need at the lowest price.
Before going to the store for groceries, make a list of what you need so that you don’t inadvertently grab “extra.”
Try not to shop on an empty stomach, because then you will want everything at once. Jokes aside, research actually shows that hungry people tend to buy more willingly and more.
Try to adjust your purchases of expensive items and equipment to the season of discounts and promotional offers, or even better - order everything you need in online stores or use resources like olx and uslando. By the way, on the latter you can not only acquire equipment, but also replenish your wardrobe or buy toys for your child. Here you can find quality items in good condition and at an affordable price.
Use the above-mentioned online bulletin boards not only for shopping, but also to sell unnecessary and unused items that are lying “dead weight” in closets. By making your wallet happy, you will also save your home from clutter.

Entertainment and travel

Plan your vacation in advance. So, you can purchase tourist vouchers in advance, and this will certainly affect their cost. If you travel on your own, then you will have the opportunity to choose the cheapest transport tickets.
If you go on vacation by plane, try to buy tickets on low-cost flights. Here you will not have the opportunity to take a huge suitcase with you for free, but you will save a lot on the cost of tickets, and the cost of luggage contents will be significantly reduced.
If you are traveling by car, and hitchhiking (hiking) seems too extreme and adventurous to you, then do not miss the opportunity to practice covoitourage (sharing a trip in one car with sharing the cost). Fortunately, now there are a lot of resources for finding travel companions. In addition to reducing travel costs, you will also be able to make new acquaintances and pass the time on the road with a pleasant conversation.
Please note that when staying in another city or another country, it is not at all necessary to check into an expensive hotel or look for a decent hostel. It is enough to use the currently widespread guest service “CouchSurfing”. Members of this network provide free accommodation for each other and, when possible, introduce travelers to the city and new culture.

None of these basic practices will make you a millionaire on their own, but they will definitely impact your budget in a positive way. Moreover, no extra effort is required from you. Some of the suggested tips will not take even a few minutes, others will require more time, but the game is worth the candle. By following at least some of these simple tips, you will definitely be able to painlessly free up some “extra” money. That is, you won’t have to lose sleep and break your back in pursuit of additional income, you will simply learn to manage what you already have more wisely.

However, here it is worth once again demonstrating your financial literacy, because in the joy of the fact that you managed to get out of the debt hole or gradually pay off the loan, you can start throwing money away again, and this is not at all what we are striving for.

Simply saving money without a specific goal is a rather difficult task. There is a high probability that you will spend it at the first opportunity, so it is best to determine a specific purpose for the money - then its successful accumulation or, at least, rational use is guaranteed to you.

Before heading out to the store, make a shopping list and don't allow yourself to grab anything spontaneous until all the items are crossed off. After this, roughly estimate the amount of goods you have collected, and if this amount suits you, you can walk around the store again and take something else.

2. Pamper yourself

If you managed to buy the planned item cheaper than expected (for example, there was only one size left), be sure to reward yourself with a nice trinket that will cheer you up.

3. Don’t neglect discount cards

Always try to get a discount card, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a discount card or a savings card. Who knows, maybe this card will stay in your purse, or maybe after your first purchase this store will become one of your favorites.

4. Be careful about the expiration date

Often, sellers “cut down” prices on products whose shelf life is coming to an end. If you are buying for the future, such savings can serve you badly.

5. Don't skimp

Instead of cheaply buying a product of dubious quality, think about this. You are almost 100% likely to have to make a repeat purchase to replace a low-quality product with a normal one. Do you still want to “save” or has rationality taken over?

6. Avoid overpayments

For example, a whole loaf is cheaper than a sliced loaf, and a ready-made salad will not be as tasty as a freshly cut one, but will be several rubles more expensive. Don't overpay for such nonsense.

7. Shop for future use

If you always buy the same foam for washing, shampoo or laundry, take a closer look at store promotions and buy goods in small wholesale. This will be cheaper and easier: if any of this runs out, you won’t have to run to the store and frantically search for the product on the shelf.

8. Don't forget about attitude

There are simple rules: don’t go to clothing stores when you’re sad, and don’t go to grocery stores when you’re hungry. This makes it easier to avoid unnecessary spontaneous purchases, which will only cause shame and a significant hole in the budget. Calm yourself in other ways, such as exercise.

9. Keep home accounting

Now there are hundreds of smartphone applications that help you track your financial flows. Be sure to use one of them. By understanding where your money is flowing, you can get your expenses under control.