How to: Save money

Shopping is part of my life. I just love it to death! But sometimes you have to save up for something. For example for a trip, a new laptop, a camera, or whatever you can come up with. I have decided to start saving up for a new camera, and therefore I wanted to share my tips for saving with you!

Step 1. Set a goal.

You have to start of with setting a goal. You need to know what you’re saving for. Don’t just say “I’m saving for a new phone”, but know which phone it is that you want and how much it costs. If you don’t know how much you need to save, how do you know that you have enough. For me it works best when I know what I want, exactly. Therefore I went to the store and asked for some advice on which camera to get. The women showed me the Canon EOS 1200D and told me a little bit more about it. She even made a picture to show how the quality is. I was so impressed, and I’m now a 100% sure that that is the camera I want. Now I know how much I need to save, and what I’m exactly saving for.

Step 2. When do you want to buy it?

Next you need to decide when you want to be able to buy it. For me this is really important. If I don’t I keep procrastinating it. I keep thinking like “I’ll save another time”. I decided I want to buy my camera around the end of the year or in January. It kind of depents on how well it goes for me. Now I know how much time I still have, I can make an estimate of how much I need to save every month.

Step 3. Make sure your goal is reasonable.

A very import thing is that you don’t have to make your goal impossible. I don’t think your goal should be not buying anything. Sometimes you just need something because you ran out of something you use daily, or you need to buy a bottle of water because you forgot yours. If you can do it, great, but I can’t. Therefore I decided, based on how much I need to save every month, how much I can spend every month.

Step 4. Don’t go to the mall too often.

If you really want to safe, and have a hard time not buying things when you’re at the mall, don’t go there! Only go there when you really need something, and only visit the stores you need to visit, and don’t go to random stores. The chances that you will eventually is quite big.

Step 5. Think before you buy.

Something that really helps me is reasonable thinking. When I see something I really like I first start with thinking “Do I really need this?”. If the answer is no, put it back and walk away. If it is yes, can’t you buy it another time? Or do you really need it now. If you really need it, of course you can buy it, but if you don’t, don’t do it. You have a goal remember. Even when you have still some money you can spend, don’t buy anything before you have reconsidered it.

Step 6. Keep your goal in mind.

The last step is keeping your goal in mind. When you feel like you are about to spend way too much money, quickly think about your goal. Think about how great the camera is. Think about all the things you can do with it. Even search for information or sample pictures made with the camera. This way you’ll remember how great it actually was, and it might give you just that bit more strength that you need.

This were my steps for saving money. These steps have really helped me throughout the years. Let me know your ultimate saving tips!

The pictures used in this article are from Weheartit.com