Top ten savings tips

Want to save your money but don’t know where to start? Or perhaps you are have already gone through the process of cutting your expenses but it has not been enough?

Whatever your circumstances, I have compiled ten easy ways save on your daily expenses.

1 – The first tip to me is the most important and it is key to achieving your financial goals. If you have a partner, wife or husband, make sure that both of you agree with the financial decisions you make and that you are both committed to achieving the same goal.

2 - Establish a budget, then set up your pay so it automatically goes into separate accounts. You can have different accounts for different purposes, home loan, savings or anything can helps you to keep your finances in control.

3 - Keep a record of all spending. This way you know where your money is going and you can find more ways to cut your expenses. Reconcile your expenses with your budget as often as you need to keep your finances in control.

4 - Write down your goals and place this somewhere you can be always reminded of them. Commit them to memory and when you are considering spending your money weight the expense against your goal. This can help you to keep motivated and to make decisions that you won’t regret in the future.

5 - Take 10 minutes to consider your meals for the week and plan your grocery list. It curbs 'impulse' buys and throwing away unused food!

6 – Your weekly groceries can sometimes be a bit of a surprise unless you walk around the supermarket with a calculator adding up everything that goes into the trolley. Doing your groceries online helps you stick to your budget by checking the total cost prior to purchasing.

7 – Eating out can add up quite quickly. Have breakfast at home and bring your lunch to work. As a reward budget yourself to buy lunch once a week. I am always appalled when I have breakfast out and pay almost $20 buckets for a fried egg and a cup of coffee. No more!

8 – Never pay your bills late. Set reminders 1 month before a bill is due – this should give you time to arrange your budget and make payments on time.

9 - Work out how much you want to spend for next Christmas, open a separate account and auto deposit over the year. This way you avoid doing your Christmas shopping on credit and working half of the year to pay that off, or even longer depending on your circumstances.

10 - Don't deprive yourself completely. Factor in the odd treat, otherwise you may never stick to your budget.

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