Money-saving tips for Millennials
Money-saving tips for Millennials
If you’re familiar with the phrase “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, you’ve probably realised that it is not exclusively about dogs.
It’s a fact that as we get older, we become more set in our ways.
That’s why, when it comes to our finances, it’s best to get them working harder for us when we’re as young as possible.
If you were born between 1981 and 1996, you are a Millennial and are the perfect age to start setting and/or achieving some of your financial goals.
Let’s get started with some simple money-saving tips for Millennials.
Determine your goals
To achieve your goals, you first need to set them.
Depending on your personal circumstances, you might be considering achieving these goals in the somewhat near future:
- Purchasing a car
- Purchasing a house or apartment
- Getting yourself out of debt
- Travelling
- Starting a family or growing it
- Saving money
- Investing
If the scope of your financial goals is much smaller or larger than this, that’s completely fine. You just need to be familiar with your own situation and set yourself realistic goals.
Make a budget and stick to it
Although you might be sick of hearing it, you need to make a budget and stick to it.
You need to make a budget and stick to it.
To help you set a comprehensive budget, follow these simple steps and significantly boost your savings.
1. Record your expenses for a month
There are plenty of free budgeting tools like Money Smart Budget Planner and Commbank Budget Planner Calculator you can use to list all of your monthly expenses.
Remember things like rent, mobile phone charges, loan repayments, daily coffees and lunch, groceries etc. Also include annual bills you pay, like vehicle registrations or electricity. Divide the amount by 12 to work out the monthly expense.
2. Find ways to cut down those expenses
It may go without saying, but laying off the smashed avo and not buying designer brand clothing will ultimately help you boost your savings.
If you’re not prepared to give up these pleasures, you’ll have to make adjustments in other areas of your expenses, if you want to see results.
3. Give yourself an allowance
Give yourself an allowance each week and stick to it so you know exactly how much you are spending month to month.
If possible, it’s worth opening a second account with a separate card so when you spend your allowance, you use exactly the amount allocated.
Which leads us to step four.
4. Create new accounts for your savings goals
Another good way to save money on a tight budget is to set up multiple accounts within your bank.
Within your bank, you should have at least two accounts set up.
One for your everyday spending account and one for your allowance account.
If you really want to boost your savings, you can set up another third account with a separate bank so it’s difficult for you to touch.
In doing so, aim for a high-interest account and make sure to read the fine print to avoid high service fees.
If you’re serious about saving more money and require help, speak to one of our experienced financial advisors.
5. Set up automatic payments
The final step in money-saving tips for Millennials is to set up automatic payments between your accounts and to pay your bills.
Set and forget your bill payments, so the money is out of your account on time and you don’t get hit with late fees.
It’s also a good idea to set up automatic payments to your allowance account, so you only spend the allocated amount.
Make good habits and save more money
Make sure you track your progress and identify any problems, to ensure you’re on track to achieving the goals set up in step one.
By gaining a better understanding of your spending habits, you can form better habits and set yourself up to achieve your goals in the long term.
If you found this article helpful, you might also like the smartest ways to spend your tax refund.
