So how do we save? We can do this by having a realistic control over our spending habits and making some seemingly trivial changes in our daily life.

Our spending habits were not formed in a day, and so they cannot be changed overnight. But, with sincere dedication, we can succeed in saving money. And since a rupee saved is a rupee earned, we become richer day by day.

We can learn to spend less by analyzing our spending habits and locating areas we are spending unnecessarily. Once we have identified the areas of our high spending, we can try to find ways to reduce it. As saving money is the smartest way to make more money, It goes without saying that it is also important to spend our hard-earned money only on things that matter.

Given below are some money-saving ideas which are sure to give some insight.

We can start from our own home by switching off lights, TV, fans, air conditioner, or even our Wifi router when we are not using them. Once we start the practice of switching off all the electrical gadgets when not in use, we can surely see our electricity bill getting reduced significantly. Even a small saving of Rs.200/- a month can add Rs.2400/- a year to your savings. While this may not seem like a big amount of money, for now, we will soon see how this can contribute to accumulating excellent savings over time.

When we go shopping, it is important not to get tempted by deals like “buy three, get one free” offers or something similar. We must get into the practice of asking ourselves whether we need that extra item before we purchase it, to get something “free”. To give an example, we would have gone to buy just one shirt, but end up getting three for the price of two. But did we need three shirts? This is a psychological “trick” played by marketers to increase business, by making us spend more money. In addition to spending more money, we accumulate things more than we need.

Before we buy something, we must ask ourselves if it’s needed and straight away avoid purchasing anything on impulse. It is good to stick to the rule, “If we don’t need it now, then let’s not buy it!” In other words, the less money we spent, the more money we save!

When we have to purchase something, we must compare prices in different online sites like Amazon and Flipkart, etc. and also check the price at the local retailer or shopping mall. It will help in our effort to purchase things at the best possible price.

Most of the popular brands are available at discounted prices during an offseason sale or a sales promotion drive. If we are planning for an expensive watch, for example, we could wait for the company to announce their discount offers which routinely happens throughout the year during one festival season or other.

Let us take another example. All of us use mobile phones and we always tend to buy an unlimited data package or a post-paid monthly plan. If we do this, we may be paying for something which we don’t fully utilize. But if we were to opt for a pre-paid plan, we can control our expenses on a need basis. Of course, this may not apply to those whose usage is high. Remember that a savings of Rs.250/- a month could mean Rs.3000/- a year.

It would be prudent to maintain a safe distance from friends who indulge in lavish spending on parties, cars, the latest gadgets, etc. These people can have an undesirable influence on your spending habits and unwittingly get you pressurized into keeping up with them.

A smoker or a drinker can try to quit the habit. This is easily said than done because these are addictions one may find it difficult to break. A strategy that can help to cut down considerably the smoking or drinking habit is to reduce the quantity bought at a time. A reward system like putting the cost of a smoke or a drink into a box whenever there is an urge can be successful and can help to save a considerable sum of money.

As far as possible, it is better to keep away from purchasing items on a monthly Installment basis (EMIs) although the terms may look like a bargain. We fall for it at the time of buying and end up paying a much higher price. We wouldn’t go for it if we do our calculations. When we have several EMI’s to pay, our capacity to save more gets reduced. It is an indication that we are living on a high level of debt which is not a good thing. If we have loans, we must first look for ways to settle them at the earliest.

Credit Cards are a kind of double-edged sword where, if we don’t use it wisely, we will end up spending more. Interest charged by Credit card companies on outstanding dues and delayed payments is very huge. This calls for discipline to keep control of our credit card spending.

Paying our utility bills such as electricity, telephone, internet, the credit card on time can save us from delayed payment charges, fines, etc. These unnecessary expenses can be avoided if make a list of our regular monthly payments with due dates, and streamline our bill payments.

When we pay ourselves first and learn to live with whatever is left, we will always have money with us. While this may seem difficult at first, we will gradually see our money growing which in turn encourages us to stick to it until we reach our goal of finding enough money.