How to save money in India – 21 absolutely amazing ways
Have you ever heard the lyrics of Cheap Thrills, " I don't need no money!"
Well,
I have heard the song but I have never agreed to its gist. I mean who
does not want money- I do; in fact, you all do need the same.
To make money in India, you just don't need to earn more, you can learn how to save money in india as well
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I love making money and saving money (after all i am a baniya
Aggarwal ). In fact, if I am put on a research table to know what runs in my mind- it would be, " I need money."
So,
if you say that you do not need money, then either you are a Sant
(Saint), devoid of all the basic needs of a human life, or you are just
not a human!
Jokes Apart! Let us come at the basic gist of this
article that revolves around the saving of every single penny which in
the future could prove to be beneficial as you want.
Do not go
anywhere and stick your eyes onto here. There are some of the
interesting and truly-working money saving tips that are shared here.
Watch Out! Here comes the First!
I would here divide the whole concept in Two Ways-
Saving smartly in household chores and
Saving by making smart financial decisions.
Saving smartly in household chores
As
the category defines itself, here we will discuss about the money
saving tips in the household chores. This section is important for
women, though. However, men could also spare their attention towards
this category.
#1. Call off all the impromptu outside breakfast, lunch and dinners- No McD, No Pizza Hut
Seems
quite tough but this is the least which you can start with. All these
impromptu dinners and lunches outside the home cost you a lot. You not
only spend Twice or Thrice than your normal fooding expenses, you also
end up earning loads of calories. Therefore, spending in Pizza Hut for
once in a month is Okay, but going weekly is like crushing your money
savings in pieces.
Eating outside kills money and gives calories!! What you want to choose?
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#2. Shop with a list- shopping without a list always pushes you to buy unneeded
This
happens mostly with women that they go for shopping to buy cutlery and
they come back with whole new bunch of other kitchen essentials. So,
basically, women go with what they find pretty to their eyes.
Therefore,
this is what we are required to avoid. We are required to make a list
of necessary items (necessary here means actually necessary items
without which kitchen is incomplete).
Also, in this quest, make
you check whole of your kitchen and household for the lacking
necessities. If there is something which is actually needed to buy, list
it; otherwise, leave it.
Impulsive buying is key to wrecked finances!
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#3. Start extreme couponing- You might buy your grocery all-free
While I was young, I watched a TV series named as Extreme couponing. In the series, I had seen many families buying groceries with coupons collected through online hunting and
Walmart shopping. The extremely amusing fact was that they used to shop
their monthly grocery almost free with the coupons they had collected.
But
earlier, as I had a brain sizing nut, I did not get the fact behind it.
I thought that It was all -scripted and hence, false. However, when I
actually researched the fact when I grew up, I was shocked.
As they say that necessity is the mother of invention, I researched a lot and had found that it works!
Since
then and now, I am a big of Extreme couponing and I never let the
chance go. In fact, I am also prompting you all to be a follower of
extreme couponing. But as this involves a lot of research, keep an open
eye on the coming coupons and deals to save it off.
Hunt the coupons to hunt big budgeted discounts on grocery shopping!
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#4. Shop online to get discounts and deals- Use the promotional tactics of companies
With
an air of digitization all around, everyone in India is turning into an
online consumer of all types of services. Well, quite a big step and
one of the easiest money saving tips. Therefore, if you are still living
in the old world of cash give and take, buckle up. The time zone of
yours needs to be changed. Try using online services for buying, selling
and paying the expenses for the commodities.
There are many websites like
Paytm, etc. which give massive discounts and offers to use them as your payment channel.
But
as you might be all new in the field of online shopping, there are many
of the websites which are ready to guide you through. Take your toddler
steps with them.
- Browser add-ons like Makkhi Choos will automatically tell you about the latest deals and difference of same prices in multiple websites.
- Websites like Cashkaro and Gopaisa will allow you to track down the additional benefits.
- With the e-commerce and Payment Wallets like Paytm, Freecharge, Mobiwik, etc., you can get discounts on your shopping and recharges.
#5. Avoid the sparkly lure of Buy 2 Get 1 Free offers- You generally waste extra money
Whenever
there is offer of Buy 2 Get 1, all of generally fall in the same pit of
paying extra without any need. If I have to put the same situation is a
few simple words then, you pay extra by getting lured with such
offers.
In simple words, if you need one jean, why would you pay
for two when you do not need that extra pair. The money which you are
using to buy that extra jean could be utilized in any other way by
buying the extra essential things for home.
Buy 2 Get 1 Free is a trap to lure you people to pay for the third without any intention to buy it.
It
is just our human tendency that we forget to do maths, when it is
needed. Also, this is not enough. We thoroughly pat ourselves proudly
because we have banged up a deal. But who knows the utter reality that
the deal has silently banged us.
#6. Save electricity to save unseen expenses
This
our royal habit that we want fan and AC both working together. We know
that AC itself is capable of cooling the whole atmosphere around but
still we need the fan to be running.
So, factually what we are
doing- we are wasting the electricity and hence, the money which is to
be paid at its place. Therefore, it would be a wise man's step to save
as much as electricity as you could. Every single unit that you would
save everyday would make a huge saving interms of money after a few
month. You can then realize that you have literally saved a lot.
Tips to save the electricity bills
- LED lights are the latest technology; replace all the fluorescent lights with it.
- When you are not using, let all the lights, fans and equipment be off.
- Plan for natural lights in the daytime, it will save a lot of electricity in that was to be used in the daytime.
- If
ironing the cloths for office, make sure you have ironed all of the
clothes one time. This will save electricity as well as your efforts.
- While leaving the house, make sure you cross check all the equipment twice. Switch them off and then leave the house.
Saving by making smart financial decisions.
Now,
in the first category, we have learnt to save money in the household
chores. There comes the next category to save money outside the house by
making some smart financial decisions.
#6. Avoid using the plastic money- You do not have control on how much you are spending
This
is a bitter truth but it is. When we pay through the credit cards and
debit cards, we generally do not realize that how much we are spending.
It
is just like, "Ohh! need to pay the bills, just Swipe, swipe, swipe!"
With type of paying, we do not realize that we even paid for
non-essential items and we are still swiping.
However, when we
have the real cash and we count to give it to others, our brain
automatically stops us informing us that we are loose spending the
money. Then our brain very well knows that what is essential to buy and
what is not.
Therefore, whenever you go outside, keep the limited
amount of money in your pocket. This is one of the ultimate money saving
tips.
The real notes notify you that they are getting spent!
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#7. Put a stop on your smoking and drinking habits- Every time you smoke, you burn a note
If you are a drinker and smoker both, you must be facing the hard time to save up the extra pennies. Am I right?
Absolutely, I am!
The
tip here says that if you would limit your smoking and drinking habit,
you are likely to save lot. Now, generalize this in whole- when you buy
drinks, you generally buy something to eat with and when you buy
something to you choices are diversified.
Therefore, in this chain, one expense leads to other, and hence, you ultimately spend a lot.
So,
to keep such extra expense at the verge, quite drinking and smoking.
Quitting these will not only save up your money but will also save your
liver, kidney and respiratory tract.
To track the success report
To
track your success report in saving the extra pennies, make sure you
put the money of cigarette and drink in a piggy bank when every time you
urge to buy them. After one month is over, break the piggy bank and see
how much you have saved. You will be happy of what you have just did.
Buy 1 and Get 2 offer- quite smoking and drinking and save money and health both!!
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#8. Make investments- The invested money is more likely to save
Do not save what is left after Spending. But spend what is left after Saving.
Warren Buffet
American business magnet, Philanthropist and investor
Indeed a great quote by Philanthropist and investor, Warren Buffet. But do you know how many of us follow this quote- none.
However,
in the reality, this should be our first and foremost thinking since
the moment we are introduced with money. If we learn to save yet, we
would be able to handle any of the situation very aptly.
As they
say that, so you sow, you reap! While you would invest the money in the
present, you would have a great financial back-up in the near future.
Therefore,
start investing all your earnings smartly. But investment here does not
mean that you would invest on share market and wait for quick profits.
Investment has a technique which should be followed efficiently to reap
the future benefits. Most importantly, the investment that you are
making should be on a long term basis.
The Stock market is a device for transferring money from the patient to impatient.
Warren Buffet
Investor & Philanthropist
Tips for investment
- Invest in mutual fund with long durations
- Do not invest in short term mutual funds; SIPs are the best solutions.
- Always put 10% in short term plans and 90% in long term investments.
- Always research top mutual funds before actually i investing into them.
- If
you are thinking to invest in a way that it has medical benefits too,
you can invest in health insurance policies. These policies give 80D
benefits in income tax slab.
- Further, if you want a reasonable amount of money growth with proper risk cover and income tax benefits then, try investing into insurance policies.
Set yourself a budget every month- You should not go beyond your capacity
#9. Set yourself a budget every month- You should not go beyond your capacity
We
all have heard this idiom saying, "Cut your dress according to your
cloth." But have we ever pondered over it. No! Never! I guess we did not
feel like giving it much attention.
Dear friends, this is the
point where we made the mistake. Actually, this should be our first
concern that how much we want to spend and how much resources we have.
Once we start planning according the resources we have, we will save a
lot- whether it is about money, time or anything else in the world.
Therefore,
to start comprehensively, always plan your budget first. Once you are
done planning with your budget, there will be an ease of handling all
the expenses according what you earn.
Moreover, there will come
a point where, this budget limiting will lead you to save money. Once
you would learn this by yourself, you will be capable of explaining how
to save money to your youngsters as well.
#10. Save income tax the smart way
Income
tax or any kind of tax takes a significant portion of your income every
month and year. People think that saving money starts after giving the
income tax and then thinking of strategies and best way to save money.
But what if you can save money on your income tax.
You
need to educate yourself on strategies and ways to save income tax to
save an enormous amount of money from your total income. I have written a
comphensive post on saving income tax and I cover many ways, methods
and smart strategies that can be extremely helpful for you, check it
out: (add link)
Agents
from banks and other policy agents will try to sell you stuff that
makes them the biggest commission. They don't care about your income tax
and your saving needs. They just care about their commission, so be
smart and save your income tax today.
Other Money Saving Tips in India
#11. Switching from Postpaid to Prepaid mobile plan
Postpaid looks very attractive with added benefits and you feel like a king in the world, but trust me you end up spending more.
If
you are a heavy user then its fine for you, but for moderate users,
prepaid plans are much cheaper compared with postpaid plan. Also, since
the launch of Reliance JIO and telecom war, companies are coming up with
some amazing, amazing offers to lure customers into not switching to
JIO.
Now
the prepaid plans are offering what was earlier offered to postpaid
plans. Unlimited calling, unlimited SMS, unlimited this and that and
just pay for the data. So if you are still stuck on postpaid, switch
right now to prepaid plan.
#12. Use credit cards to your advantage
Although
credit cards are looked upon as a sneaky way to spend more. People
generally end up spending a lot more because of the money being plastic
in nature. I am a heavy user of credit cards, and if done right, you can
save a lot of money using credit cards
I
have written an elaborate article on choosing the best credit card and
how to save a lot of money every month, check the article: (add link)
You
can easily save from Rs500-1500/month using credit cards. Caution: It
takes temperament for using credit cards the right way to save money.
#13. Read books - Yes this can be helpful as well
I love my kindle (I have mentioned all the tools that help me make money in this article,
I tools) and I have learned the best and most helpful knowledge from books.
I
read books on all the topics, from blogging, life, investment, saving
money, making more money, fiction, non-fiction and many more. By reading
the experiences of others and learning from the experts, I discover new
strategies and ways to make and save more money.
Through
incomeboy.com, the target is to pass on that knowledge to all of you.
But reading books will definitely help you make better financial choices
Now
you guys must be wondering, he promised 21 tips, but he has only
delivered the top and best 13 ways to save money, what about the other
8. Worry not, even if you cover these 13 ways to save money even then
you are good to go. If you are done with these 13 then you can send me
an email and I will personally share with you the cheat sheets, hidden
tactics I use to save more money. But before that, follow these 13
listed tactics and send me a thank you email for sharing these
wonderful tactics with you.
The final take -
Money
is one of that essential commodity that helps in earning all the
amenities of the world. But when you do not manage it perfectly, it miss-manages
your life. Therefore, it would be good that you start managing the
money well, which is only possible when start saving it.
In this
article, we discussed those money saving tips and I guess you are very
well clear of the perspective behind how to save money.
Lastly, I would like to bid adieu with this motivational and eye opening phrase -
"It is not about how much money you make; It is about how much money you save!!"
If
you learned anything new in this article, kindly share this article
with your friends and help them save more money as well. Sharing this
article might help you look like a knowledgeable financial consultant to
your friends :D, just kidding share it only if you learned anything
new.
