7 Simple Ways To Save Money Without Really Trying

7 simple ways to save money without trying

These 7 simple ways to save money will have you reach your dreams without any major sacrifices.

For many people, saving money = the opposite to fun. Want to go out for a nice dinner or go out for cocktails with friends? Nope, that’s an unnecessary expense that doesn’t line up with a mission of $$$ saving.

However, saving doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t treat yourself – it also doesn’t have to be hard or require loads of self-discipline.

Limiting spending on things like entertainment or eating out will always be an effective way to save, but there are other saving strategies that are easy to implement and have a less noticeable and less limiting impact on your lifestyle.

1. Pay yourself first

When you get your paycheck, many people spend first, and then save what is left over. The problem with this is that it doesn’t guarantee that anything is getting put into a savings account, leaving it dependent on how much you spend each month (often in a rather unplanned and inconsistent fashion).

A better strategy is to pay yourself first by setting aside a fixed percentage of your income towards your savings, then spending what is left over. This ensures that you spend within your means.

An effective way to do this is to transfer the money into your savings account on the same day you get paid, whisking it away before you have the chance to spend it on something you don’t actually need.

2. Automate your savings

Automation takes self-discipline out of the savings equation. This means setting up regular, automatic transactions from your spending to savings account. Scheduling these automatic transactions removes the temptation to spend the money instead.

If you’re looking to put your savings to work, Raiz is a great tool that combines investing and automation. Known as micro-investing, the app allows you to easily invest your money into a diversified portfolio.

Its round-up feature that allows you to invest your spare change from everyday purchases without thinking about it. By linking your bank account to the app, it rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and automatically invests the spare change. For example, if you buy a coffee for $3.50, it rounds up to $4, and the extra 50 cents is automatically invested into your Raiz portfolio. Think of it as your virtual piggy bank.

You can also set up recurring deposits to be invested into your account on a daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis. You’d be surprised how much this can add up as you invest small, recurring amounts over time.

7 ways to save money without even trying, piggybank

3. Cancel subscriptions you no longer use

You’ve probably heard this before, but this one really is an easy way to cut down on costs. Research has found that Aussies are wasting nearly $4 billion a year on unused subscription services, with three in five of us paying for subscriptions we have forgotten about. Conduct an audit of your bank statements and cancel any subscriptions that you no longer use!

4. Buy in bulk

Bulk buying can get the cost of common purchases down, and saves you a few trips to the shops. Of course, not all goods should be bought in bulk, like perishable foods that would spoil before you got the chance to eat them.

Common examples of things you could bulk buy include toilet paper, tissues, dishwashing supplies, canned foods, olive oil etc. Parting with a little extra money now will save you $$$ going into the future.

5. Bring your own lunch to work

If you were to buy lunch at work or uni 5 days a week, and every lunch costs $10, that means you are paying $200 per month for the pleasure.

Bringing your own lunch to work can be significantly cheaper. A simple way to cut down on bought lunch is to cook enough some extra dinner the night before so that you have leftovers to take in the next day.

6. Shop through cash back programs

Cashback programs allow you to get a little bit of the purchase price back when you shop (usually in the form of a percentage). When you shop through a cashback company, they receive a commission from the brand, and then share a portion of that commission back to you.

Raiz Rewards is one such program. With over 200 brands partnered, when you shop with a brand through Raiz Rewards they will invest a percentage of your purchase price back into your Raiz account.

If you’re already doing a lot of online shopping, consider shopping through a cash back program and getting a few dollars back each time. Every time you’re buying groceries, presents, clothes, or booking a holiday, why not get a cash reward back? It all adds up!

7. Be strategic when buying fuel

It’s easier than ever to find a good deal on fuel. There are a bunch of government fuel price comparison apps available to download for free. The NSW government app ‘Fuel Check’ allows you to view a map showing the real time price of fuel for every service station.

The ACCC also provides daily updates on petrol price cycles, which gives advice on whether it’s a good day to buy fuel in your capital city, or if you should wait for when prices are expected to decrease. 

Ultimately, small changes add up over time and saving a little extra here and there can really add up to big savings down the track. So why not try out a few of these hot tips – your future self will thank you for it!

Story guest written by RAIZ – Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not consider any person’s investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the Raiz product.

The information in this website is confidential. It must not be reproduced, distributed or disclosed to any other person. The information is based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This will impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz.

Past return performance of the Raiz product should not be relied on for deciding to invest in Raiz and is not a good predictor of future performance.

Sarah Carroll

Sarah navigates health and fitness alongside a sinful sweet tooth and an unfortunate tendency to splash her savings online shopping, eating out or buying $10 cocktails at happy hour. With a love for yoga, animals and musical theatre, Sarah is rarely found without a peppermint-green tea in hand, tearing up over animal videos on Instagram.

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