7 Lifestyle Changes You Must Start Making Today That Will Save You Money

By Michelle Wanjiku
You need to spend less and save more if you want to become rich.
Do you always find yourself wondering where all your money is going? Not being able to account for your cash is one of the biggest financial mistakes you can make.
How you spend your money largely depends on the lifestyle you choose so it only makes sense that if you want to save more you have to make a few changes to your lifestyle.

What are some lifestyle changes that save money?

1. Do-it-yourself
How many times do you pay someone to do something for you yet you could have done it on your own?
This can be anything from sewing your buttons back on clothes, laundry, cooking and many more. Cutting down on how many times you pay someone to perform some of these basic tasks will help you save some few shillings in the long run.
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You might be busy but instead of paying for such services four times a month, you can reduce it to twice a month and do it yourself the other two.
This also applies to some repair tasks around the house as well such as simple plumbing. Basically avoid paying for things you can manage to make or do yourself.
2. Go homemade
How much money do you spend on buying lunch per year?
This is a lot of money that you could be saving and using to invest to better your financial status. Why spend over 100 shillings on lunch every day when you can carry food form home? It is cheaper and more convenient.
This also applies to eating out. Instead of spending a lot of money buying food from hotels why not use a fraction of that amount to cook at home?
If you have no time during the week to make meals, then you can decide to make food on weekends that will last through the week.
3. Buy things in bulk
There is a reason why most people shop at the end of the month for household goods. Instead of buying a packet of sugar every week, try buying it in larger quantities that last a whole month.
Going to the supermarket less enables you to avoid the temptation of impulse buying. Think about it, how many times have you gone to buy a packet of Unga only to leave with other things as well?
Not only that but buying in bulk enables you to save the money left over without having to worry about needing it later on.
4. Don’t overspend on status
We all want to live a certain kind of life and even have friends who are very lavish in their spending. You need to ensure that you do not spend too much money trying to keep up with them.
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One of the ways you can ensure you don’t spend too much money is to avoid hanging out with such friends all the time. Don’t fall victim to living way above your means just to please the people around you.
5. Track your spending
Another great way to ensure you save a lot more is to know where your money is going. This will help you come up with a good budget that you can stick to.
There is no excuse for not knowing how you spend your money. This is carelessness that will delay your financial success.
6. Don’t always buy cheap
This might seem like the opposite of what you need to do in order to save more but in reality it is not. For example, if one person buys a shoe worth 200 and someone else buys one worth 700 and of better quality, it might seem like the first one saved more. However, a few weeks down the line the first person has to buy another shoe worth 200 and does the same three more times before the second person has to buy a new pair.
In reality the first person ended up spending 1000 shillings while the second one only spent 700.
Sometimes cheap is expensive, you should never buy low quality items especially of you use them regularly. Otherwise you will end up spending more replacing them. You would rather buy something expensive and of good quality that lasts for a long time.
7. Cut out unnecessary spending
You need to cut down on any unnecessary payments that you end up making. For example, how many times do you watch TV? Do you really need to pay for all those channels? Why should you live in a house where half your salary goes to rent? You can move somewhere cheaper and save more.
In Conclusion,
How much money you save depends on your discipline and willingness to stop wasting your money on irrelevant things. You need to live below your means if you want to save a considerable amount of money.
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The writer is a Communication Officer/Digital marketer at Career Point Kenya. Email: michelle@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke