5 Tips to Creating a Cash-Only Lifestyle - Online Income Generation, Income Growth Strategies, Freelancing Income

Spread the love

In the era of increasing digitization, living a cash-only life might sound impossible, because we heavily depend on credit cards, debit cards, online wallets, and internet banking.

For making any purchase, we have come used to these modes of payment as it is more secure than carrying money in the wallet. What’s more, many are attracted to the benefits that come with a credit card.

However, these benefits come with several hassles as well – the loss of card, identity theft, fraudulent transactions, annual charges, and stolen customer information.

It is important to remember that ATMs have only been around for a few decades, but cash has stood the test of centuries. Thus, it should come as no surprise that a small section of the population is moving back to a cash-only life.

What is Cash-Only Life?
Examples of a Cash-Only Lifestyle
How to start living a cash-only life
5 Tips to Creating a Cash-Only Lifestyle
How do I Convert to Cash-Only?
Why you Should pay Cash for Everything?
Pros and Cons of a Cash-Only Lifestyle
What Are 10 Ways to Save Money?
What Are Some Lifestyle Changes That Save Money?
How Can I Get Cash-only?
What Are The Tips to be Good With Money?
Ways of Handling Money
Money Management Tips For Beginners
Simple Money Management Tips
Money Management Tips For Students
10 Ways to Use Money Wisely
How do You Pay Bills in Cash?

What is Cash Only Life?

As the term suggests, in a cash-only life, a person has to stop using their debit and credit cards and rely only on cash for all their purchases. This might seem impossible in a time when having credit and debit cards is a child’s play, but with proper financial planning, a person can have a cash-only lifestyle.

Read Also: Top 10 Ways to Budget as a Parent

Usually, it begins with setting a monthly budget and at the month-end, whatever amount is considered as savings. Initially, in the first few months, it might feel difficult, but in the long run, it will be beneficial because there will no longer be any credit card debts or impulse purchases made using a debit card.

A cash-only lifestyle will set a limit for the household expenditures and curb down the unnecessary expenses which people often engage in when using cards.

Even in the age where a majority of the population prefers plastic money, few believe in a cash-only lifestyle. This doesn’t mean they pay everything via cash; instead, this type of payment mode helps them keeping financial stability in life. There have been incidents of loss or theft of credit and debit cards, which can be prevented by living a cash-only lifestyle.

There are a few things that you must be careful about before starting to live a cash-only life:

Carry cash carefully

The first step towards living a cash-only lifestyle is by carrying cash whenever you step out. This helps in keeping a check on the amount a person has in their wallet and spend accordingly. However, as lost or misplaced cash cannot be traced back, one must be careful in handling it. Count the money twice before you leave, before you make a payment and before you pocket the remaining change. Keep your cash safe while traveling in crowded places.

Be flexible

Some establishments or businesses might no longer accept cash. Be flexible and use your card, but clear all your dues as soon as possible to prevent any debt from accumulating.

Set a cash limit

While you can withdraw any amount of cash from banks or ATMs, but it is imperative to use it wisely. Before becoming a conscious spender, a person must keep a limited amount of money in their wallet to avoid unnecessary expenditure. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be much more comfortable with handling high volumes of cash.

Keep a tab on day-to-day expenses

Using the envelop method can aid in categorizing the income and save them for various expenses such as household, transport, clothing, etc. However, besides that, there are certain day-to-day expenses that a person bears. So, make sure you have an adequate amount of cash and that you know where it is being spent.

Examples of a Cash Only Lifestyle

There is a real-life incident of a person who is currently living a cash-only lifestyle. Bridget Delany’s landlord was a wealthy elite who had invented the first electronic card payment system Eftpos. Long before ATMs came into being, people had to travel to the bank for withdrawing cash, but with the advent of the automated payment system, it seemed that only the poor used paper currency.

So Bridget got her first credit card 20 years ago and ever since her expenditure was rising as it was simply ‘tap and go’ mode of payment. However, recently after losing her bank card for the fourth time in a year, she had decided not to issue a new one and hence walks up to the bank every Friday, takes out a certain amount of cash to survive the week. It is tiring, but she has seen a reduction in her expenses and an increase in savings.

In another example, Janessa Jackson has been living only cash life to fulfill her financial goals, curb expenses, increase savings and avoid the steep downfall of money from a savings account.

After watching the Dave Ramsey envelop method of saving money, she started following baby steps of avoiding credit and debit cards and using the only paper currency for meeting her needs. In 2 months, she began seeing results as she has been able to save a subsequent amount of her finance.

Cash only lifestyle helped her realize where he was spending most and made her understand that with proper budgeting strategy, she can save more. It also helped her set his financial priority rather than fulfilling unnecessary wants.

How to start living a cash-only life

Living cash-only lifestyle forces an individual to limit their expenditure and enhance their budgeting skills, thereby enabling them to live a debt-free life. Paper currency often aids an individual to become a conscious spender who can resist impulsive expenditure and spend only on necessary things. Here’s how to get started on a cash-only life:

Keep cards at home

The first step towards living cash-only life is to carry only cash while going outside. This will resist a person from overspending and limit their purchasing power. Besides, one must strictly avoid usage of credit cards as will result in a debt, which is against the idea of cash only life.

Create a Budget

Calculate your monthly expenses and earnings to devise a suitable budget. Besides using the envelop system to improve financial stability, it is imperative to deploy a prudent budgeting strategy. A budget helps a person manage their spending and savings easily. Make sure you stick to your budget every month and see your savings soar in a short time.

Differentiate between wants and needs

While using cards, often people don’t bother about their financial situation and keep on purchasing unnecessary things. However, with a cash-only lifestyle, a person can learn to identify their needs and wants. Thus, they become keener on purchasing they need rather than fulfilling their luxurious and dispensable wants.

5 Tips to Creating a Cash Only Lifestyle

Credit cards have become essential in the online world we live in, but data breaches in the news have raised privacy concerns regarding credit card security. Many people are transitioning back to a cash only lifestyle, and you could too with these tips.

In response to recent data breaches from credit card accounts at Target and Michael’s, many shoppers are embracing a new payment method that guarantees personal privacy: cash.

According to an Associated Press poll cited in The New York Times, 37 percent of respondents said they started buying more often with cash than card after the aforementioned data breaches.

If you find yourself interested in a cash lifestyle but don’t want to close your bank accounts and live off the grid, you might find an increased sense of security and control over your spending. Here are a few practical tips for managing your cash-based personal economy

1. Use the “Envelope System”

Paying for daily expenses with cash can either make budgeting a snap or a swamp — it all depends on how you manage your supply. You don’t have to literally use envelopes, but if you separate cash for different purposes, then you’ll be able to avoid over-spending on one category.

You’ll know when your lunch-money budget has been used up and realize you need to pack leftovers from home, all while leaving your gasoline fund untouched.

2. Don’t Forget About Money Orders

Money orders are terrifically versatile payment tools that are often overlooked in today’s digital banking universe. You can use them to pay for rent and utilities without showing off your bank account information. They’re available at the post office, bank or retail outlet.

No account numbers are needed and your recipient can cash it at any bank. While money orders are readily negotiable because — unlike checks — they have already been paid for. Best yet, they can also be replaced if lost or stolen.

3. Know Your Daily ATM Limit

Most banks limit on the amount of cash you’re allowed to withdraw on any given day from an ATM. Being aware of this limit means that you’ll be able to plan ahead if you want to make a large purchase spontaneously, or if going into a branch of your bank isn’t feasible.

Memorize your credit card PIN, so that in a bind you can withdraw a cash advance through an ATM. Credit cards charge high-interest rates on cash advances, so keep this type of card use for emergencies and reimburse your account as soon as possible.

4. Ask for Smaller Bills

If you withdraw money at the bank, it might be tempting to request bills in fifty or one hundred dollar denominations for the pleasure of holding big bills, but these are inconvenient to spend. If you need a bottle of aspirin at the mini-mart and you only have a $50 bill in your wallet, you might be wary to split such a large bill. Putting your funds into $20 bills is wiser, as they’re universally accepted and don’t draw unwanted attention.

5. Choose a Creative Stash in Your Home

Obviously, you shouldn’t keep your life savings stuffed into your mattress, but keeping enough money for a week or two at your home is useful. It’s important to exercise some basic self-protection against break-ins and keep the cash in a non-obvious location. Small built-in wall safes are excellent, as are cleverly re-purposed food containers and books in a large bookshelf.

How do I Convert to Cash Only?

If you are having a hard time sticking to your budget, you may find it beneficial to switch to a cash-only system. A cash-only budget can help you stay on track because of the psychological impact of using cash as opposed to a debit or credit card to pay for something—you realize how much it really costs.

Switching to a cash-only budget is a move recommended by many financial experts. Here’s how to make the change.

Choose the Categories to Switch to Cash

The first step in switching to cash is to determine the budget categories that will actually work as cash-only. You may only be able to make certain payments, such as a mortgage or your student loan, online or at least by check.

But for those categories where you are able to use cash, determine the ones in which you are consistently overspending. This may be groceries, entertainment, eating out, or clothing. Everyone has their problem areas when it comes to overspending. Once you know what yours are, you can switch them over to cash in order to curb your spending.

Stop Using Your Debit Card for These Categories

The next step is to stop using your debit card, credit card, or even your checkbook to pay for anything in those categories—no matter what.

If you are not able to do that, you may consider leaving your debit card at home for a few weeks and disconnecting any automatic payments you can access online, such as those through Paypal. This will help you break bad financial habits.

Create a System to Separate Cash and Track Receipts

When using a cash-based budget, you need a way to track your cash purchases and also keep the cash for different categories of your budget separate.

A simple way to do this is to use the envelope system. At the beginning of the month, you stash your budgeted amount of cash into envelopes labeled with each budget category. Once the cash runs out for a specific envelope, you’re done spending in that category for the month.

You should also put your receipts into those envelopes so you can review where you spent the money at the end of the month. Alternatively, you can keep a running ledger as you spend the money.

Set Up a Time to Take Out the Cash

In order to be successful at a cash-only budget, you need to actually get the cash and separate it into categories. This may mean a trip to the bank or the ATM on payday or another set day.

Plan Ahead When You Go Shopping

This type of budget requires that you learn to plan ahead. Generally, it’s not a good idea to carry huge amounts of cash around with you all of the time. So, for example, you leave your grocery money at home unless you are going to the grocery store, and take only $20 to work if you plan on eating out that day. You get the idea. Bonus: This will also help to cut back on your impulse purchases.

Stick to Your Limits

As with any budget, this requires the self-discipline to avoid spending all the money in one category too quickly. This also means that you do not use your debit card or your credit card to cover shortfalls. You can switch money between envelopes if you find that you have overspent on your grocery budget halfway through the month. But you will have to cut spending in other areas.

Adjust Your Categories

You should adjust your budget once you have followed it for a few months. You may find that you don’t have enough planned for groceries but you always have money left over in the gas category, or you that you may need to sacrifice some of your entertainment money so that you can pay for meals.

Other Cash-Only Budgeting Tips

Using cash may not always seem very convenient, but it is a great way to stop yourself from overspending. It makes you consciously consider your purchasing choices. This type of budget can also help you to stop using your credit cards.
To carry your cash, consider using an expanding pocket file that fits into a purse, and keep it separated according to budget categories. However, this does mean carrying all of your cash, so it might not be the best option if that makes you nervous. Instead, you might try only carrying the cash you need for the week.
If you are married, budgeting as a couple can be very difficult. A cash budget can help make budgeting easier. You can divide the money between your individual categories, and leave the grocery money or entertainment money where you can both access it if you need it. Just be sure you’re checking in throughout the month so neither person is surprised when one envelope is empty.

Why you Should pay Cash for Everything?

These days, you can use cards or mobile payments for everything, from taxis to paying the babysitter, meaning it’s easier than ever to live without cash. At some stores — such as Amazon’s brick-and-mortar bookshops — paying with cash isn’t even an option.

But a fully cashless society isn’t here just yet, and there are still some good excuses for keeping a few bills tucked in your wallet. Here are 11 reasons why you might want to pay with cash — or at least keep some on hand.

1. It’s accepted (almost) everywhere

Unlike your American Express or Discover Card, cash is accepted almost everywhere. Most merchants in the U.S. will happily take your greenbacks for payments, even as they refuse to run your credit or debit cards for smaller purchases.

Of course, the flip side of the cash-only (or cash-preferred) business is the one that requires you to pay with a card. That’s a perfectly legal practice and one that’s common in certain industries. So it’s smart to carry both cash and plastic.

2. It’s useful in emergencies

Credit cards are convenient, until suddenly they don’t work or aren’t available. If the power goes out or your wallet is stolen, you’ll be happy you have some paper money tucked in a cookie jar. In fact, the government includes cash on its disaster supplies list, along with other essentials, such as food, water, and prescription medications.

Although you shouldn’t hide your life savings under your mattress, $100 or $200 will buy gas or food if the unexpected happens.

3. It can save you money and hassle when traveling

Take it from the travel pros at Lonely Planet: You need cash if you’re on the road, especially if you’re venturing abroad. Not only are cards not accepted everywhere, but pockets get picked, ATMs eat debit cards, and other misadventures can befall you.

Cold hard cash can get you out of a jam almost anywhere. Carry a small travelers emergency fund on you separate from your main wallet, and leave the rest of your cash and a backup credit card in the hotel safe, Lonely Planet advised.

4. Your server will love you

You can add your tip to your credit card receipt when you pay the bill for dinner, or you could make your server smile and leave the cash on the table. Your waiter or waitress will be able to collect their earnings right away, rather than waiting for your tip to show up on their paycheck.

Plus, restaurant managers sometimes take credit card fees out of tips that show up on cards, Money reported, which means less for your hard-working server.

5. You might get a discount

Card issuers charge businesses a small fee for processing transactions. Some businesses pass the charge on to customers in the form of an extra fee. Others, especially in states where such surcharges aren’t allowed, offer cash payment discounts.

For consumers, the difference is one of semantics, but the point is sometimes cash will save you money. Cash discounts are especially common at gas stations in certain areas, where you’ll usually save 5 to 10 cents a gallon if you pay with paper rather than a card.

Gas stations aren’t the only ones cutting prices for those with greenbacks. Doctors might slash bills for uninsured patients if they can quickly pay their bill in cash. Jewelry stores might also offer cash discounts.

6. You’ll spend less

Do you really spend more when you pay with plastic instead of cash? Studies say yes. Researchers at MIT found people who were told to use a credit card instead of cash were willing to pay more for purchases.

Another study found people paying with cash are more likely to focus on an item’s cost, rather than its benefits. In a third study, consumers who were urged to pay cash for small purchases had less debt after six month than those who didn’t receive the same advice.

7. You’ll enjoy your purchases more

Not only will you spend less when you pay with cash, you’ll also get more enjoyment out of what you buy. We have greater emotional attachment to purchases we make with cash than those for we put on credit, a study published in the Journal of Consumer research found.

“Using cash or check seems to increase the psychological ‘pain’ or sacrifice of the act and creates more affinity with the product or brand,” the authors wrote.

8. You won’t run up debt

The average U.S. household with credit card debt owes more than $16,000, according to financial website NerdWallet.

If you’re one of the many Americans who have trouble using credit responsibly, going cash-only has a significant benefit: You won’t be able to run up any more debt on your cards. Give yourself a cash budget for the week, and stick to it. If the money isn’t already in your wallet, you can’t spend it.

9. It’s perfect for certain types of budgeting

Some people give themselves a cash budget to control discretionary spending, but they still use cards for other purchases. Others go all-in with cash, switching over to what’s commonly called the “envelope system.”

Popularized by author Dave Ramsey, this approach to budgeting involves dividing all your money for a month into different envelopes — say, $400 for groceries, $200 for gas, and $100 for lunches at work.

You only use money from the grocery envelope to pay for groceries, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. The rigidity of the envelope system doesn’t appeal to everyone, but for those who are trying to live within a strict budget, it works.

10. Your bad credit won’t be an issue

So reckless credit card use or other financial problems have tanked your credit score. That means you’ll pay a premium in the form of higher interest next time you need to borrow money. But if you can pay cash instead, you can minimize or avoid the bad credit penalty.

Use hard currency for your next used car, and you won’t have to deal with crummy loan terms. At the furniture store, you might not qualify for the special financing, but showing up with a wallet full of $100 bills could earn you an even better deal: a cash discount.

(Even if you can get financing for your new living room set, you probably shouldn’t because these “deals” can wreak havoc on your already fragile credit score, according to Marketwatch.)

11. Your purchases stay private

There’s a reason criminals like to do business in cash: It’s hard to trace. But even law-abiding citizens who value their privacy appreciate the anonymity of cash transactions. In the ING survey, 69% of Americans said cash transactions were very private. Only 36% felt the same way about card transactions.

Aside from the possibility of identity theft, credit card companies and retail stores sell your purchase data, which marketers than use to try to sell you more stuff. In one infamous case, a teen’s purchases at Target clued the store in to the fact she was pregnant. The chain then sent the mom-to-be some coupons for baby stuff, much to the surprise of her parents.

Pros and Cons of a Cash Only Lifestyle

Pros

Cash-only living isn’t just about ditching credit cards. It can mean that you only pay with paper currency or your debit card. This means you’re using money that doesn’t have to be paid back, unlike credit cards or loans. Using only money that is readily available has advantages.

No Worries About Fees or Extra Expenses

When you pay only in cash or from what’s available in your bank account, you don’t have to worry about any fees that may be tacked on from using a credit card or taking out a loan. These can include monthly and overdraft fees or interest charges. Dave Ramsey, author of “The Total Money Makeover,” calls these “gotcha” fees and advises that people can reduce their spending and debt by avoiding them.

Money Management Skills Increase

Whether you only use cash or you use a debit card attached to a checking account, you’re likely to increase your money management skills by always knowing how much money you have available.

Since there’s no backup method for emergencies, you learn how to save money for unexpected circumstances and are more apt to only spend what you have to spare. Having a $500 emergency fund can ease the financial burden when things pop up, such as when your car breaks down or your refrigerator dies.

You Can Avoid Debt

Sean McQuay, Nerdwallet’s Credit and Banking Expert, says, “Taking on debt to cover the gap between income and expenses is a short-term fix with costly long-term results.” Nerdwallet reports that it costs the average American household about $1,300 annually just to carry credit card debt. Living cash-only can help you avoid debt because it forces you to weigh your spending choices. If you don’t have the money to spend, you can’t spend it.

Cons

There’s always another side to the story, and cash-only has one, too. Keep these points in mind before going strictly cash-only.

If You Lose Your Cash, It’s Gone

Carrying around cash for everyday expenses may not be a big deal, but almost everyone has bills to pay. Some of your big-ticket bills may include:

Mortgage or rent
Car payments
Utility bills
Insurance

You’ll probably be withdrawing a lot of cash and carrying it with you to send off on payment day. Keep in mind that cash doesn’t have a digital footprint. Once it’s gone, it’s gone and there’s no way to track where it went. If you accidentally lose your cash or because someone takes it from your wallet or purse, that money is gone and no longer available to pay big bills or anything else.

E-Commerce Sites Don’t Always Take Cash

People can find great deals online, but paying in cash isn’t usually an option. When you choose to go cash-only, you’re limited to shopping the deals you can find locally or those you’re willing to travel to take advantage of.

But any extra travel may negate the savings because you’ll be paying for other expenses like gas just to get there. However, many sites will allow you to use a debit card and withdraw the money directly from your checking account.

You Can’t Make Reservations With Cash

It’s beneficial to make reservations for modes of travel to ensure you reach your destination. You may also want to make reservations for your accommodations so you’ll have somewhere to stay once you get there.

But when you live cash-only, you can’t make reservations because reservations require a hold on your credit card. Even if you use a debit card, you’ll have to make sure the funds are available because the hold may be there a while.

You Miss Out on Cash-Back Opportunities

Many credit card companies offer incentives to earn cash back when you use your credit card. The percentages vary, but some offer as much as 3% cash back. Others may offer other incentives such as frequent flyer miles or discounts for products and services. Not having a credit card means you miss out on these opportunities and the money associated with them.

Cash Doesn’t Build Credit Scores

Using cash and avoiding all forms of credit could make your credit score suffer, and ignoring your credit score could mean trouble. Credit scores aren’t just used to determine your credit eligibility for car loans, mortgages, other loans and luxury items.

Employers may also look at your credit score to determine if you make sound decisions, manage money well and will be a good fit for the company. When you only use cash, your financial savvy won’t be reflected in your credit score, and that could cost you a job.

What Are 10 Ways to Save Money?

While you may not have control over the economy, you do have control over the actions that you take. Here are 10 ways to manage your finances.

1. Keep track of your spending. If you know where your money is going it will be easier to make changes if you need to.

2. Separate wants from needs. Do you really need that 42-inch flat screen television? When money is tight it should not be spent unless absolutely necessary.

3. Avoid using credit to pay your bills. While it may make things easier now, using credit only increases your monthly payments in the future.

4. Save regularly. Have some of your paycheck directly deposited into your savings account or set up an automatic transfer each month from your checking to your savings account.

5. Check your insurance policies. Review the coverage for all your plans. You may have too much and be wasting money or too little and not be adequately covered. Virginia CU Insurance Services can help you find the best coverage at the best price.

6. Be careful about spending a significant amount of money on periodic purchases, like gifts and vacation. While you may feel good while you are spending the money, you may wish you had the money later.

7. Cut or downgrade your services. Can you get a cheaper cable package or have no cable at all? If you have a cell phone consider cutting your land line.

8. Try lowering your energy bill. Turn off appliances and lights when they are not needed. Purchase energy-efficient light-bulbs. When you can, use a fan instead of air conditioning or put on a sweater instead of turning on the heat.

9. Consider signing up for online bill payment. Not only will you save on stamps, but you can make sure your payments are received on time. VACU’s online Bill Pay is free for members.

10. Cut down on take-out ordering. Even if the meal is not expensive, doing it frequently can really add up. A $10 pizza once a week will cost you over $500 a year!

What Are Some Lifestyle Changes That Save Money?

You can never know when you will need a small fortune to spend on an emergency or a down payment. You have to spend beneath your means and save for your future. Following this guide is a great way to start.

1. First of all: Know yourself

Before you even begin to think about cutting costs, you should actually think about where all your money goes on a weekly basis and multiply that by four. It’s super important to get a clear picture of how much you actually spend on non-essential items.

Let’s say you spend Dh80 on takeout twice a week and Dh50 on coffee on a weekly basis; Dh130 x 4 = Dh520 a month. Try and observe your behaviour for the week to really see what changes need to be made.

2. Adjust your food budget

What you put into your body has to be good quality food that’s full of nutrients and important vitamins. If you order your lunch on the daily, you could be spending upwards of Dh1,000 a month. Additionally you might be eating food that won’t give your body what it needs to be healthy.

Use half of this massive amount and buy yourself good quality produce, protein and snacks that can sustain you throughout the month. If you don’t know how to cook, you better start learning, because you can’t be a functioning adult until you know how to make yourself a decent and healthy lunch.

3. Save your change

Most of the time we are handed chunks of change that we basically just throw into our pockets or into our bags. These coins add up over time. Make sure you gather all of that money in a box and head down to any exchange service in town. They will happily take the coins off you, and give you bills in return. Money is money, even the 25 fils you receive from a cashier. Keep it, save it and exchange it.

4. Put your savings aside at the begining of the month

Okay this isn’t exactly new, or rocket science, but you have to admit that a lot of people just don’t follow through. If you put some money aside at the start of every month, you won’t spend it! It’s easy to spend when you see that you have cash in your bank account.

So just assume that this amount doesn’t exist, so you don’t spend it. You may actually not even feel the difference, because you will notice yourself adjusting to this new life accordingly.

5. Don’t grocery shop while hungry

Grocery shopping while you’re hungry is dangerous. You end up overspending and overestimating what you need. You’re also more likely to buy junk. Make sure you are full when you head to the grocery store, because even a little hunger can lead to unhealthy decisions.

Studies have also shown that hunger affects your non-grocery purchases, such as clothes and electronics. Our desire for food is so powerful that it affects other behaviours.

6. Enjoy the perks of your city

Do your research and head down to places that offer free beverages and nibbles, instead of spending your hard-earned cash. For the women, ladies’ nights are a perfect way to enjoy a night out without spending any money.

There are also some perks available for men, who can enjoy gentlemen’s evenings with free beverages at specific venues in the city. Make sure you download some free or non-free apps that help you save money while enjoying life and going out in the UAE.

7. Save on electricity

Small changes such as switching off the lights, or keeping the water off while you brush your teeth can go a long way to help decrease your electric bill. What some people don’t know, is that unplugging your devices when you aren’t using them also saves electricity.

Before going to sleep, take a quick walk around the house and switch off all your devices and unplug them from the wall. You will notice a drop in your bill at the end of the month.

8. Choose paper money over plastic money

When you have actual cash in your wallet, you tend to spend less, since you become more aware of how much you’re spending every day. So at the beginning of every week, draw out the exact amount you want to spend for the week in cash. This gives you a budget that you shouldn’t exceed.

9. Follow the 50/20/30

Planning for the long term has got to start now. Those numbers are the ultimate rule book you need to follow, if you want to have a healthy financial future. The best way to live is to spend 50 per cent of your salary on your fixed costs, such as rent, transportation and your essential bills.

If your fixed costs exceed 50 percent of your salary, then you should consider a different service provider for your phone and internet or cheaper housing. 20 percent of your salary should be put aside for your financial future, while the final 30 percent can be spent flexibly on eating out, groceries, shopping, hobbies, entertainment, or gas.

Let’s say you earn Dh15, 000 a month. Your fixed cost should not exceed Dh7, 500. You should put Dh3, 000 aside every month and spend no more than Dh4, 500 on yourself. By the end of the year you could save a whopping Dh36, 000.

How Can I Get Cash-only?

Here are a few practical tips for managing your cash-based personal economy:

1. Use the “Envelope System”

You’ll know when your lunch-money budget has been used up and realize you need to pack leftovers from home, all while leaving your gasoline fund untouched.

2. Don’t Forget About Money Orders

3. Know Your Daily ATM Limit

Memorize your credit card PIN, so that in a bind you can withdraw a cash advance through an ATM. Credit cards charge high interest rates on cash advances, so keep this type of card use for emergencies and reimburse your account as soon as possible.

4. Ask for Smaller Bills

5. Choose a Creative Stash in Your Home

6. Save Up Pocket Change for Your Bank

Using cash for daily purchases means you’ll have pocketfuls of coins at the end of each day. These coins pile up rapidly, and, if you’ve accumulated a five-pound jar of quarters, you may be tempted to just dump it into a grocery store coin machine.

Bring your trove of loose coins into your bank instead, where they won’t take a cut of your change. Once you put these simple tips into practice, you’ll relish the sense of personal privacy that a cash-based personal finance system provides.

What Are The Tips to be Good With Money?

Whatever your concerns may be, there’s no time like the present to get a handle on your finances. It’s best to get started – as soon as possible – on good financial habits. Luckily, we have 10 money management tips to get you started.

1. Know Your Money Priorities

Before budgeting, you need to determine your priorities. If you skip this crucial step, you won’t buy into your financial plan.

You need a focus to align your money goals with your money habits. That focus is what’s most important in your life, right now. Do you have credit card debt that makes your stomach churn just thinking about it? Paying that down might be your No. 1 priority.

Patrice Washington, a leading authority in personal finance, entrepreneurship and more, advises that money priorities align with your personal values. “The largest categories should reflect what matters most to you,” whether you value international travel or taking care of your body. Then you can cut back on other categories to “save at maximum capacity” for your true priorities.

Maybe it’s a wedding or a vacation you want to save for. Or, perhaps you want to establish an emergency fund so you’re not “up a creek without a paddle” when your car needs an engine overhaul or your pet needs surgery.

Whatever concerns you most, make that your priority, at least to start.

2. Determine Your Monthly Pay

As the saying goes, “what gets measured, gets managed.” How can you manage your money without knowing what you earn each month? If you don’t have a concrete number, determine your monthly income after taxes. This will be easier if you’re a salaried employee with a regular paycheck. Freelancers may have to estimate their monthly income.

Once you have a number, add in any extra side gig money. Maybe you babysit sporadically or have a blog that earns ad revenue, or you teach a weekly fitness class. Whatever extra income you earn, add it into your monthly take-home pay.

3. Track Where You Spend Your Money

Time to play detective with your own finances. In order to get the full picture of your spending habits, you’ll need to do some financial forensics on yourself. If it seems overwhelming, limit yourself to one month’s worth of expenses.

Pull out your credit card statements, housing and utility bills, bank statements including ATM withdrawals and any electronic payment records, such as Venmo or PayPal. Either open a spreadsheet or get out old fashioned paper and pen – it’s time to total your expenses.

It helps to categorize as you parse your spending. For example, you might label purchases as needs, wants or savings/debt. Or, you can get more detailed and add categories such as entertainment, food costs, travel and transportation. It’s up to you how much in the weeds you want to get.

After you compile expenses into one spot, total each category to see where the bulk of your money goes. You might be surprised at how much you spend eating out. Or, how high of a percentage your housing costs are compared to your income.

4. Have a Plan – Any Plan

Now that you know how much you earn, as well as how much you spend, it’s time to make a plan. The best financial plans align your priority (money management tip No. 1) with your spending habits.

Let’s say you’re a fitness buff. When you totaled your expenses, you found that in an average month, you spend money on a gym membership, yoga class card and new athletic gear. If that’s important to you, you won’t have to cut it out.

But, in order to meet whatever priority you’ve set — let’s say it’s an emergency fund — you’ll need to cut expenses elsewhere. That could mean shopping at a discount grocery store or brown-bagging your lunch instead of ordering takeout with your coworkers.

To meet your financial goal, maybe you set up auto-deposit to a special “emergency fund” savings account. When your paycheck is deposited, that money disappears before you can count it as spending money.

Whether you pay for a budget program like YNAB, or prefer a simple Excel spreadsheet, that’s up to you. This brings us to money management tip No. 5…

5. Stick to the Plan

Once you pick a plan, give it a try for at least a month. You need that long to see if it works for you. Anything less, and you won’t see the benefit of keeping an eye on your finances.

So find a budget you want to try, get started and stay with it. It’s that simple. If you want, Washington recommends you “surround yourself with visual representations” of your goals. So if you’re saving for your next international trip, you can put up pictures of your dream trip to keep your goal fresh in your mind.

6. Expect Emergencies

Regardless of what your priority is, you’ll want to have some easily accessible liquid funds.

Maybe you’re focusing on paying down your student loans, and you’re not concerned with building a hefty emergency fund. That’s fine, you don’t absolutely have to save six months of expenses. But you should save for at least three.

You never know what might happen. You or a partner could lose a job, or have a medical emergency or any number of circumstances. Whether you like it or not, life happens.

Having money to deal with problems as they come up will help you feel more secure, and a little more prepared. Most emergencies add enough stress as it is. Take away an element of worry with a financial cushion.

How you put money away for emergencies is up to you. Maybe you funnel all of your side gig money to an account you only touch in an absolute emergency. Or, it’s where any birthday or any gift money goes. It could be as simple as a small, monthly auto-deposit. It’s up to you.

7. Save Early and Often

This rule holds true regardless of your current priority. The sooner you save, the sooner you can build interest. You don’t even need an investment account to start earning interest. Most of the best savings accounts generate interest, and those accounts are FDIC insured. That means you don’t have the risk of losing your money, as with a brokerage account.

This rule also applies to retirement. The sooner you start putting money away in an IRA or 401(k), the better. Even if you’re years away from retiring, you still need to consider the future. Your money stands to grow the most if you start as soon as possible.

8. Take Advantage of Free Money

You don’t want to overlook what assets are available to you. If your employer offers 401(k) matching, you should absolutely take advantage of the benefit. It’s free money.

Another place to look is your health insurance plan. Are you paying for glasses or contact out of pocket when some of those costs are covered through your plan? Maybe your job offers a discounted gym membership. Take advantage of all the benefits your job offers; you might save some serious cash.

9. Relook Your Debt

Take a look at your total debt (money management tip No. 2). Is there anything you can refinance for a lower rate? Maybe it’s transferring a balance to a credit card with lower interest. Or, it’s consolidating student loans. It’s worth combing through your debt with a fine tooth comb to see if you can find a way to save.

10. Find What Works – And Keep Doing It

Another common maxim that applies to money management is “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Once you find a system that works, don’t get distracted by new apps or conflicting financial advice.

It’s tempting to try the next best thing, especially if it promises to be easier, simpler or faster. However, if you’re in a rhythm that works — you’re saving money, meeting financial goals and building security — keep chugging along. Your focus will pay off.

Ways of Handling Money

Here are 10 fundamental steps to help you manage your money the right way:

1. Create a budget

First things first: create a budget if you haven’t already. Is it necessary? Are windshield wipers necessary in the rain? Trust me, you need one.

Creating and sticking to a budget might seem a little tough to achieve at first but it pays off in the end (no pun intended). Budgeting helps us see with clarity and full transparency our financial situation and this is of most importance for better managing your money.

It’s the first step to help us pay off debt and start saving for future expenses such as a mortgage, a car, and your retirement. It’s what will bring balance to your financial life and give you peace of mind.

To begin, you will need to understand your expenses and your income to better manage your money. This is addressed in the following 2 steps:

2. Understand your expenses

Ask anyone off the top of their head to tell you how much they spend a month on everything and they might not be able to do so. This isn’t rare.

Many people actually don’t know the total amount of expenses they generate on any given month. This is a problem but there is an easy solution for it. Here it is: for one month, keep track of all your expenses. Easy-peasy. Take all your receipts (groceries, restaurant bills, utilities, etc.) and look at your bank statements and add up all of your expenses. Remember to keep track of expenses paid by cash as well as credit cards.

The idea is to have all your expenses (both variable and fixed) accounted for to get a total amount. This will allow you to see the whole picture and know how to manage your expenses going forward. You will also want to compare your historical performance over time.

3. Understand your income

Ask anyone off the top of their head to tell you how much they make a month and although they probably won’t tell you, internally they know. This is the difference between income and expenses, most people know their full monthly income but have less knowledge of their full monthly expenses.

Nonetheless, the point is to figure out your total expenses and subtract that from your total income for the month in question. Here is how the results should pan out:

If you end up with a negative number this means you spent more than you made. Actions to take? Reduce your spending and expenses until the total reaches zero.
If you end up with a positive number this is good (high five!) and means you spent less you made. Actions to take? You could increase your debt payments or increase your savings.

Once you understand your expenses and income and have a firm understanding of the money coming in and out of your life, it’s time to take some additional steps to best manage your money.

4. Consolidate your debt

Debt, the dreaded word. No one likes debt. No one. And most people that need help managing money actually need help getting out of debt. Sound familiar? If you are like the majority of Americans (~80%), then you most likely have debt.

The first thing to do is to get it under control and work on getting rid of it. If you have credit card debts, student loans, and other debts; look to consolidate them and try to get the lowest interest rate possible.

Again, its all about taking the proper steps to control your money. There are options out there that allow you to combine several unsecured debts such as credit cards, personal loans, and payday loans, into one bill rather than pay them individually.

If you only have a single credit card debt and are on a tight budget, try paying at least the minimum amount as soon as you get the credit card bill. Then, if your finances permit it, and you come across some more money, try to make the same payment a few weeks later.

Try keeping this payment cycle going until your debt is fully paid off.

5. Slash or remove unnecessary expenses

Big fan of Starbucks? If you are buying a Venti Caffe Latte every day (as delicious as they are) that’s around $4 out of your wallet. Multiply that out and you could be spending about $1,400 a year just on that. Maybe, just maybe, consider making your own blend at home to pinch those pennies?

Paying for a gym membership but doing yoga in your backyard? Cancel it. Think long and hard of other memberships, subscriptions, accounts that you are paying for but could live without.

Remember, the idea is to learn how to manage your finances better by taking everything and every penny into account.

So, do some spring cleaning and slash expenses wherever you see an opportunity and especially if it’s something that doesn’t affect your life to a great extent.

6. Create an emergency fund

Different things happen and it’s good to be prepared. Emergency funds are an important part of a healthy personal finance plan.

In almost all cases, you shouldn’t touch or take money out of the fund, rather, let it sit there earning interest. If you lose your job or an unfortunate or unexpected expense arises—such as your car breaking down or a tree falling on your roof—this is when you should tap into it.

7. Save 10 to 15 percent for retirement

I know it’s far off, but if you want to be sipping margaritas in Miami under a sun umbrella, the sooner you start saving for retirement, the better off you will be in your golden years.

First thing should be to establish a savings target—one that tells you approximately how much you should set aside over time to meet your retirement goals that will allow you to live the sort of lifestyle you envision.

Let’s say you are 21 years old and don’t have anything saved up but just got offered a job paying $40,000 a year. If you save 10% of your income annually then by the retirement age of 67, you will have $2.5 million saved up! Cha-ching!

8. Review and understand your credit report

Why are credit reports so important? Because they are.

A credit report is a number roughly between 150 and 900 that serves as a score/grade which factors in your present and past loans, credit cards, mortgages, and any other reported debts.

It serves to determine how creditworthy you are and this score has a direct impact on your future borrowing ability. It’s important that you review and understand your credit report to assure it has all your updated information and to identify any possible errors (it’s estimated that 2-3% of reports contain some errors that could affect your overall score).

If you want to aim for a great credit score, keep your credit card balances low and work on paying off your debt instead of moving it from account to account.

9. Use a tool or personal finance app

Your finances are already complicated, lets uncomplicated them.

How?

Begin by getting with the times and putting away your abacus or Casio calculator. There are new and free tools out there that will show you ways to manage money as well as do all the hard budgeting and computational work.

Many tools such as Quicken for Windows or the free MoneyStrands app will allow you to safely consolidate, manage and control your money all in one place.

With MoneyStrands you can get access to your all your account balances, financial transactions, spending habits and budgets, and take all that information to start making smarter decisions and achieve your financial goals.

10. Follow money management resources

Knowledge is power. Every financial guru we know today started off like you and me. They just continuously learned and educated themselves and turned their passion into their profession.

Financial pros can give you some much-needed advice on how to manage your cash the right way, as well as some inspiring stories to get you focused on being the best version of yourself in terms of crushing it financially.

The key when researching which expert to follow is to carefully pay attention to what they say, absorb it, and only take the pieces of advice or guidance that can really help your case.

Some of their financial jargon might be out of your league, so look more for those kernels of wisdom that might apply to you and yours.

Overall, stay well-informed, practice sound financial management, and perhaps one day you will be the next personal finance guru and have thousands, if not millions, of people sharing your content and seeking your expertise on the best way to manage your money. Anything is possible.

Being able to effectively manage your money will make life flow much more smoothly, not to mention help lower your stress levels. Being well-organized will also save you time and save you potential headaches in the future. And no one wants those.

So, get out there and take the first steps mapping out your personal financial strategy with the ever-present goal in mind of being able to manage your finances better than before. Many others have done it and so can you.

Money Management Tips For Beginners

These financial tips are designed to help you live your best financial life and take advantage of the fact that the younger you are, the more time your savings and investments have to grow.

1. Learn Self-Control

If you’re lucky, your parents taught you this skill when you were a kid. If not, keep in mind that the sooner you learn the fine art of delaying gratification, the sooner you’ll find it easy to keep your personal finances in order. Although you can effortlessly buy an item on credit the minute you want it, it’s better to wait until you’ve actually saved up the money for the purchase.

Do you really want to pay interest on a pair of jeans or a box of cereal? A debit card is as handy and takes the money from your checking account, rather than racking up interest charges.

If you make a habit of putting all your purchases on credit cards despite not being able to pay your bill in full at the end of the month, you might still be paying for those items in 10 years. Credit cards are convenient and paying them off on time, helps you build a good credit rating.

And some offer appealing rewards. But–except in rare emergencies–make sure to always pay your balance in full when the bill arrives. Also, don’t carry more cards than you can keep track of. This financial tip is crucial for creating a healthy credit history.

2. Control Your Financial Future

If you don’t learn to manage your own money, other people will find ways to (mis)manage it for you. Some of these people may be ill-intentioned, like unscrupulous commission-based financial planners. Others may be well-meaning, but they may not know what they’re doing, like Grandma Betty, who really wants you to own your own house even though you can only afford one by taking on a risky adjustable-rate mortgage.

Instead of relying on others for advice, take charge and read a few basic books on personal finance. Once you’re armed with knowledge, don’t let anyone catch you off guard—whether it’s a significant other who slowly siphons off your bank account or friends who want you to go out and blow tons of money with them every weekend.

3. Know Where Your Money Goes

Once you’ve gone through a few personal finance books, you’ll realize how important it is to make sure that your expenses aren’t exceeding your income. The best way to do this is by budgeting.

Once you see how the cost of your morning coffee adds up over the course of a month, you’ll realize that making small, manageable changes in your everyday expenses can have as big an impact on your financial situation as getting a raise.

In addition, keeping your recurring monthly expenses as low as possible can save you significant money over time. Even if you can swing an amenity-packed apartment now, picking something plainer could let you afford to own a condo or house sooner than you otherwise would.

4. Start an Emergency Fund

One of personal finance’s most-repeated mantras is “pay yourself first.” No matter how much you owe in student loans or credit card debt, and no matter how low your salary may seem, it’s wise to find some amount—any amount—of money in your budget to sock away in an emergency fund every month.

Having money in savings to use for emergencies can keep you out of trouble financially and help you sleep better at night. Also, if you get into the habit of saving money and treating it as a nonnegotiable monthly expense, pretty soon you’ll have more than just emergency money saved up: You’ll have retirement money, vacation money, or even money for a down payment on a home.

It’s easy to put your fund a standard savings account, but these earns almost no interest. Put your fund in a high-interest online savings account, short-term certificate of deposit (CD), or money market account. Otherwise, inflation will erode the value of your savings. Just make sure the rules of your savings vehicle permit you to get to your money quickly in an emergency.

5. Start Saving for Retirement

Just as your parents probably sent you off to kindergarten with high hopes of preparing you for success in a world that seemed eons away, you need to plan for your retirement well in advance. Because of the way compound interest works, the sooner you start saving, the less principal you’ll have to invest to end up with the amount you need to retire.

Why start saving for your retirement in your 20s? Here’s an Investopedia example: You start investing in the market at $100 a month, averaging a positive return of 1% a month or 12% a year, compounded monthly over 40 years.

Your friend, who is the same age, doesn’t begin investing until 30 years later and invests $1,000 a month for 10 years, also averaging 1% a month or 12% a year, compounded monthly. After 10 years, your friend will have saved up around $230,000. Your retirement account will be a bit over $1.17 million.

Company-sponsored retirement plans are a particularly great choice because you get to put in pretax dollars and companies will often match part of your contribution, which is like getting free money. Contribution limits tend to be higher for 401(k)s than for individual retirement accounts (IRAs), but any employer-sponsored plan you’re fortunate enough to be offered is a step closer to financial health.2

If you don’t have access to a company plan, don’t despair. Those who are self-employed have a range of options for setting up retirement plans. Others can open their own IRAs, allowing for a set amount of money each month to be withdrawn from your savings account and contributed directly into your IRA. Even if it’s only a small sum, it will eventually add up to something helpful.

6. Get a Grip on Taxes

It’s important to understand how income taxes work even before you get your first paycheck. When a company offers you a starting salary, you need to know how to calculate whether that salary will give you enough money after taxes to meet your financial obligations and, you hope, your goals.

Fortunately, there are plenty of online calculators that have taken the dirty work out of determining your own payroll taxes, such as PaycheckCity.com.3 These calculators will show you your gross pay, how much goes to taxes, and how much you’ll be left with, which is also known as “net” or “take-home” pay.

An annual salary of $35,000 in New York City, for example, would leave you with around $27,490 after federal taxes without exemptions for the 2020-2021 filing season—about $2,291 a month.4 Then you need to consider state and (for New York City) city taxes in addition.

By the same token, if you’re considering leaving one job for another in search of a salary increase, you’ll need to understand how your marginal tax rate will affect your raise. A salary increase from $35,000 a year to $41,000 a year, for instance, won’t give you an extra $6,000 per year ($500 per month)—it will only give you an extra $4,227 (around $352 per month).4 The amount will vary depending on your state of residence and its potential tax bite, so take that into consideration if you’re considering a move.

Finally, take the time to learn to do your own taxes. Unless you have a complicated financial situation, it’s not that hard to do, and you won’t have the expense of paying a tax professional for the work. Tax software makes the job much easier than it was when your parents were starting out and ensures you can file online.

7. Guard Your Health

If meeting monthly health insurance premiums seems impossible, what will you do if you have to go to the emergency room, where a single visit for a minor injury like a broken bone can cost thousands of dollars? If you’re uninsured, don’t wait another day to apply for health insurance. It’s easier than you think to wind up in a car accident or trip and fall down a flight of stairs.

If you’re employed, your employer may offer health insurance, including high-deductible health plans that save on premiums and qualify you for a Health Savings Account (HSA). If you need to buy insurance on your own, investigate the plans offered by the health insurance marketplace of the Affordable Care Act–there are federal plans or your state may have its own plan.

Look at quotes from different insurance providers to find the lowest rates and see if you qualify for a subsidy based on your income. If you have health issues, know that a more expensive plan could be cost-effective for you; research the options.

If you’re under 26, your best choice may be to stay on your parents’ health insurance, if they have it–an option allowed since the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act. If you can manage it, offer to reimburse them for the additional cost of keeping you on their plan.

It also pays to take daily steps now to keep yourself healthy—such as eating fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, not smoking, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, and driving defensively. All these behaviors can save you on medical bills down the road.

8. Protect Your Wealth

To make sure that all of your hard-earned money doesn’t vanish, you’ll need to take steps to protect it. Here are some steps to think about, even if you can’t afford them all right now.

If you rent, get renter’s insurance to protect the contents of your place from events such as burglary or fire. Read the policy carefully to see what’s covered and what isn’t.

Disability income insurance protects your greatest asset—the ability to earn an income—by providing you with a steady income if you ever become unable to work for an extended period of time due to illness or injury.

If you want help managing your money, find a fee-only financial planner to provide unbiased advice that’s in your best interest, rather than a commission-based financial advisor, who earns money when you sign up with the investments their company backs. The latter has a potentially divided loyalty (to their company’s bottom line and to you), while the former has no incentive to guide you down the wrong path.

You’ll also want to protect your money from taxes—which is easy to do with a retirement account—and inflation, which you can do by making sure that all of your money is earning interest. There are a variety of vehicles in which you can invest your savings, such as high-interest savings accounts, money market funds, CDs, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.

The first three are relatively risk-free, while the remaining three carry greater possibilities for financial setbacks, but also greater possibilities for monetary rewards. Learning about investing is an important skill for building up your savings and, eventually, building wealth.

Simple Money Management Tips

Even if you feel like your finances are stuck in a bad place with no way out, there are a number of simple things you can do to create a better situation for yourself. Here are seven to get you started.

1. Track your spending.

If you don’t know what and where you’re spending each month, there’s a good chance your personal spending habits have room for improvement.

Better money management starts with spending awareness. Use a money management app like MoneyTrack to track spending across categories, and see for yourself how much you’re spending on non-essentials such as dining, entertainment, and even that daily coffee. Once you’ve educated yourself on these habits, you can make a plan to improve.

2. Create a realistic monthly budget.

Use your monthly spending habits, as well as your monthly take-home pay, to set a budget you know you can keep.

There’s no use setting a strict budget based on drastic changes, such as never eating out when you’re currently ordering takeout four times a week. Create a budget that works with your lifestyle and spending habits.

You should see a budget as a way to encourage better habits, such as cooking at home more often, but give yourself a realistic shot at meeting this budget. That’s the only way this money management method will work.

3. Pay your bills on time every month.

Paying bills on time is an easy way to manage your money wisely, and it comes with excellent benefits: It helps you avoid late fees and prioritizes essential spending. A strong on-time payment history can also lift your credit score and improve your interest rates.

4. Cut back on recurring charges.

Do you subscribe to services you never use? It’s easy to forget about monthly subscriptions to streaming services and mobile apps that charge your bank account even when you don’t regularly use these services.

Review your spending for charges like these, and consider canceling unnecessary subscriptions to hold onto more money each month.

5. Save up cash to afford big purchases.

Certain kinds of loans and debt can be helpful when making major purchases, such as a house or even a car that you need right now. But for other big purchases, cash offers the safest and cheapest buying option.

When you buy in cash, you avoid generating interest and creating a debt that requires months—or, often, years—to pay back. In the meantime, that saved money can sit in a bank account and accumulate interest that can be put toward your purchase.

6. Build up your savings—even if it takes time.

Create an emergency fund that you can dip into when unforeseen circumstances strike. Even if your contributions are small, this fund can save you from risky situations in which you’re forced to borrow money at high interest rates or possibly find yourself unable to pay your bills on time.

You should also make general savings contributions to strengthen your financial security in the event of a job loss. Use automatic contributions to grow this fund and reinforce the habit of putting away money.

7. Start an investment strategy.

Even if your ability to invest is limited, small contributions to investment accounts can help you use your earned money to generate more income.

Find out if your employer offers 401(k) matching, which essentially serves as free money. Consider opening a retirement account or other investment account.

The path to better finances starts with changing your own habits. Some of these changes will be easier than others, but if you stay committed to this transformation, you’ll end up with great money management skills that will serve you throughout your life—and in the meantime, you’ll have more money in your pocket.

Money Management Tips For Students

We gathered tips from both financial experts and college students like you. Take a look at these 10 quick tips for mastering money management.

1. Budget for everything

It can be easy to assume bills are the only thing you need to include in your monthly budget. Wrong! Those Starbucks coffee runs can add up fast.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned is to have a budget for practically everything,” says Yogin Patel, a sophomore at Arizona State University. “That means dedicate funds every month towards eating out, going to the movies, late-night snacks, books and supplies, socializing, etc. Keep in mind these budgets should let you save a portion of money every month, which is key.”

2. Purchase used school books & sell your old ones

Prices for certain textbooks have reached astronomical levels. It can also be difficult to get yourself over to the bookstore at the start of the semester when you know you’re about to spend way more than you’d like.

Search on Amazon for used textbooks, or shop places like Chegg or Valore, which hold loads of used textbooks for much less than if you bought them from your university bookstore. Another money-saving tactic would be to take advantage of any eBook offerings from your school.

3. Automate your savings

It might feel fruitless to put away a bit of your paycheck into savings each month, but that kind of perseverance pays off in the long run.

If you’re one who struggles to save a portion of your earnings on pay day, make the decision once and for all and automate your savings. Most banks have a link on their website in order to help you set this up. If you run into questions, call your bank teller and inquire about your options.

4. Get creative & find fun for free

It’s tempting to go out to eat and plan social activities that revolve around spending money. After all, what else is there to do in life that doesn’t cost money? Well—a lot of things!

David Bakke, a finance expert at Money Crashers, suggests replacing a few nights of bar-hopping with some at-home entertainment. Host a game night or rent a movie and enjoy a little entertainment free of charge. There’s a good chance you can find a few friends who are on-board with saving some cash.

5. Steer clear of automated payments

This is different from automating your savings. We live in an age where “lazy” shopping is becoming the new norm for many. Automated payments for subscription services like Spotify or Audible can add up quickly. Beware of media, fashion and other shopping subscriptions that require a monthly fee. Instead, allocate that money toward some necessities – or just save it altogether!

While you might miss your monthly box of makeup samples during while you’re in school, bypassing those fees will take some of the sting out of paying tuition.

6. Cook at home

Cooking at home doesn’t mean you can never eat out. But if grabbing a salad from the local deli or swinging by the Dairy Queen after dinner has become a habit, try and cut back a bit.

Cooking at home can be fun, inventive and even a great social activity. While it may require some planning ahead, a lot of money can be saved by purchasing ingredients from your local supermarket and making the most of leftovers.

7. Earn some extra cash

“Work as much as you can without hindering your studies,” says Chenell Tull from BrightCents.com. “Even a part-time job is great to give you some spending money and help pay off student loan interest while you are in school.”

Depending on what you’re majoring in, freelance work may be a great option to make a little money on the side. If your degree doesn’t offer many opportunities for freelance work, consider other creative ways to make money. Start an Etsy shop, sell some clothes you’ve been meaning to get rid of or host a garage sale with your friends.

8. Pay in cash

Swiping your credit card at the register is simple—sometimes a little too simple! It’s easy to forget that equates to actual money. Once you get your paycheck and allocate what needs to go to tuition, bills and other monthly payments, use cash for other areas of your budget.

Handing a crisp twenty-dollar bill to the grocery store clerk might feel different to you than paying with plastic, but it will help you avoid overspending. Once the cash is gone, it’s gone!

9. Use online coupons

Many businesses offer different deals online than they would if you were to purchase in-store. There are also plenty of online applications that can help alert you to promotional codes a website may offer.

George Ruan helped create the browser extension Honey for just that purpose. “Using Honey can help college students save a lot of cash when they are shopping online and helps stretch a student budget,” Ruan says. “It works on everything from pizza to textbooks!”

10. Beware of the ‘it’s only 5 bucks!’ syndrome

“You can 5-buck your way to poverty and debt more quickly than you think,” says Tana Gildea, author of The Graduate’s Guide to Money. She explains that while a dollar a day spent in the vending machine may seem harmless, it equates to $30 per month.

“Did you really want to allocate $30 to soda, candy and crackers?” she asks. “Probably not, but it sneaks up on you. Try to reverse that trend and save a buck a day.”

Consider your purchases carefully, and include those extra snacks and smartphone app purchases in your budget. That way, you’ll be sure to keep your finances in check.

10 Ways to Use Money Wisely

Improve your spending today with these ten tips on how to spend money wisely:

1. Make a list of what you value.

The best way to spend more wisely is to align your spending with your values.

Are you even aware of your personal values?

Take a moment to write down the things that are most important to you in life. Is it security for your family? Is it success in business? Is it helping others?

Write these values down and then ask yourself this question: “am I spending my money on things I value?”

Then, ask “am I spending my money on things that aren’t in my value system?”

Doing this little exercise will give you some clarity and help to guide you into thinking consciously about your spending.

2. Make a list of things you really enjoy.

Along the same lines as #1, you should be using your money to bring joy to your life. You define what “joy” is. Go ahead and write that down.

What brings you happiness? Identify those things and then ask yourself if you are spending your money in those areas. More importantly, ask yourself why you are spending on things that aren’t on that list.

Bottom line: avoid spending too much money on things that aren’t at the top of your “joy” list.

3. Make a list of places, things, or people that cause you to make poor spending choices.

Can you identify the triggers to poor spending in your life?

Think about your spending over the past couple of weeks.

When did you make the worst decisions (i.e. spending money you didn’t have, spending on things you don’t value, etc.)?
What was the cause of your poor choice?

If you can identify these weak points then you can begin to live your life in a way that helps to avoid some of these spending hot spots.

4. Review your regular spending for things to eliminate.

When was the last time you wrote down your list of monthly bills? Take a moment to do a thorough spending review now.

List out all of your required spending for the month. This includes rent or mortgage, insurance, debt payments, utilities, services, etc.

Is there anything on that list that you don’t need or want?

It sounds absurd to ask such a question. However, I’ll be the first to admit that in the past there were things on my list of monthly expenses that I didn’t need or want anymore.

Odds are you have one or two yourself. If you find something to eliminate, do it. An app like Truebill can help you identify expenses you may be able to eliminate.

5. Review your regular spending to identify things to reduce.

Next, take a second look at that list of monthly bills and see if there is a way to reduce the cost of any of them.

Could you call the provider and ask for a better rate?
Could you call a competing provider to see if you can reduce your rates by switching?

If it’s a debt, could you do a balance transfer or consolidation that would help you reduce your rates and eliminate debt quicker?

6. Create a budget.

On a basic level, a budget is simply a plan for your money. If you know your expected income next month, write that number down. Then start applying that money to different things.

Start with taxes (if it isn’t already taken out), giving, and savings. Then move to basic necessities: housing, food, insurance, utilities, transportation. Finally, apply the rest of your income to other things you need or want.

Open up an account with an online budgeting tool to streamline this process.

7. Start writing down each purchase you make.

Tracking brings awareness to any situation. Use your iPhone or other device to take spending notes throughout the day. There are Apps for that I’m sure.

Or simply carry around an old school pad and pen to jot down your spending. Do this for a week and see if your spending improves.

8. Switch to only cash.

If you have a severe problem with credit spending, this is the way to go. Some folks swear by this method even if they don’t necessarily have trouble with credit cards.

Like tracking your spending, going to a cash-only system, if only for a week, will bring a heightened consciousness level to your spending.

9. Implement a “sleep on it” rule.

Decide today that for any purchase over X amount you will “sleep on it.” It could be one night, a week, thirty days, whatever.

Read Also: Your Personal Budget Bliss

Just allow some breathing room in between your desire and your decision to buy. Obviously this gives you time to evaluate the purchase against your values and your budget.

10. Put future spending on a calendar.

Pull out a calendar and look at your upcoming events and life changes. Will spending be necessary? Is so, then make a note of that and start building a list of future spending requirements.

This is somewhat different from a monthly budget because it looks a bit further out. This does two things: (1) allows you to prepare by saving for the spending requirement, and (2) it allows you time to shop around for the best price and lock in the lowest rates.

How do You Pay Bills in Cash?

The PayHereNetwork offers a simple, easy, and fast way to pay almost any bill in person with cash. Thanks to the retail network of convenient locations (including gas stations, grocery stores, convenience stores, check cashers, mail stores, and many other businesses), we offer thousands of brick-and-mortar payment locations nationwide.

They also offer more than 30,000 billers, from local utility companies to nationwide cable, internet, and mobile service providers. Find the nearest PayHereNetwork location where you live or work and rely on us as your go-to bill payment solution.

Paying your bills in cash is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

Find the PayHereNetwork location nearest you
Visit the location with your cash and the bill you want to pay
Present the cash and bill to the clerk, and they will process your payment. You’re done!

Having a reliable payment network such as PayHereNetwork is essential if you don’t have a checking account or credit card. Here are a few key benefits of the services we offer:

Fast – Paying at the last minute? No worries. Many of our biller connections are same-day or realtime, meaning your payment gets delivered to the biller quickly. You can find a list of available billers and delivery times here. And all our mobile top-up providers are realtime, meaning your minutes or data are loaded almost instantaneously. You can browse a list of mobile top-up providers to ensure your carrier is available.
Easy – Paying bills in cash doesn’t have to be hard. From years of conversations with consumers, utility companies, and the businesses that we work with to provide bill payment services, we’ve concluded that most bill pay systems are slow, hard to use, unreliable, and driven by outdated technology. Our network is simple but robust, ensuring the quick payments and reliable routing you need to be confident that your cash payment is going to the right place.
Efficient – Instead of mailing cash or a money order, or having to present them in person, you can make a direct payment and save time and money. Skip the extra expenses in both fees and postage, and enjoy the one-stop, one-step process that is simpler and less expensive.
Convenient –The PayHereNetwork allows you to pay multiple bills, all in one place. Our biller catalog includes gas, electric, cable, phone, water, rent, auto, insurance, credit cards, department store cards, and many more.

Final Words

Living cash-only lifestyle doesn’t require a person to become ascetic nor be a financial genius; instead, all it needs is careful financial planning to live a debt-free life. Stepping out of the vicious cycle of credit or debit card can seem perilous initially, but in the long run, it proves beneficial as one learns to differentiate between their needs and wants and focuses curbing unnecessary expenses.

Thus, it involves dedication, budgeting strategy, and planning to live a cash-only lifestyle. However, those who are successful can reap the benefits with come with it.