The following list are HIGH YIELD money saving tips. Meaning, they will give you the best return on the time and effort you spend to save money. I used all of these and it helped me save over $1,000 every month.
1. Set A Clear Dollar Amount You Need
You’ve heard about “goal setting” a million times already. Well, here is the millionth and 1 time. You need to tell your mind what you want so it will keep you on track. If you have a vague idea of how much money you want to save, you’ll make vague money decisions. You’ll spend money when you really don’t need to. It’s just how human brains work.
Goal setting isn’t hard. Here’s how easy it is:
If you need $10,000 for your Europe trip that’s happening in 10 months, you need to save $1,000 per month. THIS is a CONCRETE number and goal your brain will understand. From here, you can make smart decisions on what to do with your money in ambiguous situations (like, should I go out tonight or should I stay in and save money scenarios).
2. Start A Money Jar
I learned this when I was waiting tables during University. I naturally had a lot of “change” at the end of the day, and I would just throw all of it into a very large beer stein until it got so big I had to roll up all the coins. The amount of money I saved doing this is INSANE! I’d save several hundred dollars in just a few weeks.
After I stopped waitering, I STILL used the change jar. Every time I paid for anything with cash, I’d pocket the extra change and throw all of it into the money jar when I got home. If you use a lot a of cash, your jar will fill up REALLY quickly. You are basically putting a dollar or two in it every time.
This strategy works well because it’s a “brainless” way to save money. No thinking, no extra work, no planning, NOTHING. And the amount of money you can accumulate is HUGE!
I really recommend you start a money jar. Something nice about it is, if you live with other people, let them all know it’s your travel money jar. You may find other people dropping their loose change into your jar (Because they want to support you and don’t care for their $0.50!)
3. Get A Job That Pays You More
You will NOT save much money (if any at all) making minimum wage (or close to it). They numbers don’t add up favourable for you. I know if you could get a job that pays more, you would….. and that better paying jobs don’t grow on trees. I completely get that.
So here’s a suggestion:
I think one of the best jobs for people who want to travel is any industry that receives “tips”. I think being a restaurant server or bartender is one of the best jobs you can get with zero education (and somewhat high paying).
Let’s say you make $10 an hour, plus $10 an hour in tips. That’s $20 an hour total, compared to a minimum wage job making what, $10-$12 dollars an hour?
You can practically double the amount of money you make in these industries.
If you have a salaried job making $40,000 a year or so, and it’s not generating enough income, then consider a part time job that earns “tips.”
These service industry jobs aren’t for everyone, but neither was dishwashing for me. Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do to make life work.
