Quick tips to improve your finances
After a few months of living with my parents, I finally moved into my own apartment. Oh, the freedom of being an adult living alone…! Eating ice cream for breakfast and no one to judge you! However, living alone means that you also have only one income, so you really must be on point with your budget. This is what we will look into today: cutting all the unnecessary expenses and improve your finances.
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This is my first time ever living on my own. When I moved out of my parents’ house the first time, I moved into an apartment with my ex, who was in charge of our finances. In 11 years, I had no real idea of where our money went, which caused a few arguments and bad situations between us. Now that I live alone, I NEED to know exactly where every single cent goes. This is why I started trying to improve my finances.
Write down every spending you make
I know it’s boring, but you have to know exactly what your expenses are and what is your income. For 2 months, write down EVERYTHING you spend money on. You can do it in an Excel spreadsheet or in a cute notebook. Go to your bank account and write down every single expense, whether it’s coffee or your insurance payment. This way, you will know exactly where your money went and it could give you the wake-up call you needed when you’ll realize you spend $250 on coffee and takeout every month.
Delete all shopping and food delivery apps from your phone
I must say, I’ve been living alone for 2 months now, and I think I have ordered food every day for the first month… Uber Eats makes ordering food way too easy for lazy people like me. If you want to start saving money and stop buying stuff impulsively, delete every shopping and delivery application from your phone, and DO NOT reinstall them. I am not kidding. Do it. Your wallet will thank you.
Instead of ordering food all the time, plan your meals to save money, and improve your finances. Learn how to meal plan like a pro!
Review your bills
Do you know exactly what is included in your bills each month? Review your bills for the past 2-3 months and try to find opportunities to save. It could be on your insurance, your phone bill, your electricity bill, etc. There’s always a chance you could save more by contacting your providers.
How I saved $24 a month on my phone bill
For instance, I paid $120 a month for my phone, and I just assumed it was normal. Nuh-uh! I was paying for options I didn’t even need, and I didn’t notice I was charged for the data on my tablet (to be fair, the sales representative told me there were no charges, but that clearly wasn’t true). After a quick call to my phone company, the data from my tablet (that I don’t even use), and some options were removed; I saved $24 a month. While that might not seem like a lot, that is $288 per year.
I should have reviewed my monthly invoices long before that, but it took me almost a year before I realized I didn’t need these options. Reviewing your bills could make you save a few dollars here and there.
Try a round-up app
Moka is a Canadian app that rounds up every purchase that you make and places it in a savings account of your choice. For instance, I chose to create an emergency fund in a Tax-free savings account (TFSA).
I opened my Moka account in January 2020 and as of September 1st, 2020, with roundups and a recurring deposit of $5 a week, I almost saved $500! You can create different goals, like saving for a home or going on a trip, and Moka will suggest you a type of account, like a TFSA or a non-registered account, and you’ll be set to start saving up!
If you want to get started with Moka, use this link and get $5!
In the US, the number one rounding app is Acorns. It seems to be the original round-up app, but since I live in Canada, I’ve never tried it! The purpose seems to be the same, so you should check it out!
Allow yourself a “treat yourself” section in your budget
You work hard for that paycheck. Yes, you need to make sure you pay your rent, your bills, your utilities, save money, etc., I just said that! However, you need to enjoy life a little! I try to allow myself $20 a week for coffee or takeout. It can be more or less than that, but you get the point.
More resources to improve your finances
If you want to get it together and start working on your financial health, check out these resources and blog posts:
- How to make a budget even when you’re terrible with money
- How to pay off your debts quickly
- My top 5 books about personal finances you should read
- Broke Millenial: Stop Scraping by and Get Your Financial Life Together
- A Practical Guide to Personal Finance: Budget, Invest, Spend
- Mo’ Money Podcast by Jessica Moorhouse
I hope these tips will help you get your finances together! Do you have other suggestions? Let me know! You can connect with me via email, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
14 Comments
Rauha
Amazing read.
Rebecca @ Boss Single Mama
Love these tips! Round up apps are great for people who struggle with saving. They make it super easy to grow savings with zero effort.
Izzy Matias
I can relate to what you said about reviewing your bills. It’s also helped me save money on subscriptions or tools I don’t use as often as I’d like to! I’m intrigued about the Moka app. Will check it out! Thanks for sharing these, Val! 🙂
Summer
These are really good tips. I just realized I’ve been paying for a second cable box that I haven’t used in over a year because my son didn’t want it! Yikes. Thanks so much!
Kara
What a great article! I have to agree, deleting the delivery apps would help a BUNCH. Something I really should do now 😛 I’m guilty of ordering food a lot too.
Linda Egeler
I think it’s time for me to review my phone bill! And maybe break down and get rid of HBO since we hardly ever watch it anymore.
Love, Ashley E
Great tips, I definitely need to call my phone company to make sure I’m not overpaying.
Joe
Great tips! My wife and I created a zero-based monthly budget template, and we do one every month. We can go through it so quickly now, and it definitely helps with reviewing our bills! We’ve been doing them for years now, and it’s been a great tool to calculate historical averages.
Round up apps sound awesome—I’ve never heard of them! I’ll definitely be looking into Acorns.
Totally agree that eating out is expensive—especially when you’re a family of 7! Much cheaper to prepare meals at home!
Getting rid of cable, and cutting down on streaming services is another good tip 🙂
Valerie
Yeah! I pay for spotify, netflix, and disney+… I might cancel one of these to save more
Therese
Great tips on managing your finances. Especially deleting the food delivery apps. I need to do this. I also use the Digit savings app, have you heard of that? It has helped me save quite a bit. I’ll have to check out Moka.
Valerie
Nope, I haven’t heard of Digit before, but I am absolutely gonna look it up right now! Extra savings is always good 🙂
CJ
Great tips! Thanks for sharing them! Yes you are right about the phone bill! Even the $24. Month can add up without realizing
Cathy
You’re not kidding about deleting food apps! I’ve saved so much by doing that! And no more buying coffee every day. It’s amazing how much we save by cutting that out! These are amazing tips!! Thank you 🙂
Valerie
Yeah! And I’m guilty of re-installing and re-deleting them all the time! It makes such a difference in my budget! It’s always about $25 orders, so ordering from uber eats 4 times = $100, it’s crazy!