Here are four critical tips to saving:
- Save your loose change. Even fifty cents a day put in a jar over a year will give you around $200 that you could use as an emergency or vacation fund.
- Track your spending. Use your credit cards, checking and other records to review what you've purchased at least once a month. Then ask yourself if these purchases were all necessary or if some of this spending could be saved or invested.
- Never impulse-buy expensive items. Hold off on making any big purchases for at least 24 hours and you can save yourself much regret about impulse purchases (and not to mention save yourself substantial sums of money).
- Use a debit card instead of a credit card. Debit cards can never be used to spend money you don't have (unless you have a limited overdraft). Using a debit card can prevent you from incurring credit card interest and having the desire to spend more than you can afford.