By Gail Gill

It is easy to save money by changing your spending habits. To encourage yourself to save money you need to set yourself a saving’s goal. For example, would you like to go on a fabulous holiday? Do you need to save for the deposit on your own home? Whatever your goal is, you will be able to achieve it more easily if you save regularly.

List Your Expenses

The first thing that you need to do is set yourself a budget and stick to it. Write down all of your expenses. It is important that you list all of your little expenses as well as your larger expenses. If you buy a cup of coffee on your way to work every morning, remember to add this expense to your list.

Once you have made a list of all of your expenses, it is time to decide where you can save money. You may prefer to change a few of your everyday spending habits to save money, or you may prefer to cut one or two major items from your budget.

Save Money on a Daily Basis

Here are a few hints for saving money on a daily basis:

1. Go without buying a cup of coffee from a café on your way to work. Drink your coffee at home before you leave for work or drink a free cup of coffee when you are at work.

2. Take a homemade lunch to work. You will save money if you bring a packed lunch from home instead of buying your lunch at work each day.

3. Plan your weekly evening meals on the weekend. Cook extra portions of your food on the weekend and put them in your freezer to eat during the working week. When you come home at night after a busy day at the office, you will be able to eat a ready prepared meal. Homemade meals are a much cheaper alternative to expensive take-away food.

4. Take a regular walk. You will have no need to pay for expensive gym membership if you walk regularly. Walk, instead of taking the car to your local shops and you will save money on fuel. Because you will have to carry your purchases home, you will be less likely to be tempted to buy extra treats.

Save Money on your Beauty Routines

You can save money on your beauty routines by following these suggestions:

1. Color your hair at home. Salon color treatment is expensive. You will save heaps of money if you ask a friend to help you apply a hair color at home. It can be fun to spend an evening with friends, coloring each other’s hair.

2. Choose a hairstyle that does not require frequent cutting and shaping. Wear you hair in a slightly longer style and you will spend less money on regular salon haircuts.

3. Try using a less expensive cleanser and moisturiser. Many of the cheaper brands of cleansers and moisturisers work equally well as the more expensive ones.

4. Make careful choices of makeup. Keep two or three lipsticks, nail polishes, and eye shadows that you use regularly. To have a drawer full of half-used cosmetics is a needless expense. Because you should throw out old lipstick, nail polish, and eye shadow after a couple of year’s use, it is false economy to keep a large selection of cosmetics.

 By making a few simple changes to your spending habits, you will be pleasantly surprised to see how much money you will save. Eat homemade food for lunch and dinner, avoid buying take-away coffee and your food costs will be considerably less. Color your own hair, choose a hairstyle that requires fewer salon visits, use inexpensive cleansers and moisturisers, and buy a smaller number of cosmetics. Your savings will mount up quickly and you will soon achieve your saving goal.