How to save money while working a low wage job.
There is no real easy way to save money when you feel like you’re barely making any, especially with no help. But maybe these tips and tricks can help get you one step closer to freedom from money worries.
We’re going to go over these four topics:
Your budget
Savings accounts
Making your money grow. feelings toward money
First thing you need to do is figure out how much you spend every month, your monthly budget. Add all of the things you pay for. Food, phone, car, gas, rent, everything. Next you need to figure out how much money you make every month then subtract from the money you make every month.
Here is an example (totally made up)
you pay
$200 a month for food,
$80 for phone,
$200 for gas,
$600 rent.
You make $1300 a month after taxes. You pay $1,008 a month in expenses.
Take that away from what you make and you are left with $292.
If you stick to the plan of just putting aside $100 a month you will have $1,200.
That’s enough money to keep you afloat in small emergencies and it really could be a milestone for some people. It will give you a sense of relief. You don’t need to feel like you’re drowning. You don’t need to feel like your living pay check to pay check.
So back on track, that $292 you have left might not seem like a lot to you. But now you can take $100 from that and put it aside and the other $192 is for you to spend or save or do whatever you want with it.
The $100 you set aside can grow while you still have enough to get you by and have fun.
Here is what I would do with that spare $100:
Open a savings account!
I think it’s a safe place to put your cash. Especially living off grid. You don’t need to worry about it getting stolen, most banks have insurance on your money and the best part, they pay you interest. Do a lot of research and find the right bank that suits your needs. I personally use Discover because they give you a fairly higher percent of interest than others. They have really good customer service, if you have any questions they have an instant messenger and they get back to you in minutes. I’ve been with them for two years, so far so good.
Now you need to dedicate yourself to feeding this savings account. I put 200 in each month automatically. I set up a direct deposit at my work place. See if you can set up a direct deposit. If not you can set yourself little reminders in the calendar. I use a calendar on my phone and it’s my best friend when it comes to paying my bills and feeding my bank accounts.
Once your bank account begins to grow, you can come up with ways to make this money work for you even more. You can invest in stocks, you can buy things for a low price at a thrift store or in bulk and resell, buy bonds. There are so many ways to make your money work for you.
I personally use the app Acorns to help make my money work for me. Now this is a risky app and it is not going to make you rich. But I get free money out of it in little amounts every month.
This app connects to your bank account. It will say it needs to be a checking but I actually connected to my savings account. You also need to connect any credit or debit card you are using because it actually rounds up everything you buy to the nearest dollar on your cards and then takes the money from your savings account and invests this money into a diverse profile of stocks and bonds. You can withdraw whenever you want. I plan to withdraw every time I get $40 of free money and I’ll be putting it right in my savings account.
Another way to make your money work for you could be to have some kind of resell store. This is a fun and great way to grow your savings account. Be mindful that it usually takes money to make money. Keep your thoughts forward, see the outcome of your goals. You can have a resell shop with so many companies like ebay, etsy, poshmark, amazon and so many other platforms. You could also just go all out by renting a building nearby (research before building your own business) or buying a domain name and building a website. You could start with your own stuff you have like I talk about in my planning and letting go post.
I have other little saving tactics I like to call free money. I use apps like Ibotta to get cash back from receipts and I use reward credit cards. My favorite rewards credit card is my Discover Rewards credit card. I’ve been using my card for almost 3 years now. I get about $10-$25 in rewards money from making purchases I would be making anyways. You just need to be smart with a credit card to get all the benefits. Check out my free money post for a little more tips and advise or read about it on their website. if you sign up for this card using my referral you will get a $50 bonus on your first purchase within 3 months. That’s a simple way to get a savings boost if you want a credit card
There may be times when something happens and you need to use the money you set aside. But that is okay! Try to set your feelings away from your little stash of money. Don’t be attached to it. Be disconnected. This is your money and you have free will to spend it. But don’t forget the whole idea is to save. You want a solid backdrop behind your actual spending money. You are building a money wall that keeps you safe and warm.
Another good thing to think about is that money comes in waves. Like everything else in this universe, money is an energy and it moves in waves. Its up and down but it always comes back and we can get ourselves a float for long periods of time. Always know there are programs to help you as well if you feel like you’re sinking.
Life is too short to worry about money!
When you change your views on money in a creative and positive way you can come up with ways to make money come to you.
Now you can let these little strategies help you to a free and creative mindset for saving money with a small wage.
Feel free to comment or contact me with any other topics, tips and personal stories.
Thank you for reading, now practice some ecotherapy and go to da woods!
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