Although I will admit that I don't do this all of the time, when I am being budget-conscious, I swing back into the habit, and it is surprising how much money accumulates just from these simple principles that give me excess cash (that I would have otherwise spent), which I like to call my Cash Stash!
Basically, each time you save money by one of the methods that I will reveal over the coming days, you transfer the 'savings' into your savings envelope (or whatever storage system you have set up) immediately. This literally means taking the amount of money out of your purse that you have just 'saved' and putting into your Cash Stash.
Today I will share the first way that you can save money by allocating funds to your Cash Stash. I will add a variety of other ways over the coming days!
1) Items on sale
Now the rule with this one, is that it has to be something that you were already going to buy. All you do is after you have have purchased something that was on sale, you put aside the money that you 'saved' from the sale, into your Cash Stash.
This means literally pulling out the money that was saved, and putting into your 'savings' section of your purse or handbag. For me, it means putting the money into the back zippered pocket of my purse - then and there at the shops!
Then each day/week/fortnight, transfer your money from your saving section of your purse/handbag into your Cash Stash envelope, which is hiding safely at home.
As an example, if I was going to buy a book that I had wanted, and when I went to buy it it was on sale from $20 down to $15, then I put $5 in my cash stash! Or if I shop around and find a better price in another shop, then I pocket that difference in my cash stash too.
If I use a discount voucher, coupon or shop-a-docket, the same principle applies - stash that cash! Any money that you save off an item that was on your list to buy, simply pocket the difference.
Lots of supermarkets now put on the bottom of the grocery bill the total amount that you saved due to sales - make sure you check that figure out and transfer that money over, each time you do your groceries. Don't forget that savings on fuel count here too! If you saved 4 cents per litre due to a discount voucher, transfer that money over!
Really, you are just cashing in on money that you had already allocated to spend on something. However, that 'saving' usually just gets absorbed into your other money and you never notice how much you actually saved. But by moving it over into your Cash Stash, you are quickly grabbing those savings (before you spend it on something else) and directing it towards a much bigger (and more important) financial goal! I love this!
Yes, it may be only a few dollars (or even cents) that you save in one shopping trip, but combined with the other methods that I will be revealing over the coming days, all of that small change soon accumulates into big dollars that help your dreams come true sooner than you expected :)
Stay tuned for the next way that you can see your Cash Stash grow, and achieve your financial goals sooner!
Click the links below to see this entire budget series:
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