7 Hacks To Help You Save Money

• Track your expenses
• Reduce your daily expenditure
• Learn to say ‘No’
• Swear off alcohol
• Categorize your expenses
• Start paying in cash
• Manage your bank account

Track your expenses

Download an app or manually pen down your spends. You'll be able to manage your money much better once you have an idea of where it's going—those chocolate bars that you're unintentionally spending too much on.

Try this: Have one day per week when you're not spending any money at all, and gradually increase the frequency.

Reduce your daily expenditure

Take public transport or car and cab pools to go to work, purchase groceries from your local bhaajiwala instead of supermarkets—you'll not only get better deals but will also help local produce. Itemize your phone bill for better understanding and check out self-grooming tutorials online to save yourself trips to the salon. Just little things that add up to the bigger picture!

Try this: Reward yourself with something nice, for motivation, from the money saved.

Learn to say ‘No’

This is a general requisite. You shouldn't be forced into doing things that you don't want to simply due to peer pressure. Learn to say no to frequent hangouts, expensive restaurants, bar hopping—anything that messes with your set targets. It doesn't mean that you can't afford it, it only means that you know better.

Try this: Call your friends over for a potluck dinner. It's cheaper than dining out or ordering in and also saves you the commute.

Swear off alcohol

Believe us, this is your way to riches! Completely forget about the shots at the bar and make pregaming your new way of life (if you're not ready to give up on alcohol just yet). Know what'd be even cooler? If you learnt to DIY your own drinks.

Try this: Save all your alcohol bills for a month, calculate and write down everything you could've done with that money instead.

Categorize your expenses

Segregate your expenses into groceries, bills, commute, savings, etc. and allot a budget for each category, so you don't get too carried away and decide to buy that can of exotic coffee beans that you don’t need.

Try this: Take out 10% of your earnings as savings and forget about it. Then categorize the remaining 90%.

Start paying in cash

This is a psychological thing, since currency is calculable and you'll know just how much of it has gone missing as opposed to the most casual flip of numbers on an ATM screen.

Try this: Carry just the amount you'll need for your daily shopping (if not lesser) to stop you from getting carried away.

Manage your bank account

Keep your savings account separate from your current one and feel good when that balance exceeds your current one’s. Also, review your bank statements regularly to analyze what you can do without, and challenge yourself to persevere.

Try this: Freelance, so you make those extra bucks that you wouldn't mind shelling out at the bar.