How To Make A Budget That Saves Money Without Sacrificing Your Morning Coffee
You’ll feel good about Vertigo – it’s the kale of credit cards.
If there’s one thing that internet culture has taught us, it’s that we millennials bloody love our sweet, sweet bean juice.
And rightfully so. After all, coffee is the life fuel that gets us up in the morning and through the day, preventing us from spiralling into an existential crisis, realising we will never own property and our rentals are too small to adopt our dream number of rescue dogs (11).
Long story short, giving up coffee is non-negotiable.
Luckily, there are ways to make a solid budget and tips you can follow to save money without sacrificing your caffeine fix. Here are five to get you started.
Stash Your Cash
In 2019, the cash in your wallet often feels like free money – or, at least, money you’ve straight-up burgled yourself for.
Think about it. When the money sitting pretty in your back pocket isn’t visible in your account balance, you’re less likely to keep track of it and way more likely to blow it on something dumb – like opting for sushi at lunch over the leftover stir-fry waiting for you in the fridge at work.
Yeah, it’s sad, but it’s also frugal and being frugal is hot – don’t let anyone tell you any different.
Instead of spending the cash like it ain’t no thang, stash it.
Start small. Every time you come across a five-dollar note, chuck it in a jar and forget about it. Once you’ve mastered that, include 10 and 20-dollar notes. Hell, make things really spicy and throw a pineapple in there from time to time.
Soon, you’ll be swimming in cash and can totally make it rain like you’ve always dreamed of.
Start Racking Up Some Sweet, Sweet Points, Baby
Let’s be real – the best kinds of rewards are the ones you cop from doing the stuff you already do on the regular. This is why you could consider paying for your regular expenses on a credit card that accumulates redeemable points.
If you use it correctly, aren’t irresponsible (no impulse purchases, please), and remember to pay it off in full at the end of each month, having a credit card that racks up points is like receiving a gift for being a functional, living, adult human being.
It’s basically the grown-up equivalent of the gold star stickers you’d get in primary school for doing a good job. Only these ones can be exchanged for everything from snazzy new tech and flights across the globe, to groceries or petrol.
Swap Saturday Night Dinners For Mid-Week Meal Deals
Much like your go-go juice, you don’t need to sacrifice going out for dinner with friends in order to save. However, it will pay off if you time it a little better.
Instead of assembling the crew for a catch up on the weekend, opt for a mid-week meal deal. Not only will you have some fun plans to break up the working week, but you’ll also be able to reap the benefits of cheap eats.
You’ve never been one to turn down a $12 pub schnitty and you’re sure-as-hell not about to start forming bad habits now.
Yeah, you’ll save money on your meal, but knowing a 7AM alarm is set for work the next day will curb your readiness to splash cash on a few extra schooners at dinner, too. If this doesn’t constitute as self-care, TBH, we don’t know what does.
Sharing Is Caring
If you’re a sucker for subscription services, chances are those seemingly small, monthly bills add up to an uncomfortable amount.
Let’s say you pay for Spotify, Netflix and Stan – subscription services which, alone, don’t seem like a whole lot. If you’re forking out for all three, that’s $36 per month and $432 every year.
In terms you’ll understand, that’s 123.5 regular flat whites.
We aren’t suggesting you cancel all your streaming services – in our opinion, Spotify is worth $12 per month for Lizzo’s discography alone. You can, however, cut down this amount by establishing a family subscription with your relos or friends.
If you find four mates or siblings who are keen on saving a buck, merge those accounts, split the cost, and you’ve cut your monthly expenses by $27 instantly. That’s 92.5 coffees a year, baby!
On top of that, think about how many streaming services you actually watch at any given time. If you’re bingeing all seven seasons of Nashville on Stan, chances are you could pause your Netflix subscription until you’re done, then make the swap.
Delete Those Apps
People reckon we millennials are careless with our money, but we’re also the first generation to have the temptation of blowing cash at our fingertips, at all times.
We are, of course, talking about online shopping in all of its forms.
Hungry with nothing in the fridge? Uber Eats! Not vibing the outfit you had picked out for Saturday night? The Iconic! Don’t want… you get it.
It’s so, so easy to spend money on things you don’t really need or can find cheaper elsewhere. This is why you should delete them all. I’m talking Uber, The Iconic, ASOS, Deliveroo, Menulog – anything that you find yourself spending unruly amounts of money on.
This isn’t to say you can never use them again, but when you do, you’ll need to really consider how badly you want the thing.
Craving Thai food delivered from the restaurant that’s 15 minutes’ walk from your place? Sure, but you’ll first need to re-download the app, chuck in your account details, remember your password and really consider the purchase. Or, you know, actually walk there to pick it up.
Nine times out of 10, you’ll realise the decision is silly, and your back pocket will thank you for it.
Another way to feel more in control of your spending habits is to know exactly what cards and accounts you have linked to these apps. If your apps are linked to a credit card, always ensure it’s one that has a low annual fee, low purchase rate, and long interest-free periods. This way, you’ll get little extra time before the repayments are due without racking up too many fees or interest charges.
And always, always have the money to be able to pay the credit card off each month. No app is worth being in debt, and that’s the true tea.
See, we told you there were ways to save without sacrificing your go-go juice.
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St. George Vertigo – it’s the kale of credit cards.
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Credit provided by St.George Bank – A Division of Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL and Australian credit licence 233714
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(Lead image: The Bold Type / Freeform)