A Simple Guide on How To Save Money During Recession

With the fear of recession having again in 2011 or 2012, most of us are finding even more ways to save up money every day. Prices of our daily needs has increase dramatically since a few years back and there is definitely no stopping for this anytime soon. In order for us to be ready and survive during this hard time is by saving. In fact, there are many ways we can save up especially during our daily expenses!

Do you noticed that huge amount of our monthly paycheck goes into buying and paying for necessities? Yes, we all spend nearly half (some even more) of our paychecks on necessities such as groceries for example.

The title says it all. Yes you are buying important things for yourself, family and your home but this does not mean that you should spend more money on those items. There is no hidden trick on this. If you can save up even though it is a little, why not?!

Always apply for those free membership local stores are offering. You gain points for every shop and in return, you will be rewarded with points that can be used to exchange for gifts and cash vouchers. All these might not seem that they could help you out financially but thinking again, you might be able to save up few hundred every month simply by using the points. Remember that this is not only for shopping but also for petrol and utility bills.

Even in some countries, paying for toll using affiliation top up cards will also give you a certain amount of discount per month. Discounts are everywhere. You just got to realized that they are there for you and grab them immediately when you seem them.

Before proceeding, you might even think I am crazy as using credit cards can easily increase your spending. Yes you are absolutely correct BUT if you are aware of the benefits that it can offer, you might just be saving more every month.

Rule 1 - Know your card, inside out

Always ask question to both the banker and the call centers of the bank to ensure you know what is going on. Example below:

Bank A:

All credit card purchases regardless of amount will have 20 days grace period where it will be interest free. If you swipe your card for $1,000 and you pay back that same amount within 20 days or less, you get interest fee. No interest fee = No additional charges

Banks know that 99% of the credit card holders doesn't or will not pay the full amount they swipe within that period. This means that the bank is having a high chance to slap an interest rate on the card holders. Well, this is how they do business right?

Thinking again, every time you swipe your card, you will get reward points and in most cases, even if you pay up the full amount during the interest free period, you will get the rewards still. Well, of course, bank will still have the upper hand here since most of us doesn't pay up the full amount during that period. With this, do you see that we can earn some reward points simply by being 'careful'?

Key things to watch out: You need to have a firm grip on your financial. You need to know how much you can fork out every month in order to have an interest free payment on your cards.

Rule 2 - Use your debit card

I strongly suggest you to use your debit cards. Do not leave them in the dark part of your wallet. Since every charges done on debit card is totally interest free, you should use this as much as possible. Most of us have our bank accounts linked to the debit card...at least for me.I personally tested and within one month, I was surprised on how much reward points I earn from it. It is a whopping close to 500 points on spending. I use my debit card for nearly everything from groceries, phone bills to finally, gas.

After a quick calculation, I could easily get a free kitchen equipment such as frying pan, rice cooker or a set of knifes just by spending on my necessities monthly. This could easily save me another $50 - $200 depending on the items and how much points I have to exchange with.

We all know this and yet, not all of us are doing it. Why? Because it felt it is troublesome! Between troublesome (e.g. spending extra 30 minutes) and saving up few hundred bucks a month, I would definitely go for saving money anytime of the day. We might always say that it could cost only a mere difference of $0.50 each items. Well, it certainly doesn't look a lot right? Check out the below on a simple summary.

Product differences: $0.50

Purchase per month: 20 pieces

Total saving: $0.50 x 20 = $10

Referring to the above, saving of $10 might means nothing but think again. I am doing a simple calculation based on only one product. Imagine you are doing this for the next 10 to 20 items. Do you see how much you can save up here?

One of the best way to save up money is always buy something you need rather than something that you want. If you can control your desire, you can easily save up more money monthly. I personally has this experience I would like to share with all of you.

My girl and I love to eat and we always have dinner outside like three times a week or more. We just love eating out and one day, we realized that regardless how much we earn, it is never enough. We then noticed that we are actually spending nearly $1,000 a month just on food. Now, we opt to eat back home and thus, saving up a huge amount of money for saving instead.

Same goes when it comes to buying items. Always buy things that you would need and important instead of items you might not need it. We can always indulge ourselves once in awhile but remember not to make it a habit.

Another trick of saving more money monthly is to prepare a list to buy. Always prepare a simple list on what you need and stick to it! Having a list will ensure you purchase the right items and not being side tracked. At the same time, you will be able to buy everything you need without leaving out any of them.

Making a list is vital especially when it comes to cost saving as we will have more time to decide on what to buy instead of choosing at the last minute. Simply by choosing last minute can increase your spending not by a little but a huge amount if we are not careful.

So now, you already have a simple guide on how to save money regardless of economy. Start rolling them out (or at least try them) and see if they work for you. They certainly work well for me though!