5 Easy Tips to Save Up Money

Are you the type of woman who tend to love shopping, hanging out, splurging into massages and spa treatments, traveling, -- in other words, spending money! Bet we all do. But are you the type who spends most of her monthly earnings to these and do not even think about saving up? When saving up money seems to be hard for you, then you might as well read on for some of my personal ways on how to save money.

1. Jar it Up: I hate carrying coins, and thank god I do, because it eventually been one of my ways of saving up money. At the end of each day, all those coins I got in my wallet, (and sometimes scattered inside my bag) goes into a tin jar. Sooner than you think, you already have a thousand bucks inside that can, enough to get you a new handbag or a new outfit or plainly just to get you through when you need emergency funds. You can simply have it changed into bills, of course.

2. Slip it into Reading: If you love reading, slipping some 50 or 100 bucks into your favorite books is also one ways of saving money. Like placing your coins in a jar, you will have something to spend on tight times, and who knows, you'll be able to get yourself a new laptop at the end of the year or earn more than enough for a summer getaway.

3. Divide and Collect: Being a freelance writer, one thing I do is opt for different online payment options -- like Paypal and Moneybookers -- so that not all my payouts get into my bank account. This way, you'll have your spending account and your emergency account. It takes a lot of discipline though not to tap into the other account especially if you tend to shop a lot. 

4. Opt for Debit over Credit: Another technique that works for me is living through the principle, 'Do not spend beyond your means.' which starts with how you spend. Though I have a credit card, I still opt to bring with me my debit cards, as they tend to encourage spending within your means. Also, this would at least hinder you to splurge on things you don't really need. You don't want to panic where to get money to pay for your debt in case you lose your job or a sudden emergency expense comes along. 

5. Jot it All Down: The most basic way to save money is to develop your ability to manage your expenses. It is always important to make a list of your weekly or monthly expenses and allot say 5%-10% of your weekly or monthly pay to your savings. List everything you spend on, cross out those that you don't really need, and try to think about ways to save money. Say, do you really need to spend on bottled water each time or some take out meal or you can really manage to get yourself a packed meal or bring some refill tumblers for your water? Or maybe you can cut down your daily Starbucks and do it twice a week. Calculate the amount of money you can save by simply rethinking over the way you spend and you will see how much more important things you can buy with that.

It pays saving up money, and with the kind of situation our economy is going through, we never really know how stable our jobs are. If rainy day comes, it's always good to have some savings to draw from without going stressed out on where to get money to get you through hard times.