This is a sponsored post from My Custom Essays.
Only those who earn a lot can save money. Only those who have good jobs can save money.
If you earn little to nothing, good luck to you. Good luck on saving money.
Those are some of the words you hear from people who think the only way to save money is by having a good paying job.
That's not true at all.
If a good paying job were the only qualification for saving money, then, those doctors, lawyers, engineers, among others would have a lot of money in their bank accounts.
Unfortunately, some of these professionals have a ton of debt.
On average, doctors carry around $226,447 and 298,538 student loans for public and private institutions respectively.
Lawyers, on the other hand, carry more than $139,000 in student loans.
Though they may make a lot of money, in the grand scheme of things, they may not be because of these loans.
7 Simple Financial Advice For Those Who Earn Little
Saving money doesn't always mean you have to have a lot of money, to begin with.
My family lived off on $31,000/year salary for a couple of years, and we managed to saved at least $70K and paid off our $40K debt, at the same time, in 2.5 years.
Saving on a low income is possible. It can be done.
Here are some of the things you can do to save money even while you live on a low income. Thanks to My Custom Essay for contributing some of the information here.
1. Put aside money.
Traditionally, financial advisers recommend putting aside 10% of the monthly income, but according to their calculations, this amount won't affect the standard of living of the family.
But even if you think that you cannot separate 10% of your monthly income, start accumulating with a smaller amount.
Starting something, even small, is better than not starting at all.
First put aside at least $50 a month, gradually increasing this amount.
2. Give up unnecessary expenses.
To optimize your family budget and cut back on extra spending, you need to write down all the expenses of your family.
At the end of the month, you will see where much of the budget goes, and what expenses can be discarded.
The money saved can be directed for something more important – for large purchases or other investments.
For example, instead of buying lunches at restaurants, you can bring food to work from home. You can also bring leftover, too.
3. Invest.
If your goal is to have a financially-secured future, then one of best things you can do is invest.
You don't have to invest a huge amount of money right away. You can contribute a small percentage of your salary towards your employer-sponsored 401k.
You can open an investment account from online brokerages like Vanguard, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab, which don't require too much to invest using their investment platforms.
4. Use a bank that pays high-interest rates.
A portion of your money should always be kept on a safe place where market fluctuations won't affect the value of your money.
Banks are known for almost zero percent annual percentage yield (APY) or commonly known as the interest rate on checking and savings accounts.
That said, there are banks where you can place your money and earn a lot of interest.
Banks like CIT Bank and Compass BBAA have interest rates that are more than 21x higher than the average savings rate that banks pay its customers.
5. Look for additional earnings.
Sometimes, no matter how much we cut down, there isn't enough money to pay our financial responsibilities and save money at the same time. If this is your situation, then, it's best to get some side hustles going.
When it comes to passive income, you really don't always need to go out to make extra money. There are online opportunities that will help you make money doing things you already are doing.
One side hustle that works well is blogging.
If you love writing and sharing your thoughts, then, blogging is for you. You can start and monetize your blog and earn a ton of money. I know bloggers who make $100,000/mo spending less than 20 hours/mo on their blogs.
6. Try non-standard ways.
To find a way out of the hopeless situation, you need to think nontrivially.
If you work a lot but still don’t have enough money, you could try to go back to the basics and just satisfy your basic needs.
You can change your lifestyle and follow a lifestyle of a frugal living person.
A simple tweak in your lifestyle can make a difference between not saving money because of a low income and saving money even when you don't have a lot, to begin with.
7. Do not forget to spend.
Some are so addicted to saving that they deny themselves literally everything – being afraid to spend an extra dollar.
Do not punish yourself and refusing to reward yourself with a small treat for a job well done.
Maybe you want to go on a movie, but you think that's too much. Sometimes, all you need to do is just go to the movie and watch the show you want.
Never completely deprive yourself. If you do, you are more likely to have a miserable life than a bountiful, financially-independent life.
Savings should not turn into hard labor. Because if it does, then you will not enjoy your life the way you want it to.
Conclusion:
These pieces of financial advice are based on my experience going through a huge debt situation and coming out of it as a completely different person.
It's hard to live off well on a low income. That said, it is possible to live off well on that income and still save a lot of money in the process.
My wife and I did it, and we did it in a short period.
If we did it, so could you. Just hang out, try your best, learn lessons from those who have been in your situation before, and slowly tweak things when tweaking is necessary.
Which of these pieces of financial advice will be most important and useful for you? Do you think you can save money even on a low income?