If you are like the majority of people then you have to save money and invest it to build your wealth in order to achieve financial security. Saving money though is not easy, as is evidenced by the large number of people who live pay check to pay check without making any savings on their income.

Saving is important for security in case of loss of income or an emergency and it also enables you to make the right move when you find suitable investment options. In addition to the savings you should be making on your income, you can make further savings on your income. Here’s how to do it.

Have a budget

A budget helps you keep track of your expenses. Without one, it is impossible to account for your money and know how exactly you spend it. With this careless approach to your finances, you can make any meaningful savings on your income. In fact, there is a high possibility of you living beyond your means and making financial mistakes that damage your financial security. Worse, you might find yourself borrowing to meet your living expenses.

Wait before you buy

The stuff you spend your money on is mostly wants rather than needs. To be sure you really need to purchase an item, wait for at least two days before completing the transaction. This is a particularly helpful tip when shopping online where you can get tempted to buy items because of an ostensible discount offer on it. Let the cart remain full but don’t complete the transaction just in case you have a change of heart.

Also, making your purchases in cash can help you rein in on your impulse buying since you are likely to reconsider your decision if you use hard cash.

Spend smartly

You will save a fortune by being smart about your expenses. For instance, there is no use taking a loan and a study break from your work that comes with a loss of income if you can get a scholarship from sites like Usascholarships.Com to foot your tuition fees.

Similarly, you will save a lot of money by cutting your cable TV and subscribing to streaming sites that have vast entertainment options at a considerably lower cost. You will also save money by consuming your news online instead of keeping your newspaper subscriptions.

DIY

You will make a lot of savings by learning a few DIY lessons to make some of the products and services you use often. You can get DIY tutorials on YouTube and blogs.

Using these tutorials, you can learn how to apply makeup, take care of your skin and make your hair saving you the cost and time of going to the salon. You can also save on car maintenance by making basic changes like oil and air filter and replacing broken accessories that you would have otherwise paid for at the repair shop.

There is no bigger DIY than making your meals at home. You not only ear healthier but also save money as well.

Ways to Supplement Your Monthly Income

“Never spend your money before you have it.” – Thomas Jefferson, American Founding Father.

There is no doubt that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Costs are rising while salaries and wages are stagnating. This situation has led (and continues to lead) to circumstances where consumers end up indebted beyond their ability to repay loans and credit card bills.

Even though we know that it’s not a good idea to spend money before we have earned it (as per the quotation mentioned above by Thomas Jefferson), it is sometimes unavoidable. On the other hand, it is easy to overspend even if we know we shouldn’t. We live in a consumerist society where brand marketers do their best to convince us that we have to have the latest gadget.

Reducing expenses and increasing income

Therefore, the questions that beg are:

• If you are currently in a financial trap, how do you get out of it?
• Or, how do you prevent yourself from ending up in debt just to cover the monthly household bills?

The good news is that there are several answers to these questions. Your end goal is to both reduce expenses and increase income simultaneously. Therefore, the first step is to rework your budget to strip out all of the non-essential items. This exercise is worth doing even if you are 99% certain that your monthly budget is as lean as possible.

The next step is to look at ways to supplement your monthly income. The rise of the internet and online business opportunities make it much easier to derive an income from both your day job and a side hustle simultaneously. Therefore, here are six online opportunities to think about:

Online share trading

Trading on the global financial markets is a robust way to earn extra money. Especially, as most online share trading companies trade 24/5 so, you can work during the day and trade online in the evenings. The caveat (and caution) here is, according to the senior Olsson Capital financial analyst, is that financial market trading can be a high-risk venture.

This does not mean that you shouldn’t invest in the global capital markets. It just indicates that you should make sure that you educate yourself about the pitfalls of online share trading before you start.

Affiliate marketing

Randy Duermyer of the Balance.com notes that affiliate marketing is an excellent business to run from home as you don’t need warehouse space to store stock. You are effectively being paid to refer consumers to third-party brands and products. It is vital to note that affiliate marketing is not a “get rich quick” scheme.

As with all other business ventures, it takes time and hard work to build a viable business. However, as with online share trading, the advantage of starting an affiliate marketing business is that you can work from home in the evenings. All you need is a computer (or mobile device) and an Internet connection.

Influencer marketing

Do you have a large following on social media? Or, are you able to garner a lot of social media support? If so, you should consider being paid to promote relevant brands and products to your followers on social media. There has been a move by brand marketers from direct advertising to paying influential people to market their products for them. Not only do you need a large social media following that is relevant to the products you wish to encourage your followers to purchase, but it is also a good idea to blog about your experiences using these products.

In this way, you will spread the brand’s message across as many different channels to as many people as possible. Because, the more people that hear your influential marketing messages, the greater chance there is that they will buy the products and services that you are supporting.

Final thoughts

The salient takeaway point here is that, while it is difficult to make ends meet every month, it is not impossible. All it takes is a lot of hard work, dedication, perseverance, and the ability to keep on working at your after-hours business. You will soon find yourself in the position where you can pay off all your debt and earn enough to cover your monthly costs.