Her Money: 5 Ways To Save Money

I was a young mother and although I was blessed to keep my life at home I needed to provide for my little one. I had heard all of the “horror” stories about parenthood, so to be sure that I was able to provide financially I started saving. Saving early has put me in the position to shop, travel and live comfortably at the age of 24. Here are 5 ways I was able to get here:

1. Take advantage of gift cards

• When the holidays rolled around and those relatives that didn’t know what to get me gave me gift cards your girl saved them like my life depended on them. Gas cards, movie cards, restaurant cards, save them and use them whenever you are able to

2. The envelope method

• The envelope method is used typically when budgeting and to save you will need a budget honey. Once my money was deposited into my bank account I would leave the amount needed for any automatic transactions such as phone bill, rent, etc.
• Then I would take envelopes and label them according to my expenses: gas, food, shopping, etc.
• The money, if any, that was left over and not needed for my automatic expenses is the money that I would take out and distribute into the envelopes.

3. Buy a Safe

• Target has a few safe options you can purchase. I purchased a safe that I kept in my room. The money that I was not using for going out, shopping or eating out I would put away in this safe and pretend to forget about it
• Over time I would continue to add to the safe instead of making envelopes for leisure activities and soon I needed a bigger safe.

4. Get a savings account

• I got a savings account once I got the hang of budgeting my own money. One I opened a savings account I had a certain amount of money deposited into my savings account each paycheck.
• I started off with just $5 and began to add more when I got multiple jobs or more income

5. More Income

• When school was out or I had extra help with my child I was able to work multiple jobs at a time. With more income there is more money that can be saved.
• Consigning clothes was something I really got into. As the trends changed or the need for more money came I would go to consignment shops, Plato’s Closet, and sell any and everything they would take.
• Saving my change really made a difference in my income. I would throw my change in a water jug or my old save and every 6months to a year I would go to CoinStar and cash it in. You will be surprised what your change can add up to.

Spread Love and Happy Saving!               

Jasmine Shirley