According to Forbes Magazine, the generation of millennials is getting much better at saving money than many of their predecessors. Nevertheless, there are millions of young adults who struggle with conserving their earnings in an efficient way. After all, the number of stimuli that can lead to impulse purchases is now higher than ever before. Just think about your last trip to the grocery store. Odds are, you purchased at least one item that you did not plan for prior to going there. The cost of that item, however, would have probably been much more useful if it went into your savings account.
Thus, a lot of millennials overlook the long-term effects of marginal spending. In order to get better at saving, however, these sorts of issues must be addressed. So, what are some of the ways to avoid impulse purchases, get better at purposeful spending, and save more money?
Use Phone Apps
Given that 92 percent of millennials own a smartphone, according to MarketingCharts, finding mobile applications that help save money is a great solution. After all, it is hard to beat such a high level of accessibility. According to a student who has some real estate and saving experience, Sean Francis Tucker, Acorns is a great example of a modern app. It operates on the principle of marginal savings by rounding up people’s purchases. So, if a person spends $2.85 on their coffee every morning, the app would round it up to $3 and those 15 cents would go to their savings. This can help minimize the impact of saving money as people may not have the freedom to save a lot fast.
Reduce the Number of Online Subscriptions
Courtesy of companies that figured out that subscription-based business models are the greatest cash cows, there is an abundance of services that one can be subscribed to. Common examples include Netflix, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Premium, almost every dating app on the market, and so on. The basis on which these companies are able to gain customers boils down to their seemingly low monthly price. After all, paying approximately $5 for a student subscription on Spotify is not something that will bother people. In the long run, however, expenses like this can add up to hundreds of dollars annually. So, millennials should minimize the number of unnecessary subscriptions that they are signed up for.
Bring in More Income – Enter Gig Economy!
The most obvious way to save more money is to earn more. After all, the more that the revenues exceed expenses, the more disposable income one has. Additionally, the growth of the gig economy has made it extremely easy for millennials to find low-skills jobs that are incredibly flexible. Think about things like deliveries with DoorDash, Postmates, or GrubHub. Moreover, those with vehicles can sign up to be drivers with companies like Uber and Lyft. The benefit here is that they will be able to work whenever they would like. Thus, if they need to spend a few extra hours to meet their monthly saving goals, they can do that whenever they please.
Start Budgeting Weekly or Monthly
Learning how to budget is arguably the easiest way to get better at saving money. According to Sean Francis Tucker, the reason why is the fact that it teaches accountability and raises one’s spending awareness. Once again, millennials are at an advantage here because there are countless apps that they can rely on to help with budgeting. Some solid options include Mint, PocketGuard, and Prism. Of course, one can also rely on old-fashioned methods that require nothing more than an Excel spreadsheet or pen and paper. Ultimately, whatever helps set up budgets that will be followed works.
Split Expenses
If there are overhead costs that cannot be eliminated, the next best solution is to split them. For instance, think about the aforementioned subscription-based platforms like Netflix and Spotify. Well, in many cases, people who pay for these services are not the only ones taking advantage of them. One’s family and roommates can also chip in and split the cost to make it less burdensome. Furthermore, individuals who may be covering large expenses of rent and utilities can minimize them by finding roommates. Doing so will effectively cut all of their expenditures in half.
