How to actually save money this summer
I don’t know about you, but at the end of the summer, I’m usually completely shocked at my lack of ability to save money. I mean, I worked that many hours for that many months and this is all I have? What?
On one hand, it’s good to live a little while you’re young and have minimal financial obligations. On the other hand, however, rent, tuition, and food all cost money, and it would probably be good if you came out of the summer working season at least a little wealthier than you went into it.
Here are a few simple, easy suggestions from Pinterest to help you save a little more this summer.
Sell your stuff
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard a few million annoying commercials touting the benefits of selling your unwanted goods on Kijiji. However, if you’re less than excited to meet up with strangers in order to make a quick dollar, there are several other options available right within the city. If you have a bunch of clothes you’re not wearing, you can take them to any of the consignment shops in the city, and receive 30 to 40 per cent of the selling price back in cash.
Get a separate savings account
And actually put money in it every time you get paid. For me, whenever I start to make money, I start to think I have all this extra money to spend. The smarter, more responsible, more adult thing to do in this situation would be to put at least half of all that money I’ve made into a savings account. The even more adult thing to do would be to open a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) so that I can earn tax-free interest on all of my hard work. If you want to take this whole adult thing to the next level, set up a direct withdrawal that will put a set amount of money into a TFSA every pay cheque. You can’t miss money you never really knew you had!
Challenge yourself
One of the most popular budget-related pins suggests putting away money a dollar more each week. On week one, you put away one dollar, and you keep increasing your deposits until you reach $52 on week 52. At the end of a year, you’ll have saved an extra $1378, and you’ll have barely noticed those small weekly deposits.
Make a budget
This takes a bit of work – and probably some extra guesswork, because you may not even know how many hours you’ll be getting next week, never mind whether or not you’ll have a job in September. However, if you figure out how much money you expect to spend on bills, rent, tuition, and food in the coming months, you’ll be able to get an idea of how much money you need to save now and how much money you have leftover for fun things.