When the economy came down last year and many people lost their jobs, those with jobs stayed thankful and hopeful that they will not be laid off their jobs. And I believe many people during that time conserve cash like crazy so that they will have some savings should the worst hit them. So what have been your smart ways in conserving cash?
Some cut down their expenses and change their lifestyles a little. Instead of eating out 2 to 3 times a week, cutting it down to once a week can surprisingly save you a lot of money. Going out less also means some savings on transportation money which can include things like paying for toll charges, parking, not to mention fuel too.
Then some people also think a step ahead and quickly look out for the best rates to do balance transfers if they are owing in their credit card bills. This is a very smart thing to do even if you are not trying to conserve cash. It’s just smart to save on interests owing to the banks, anytime!
Some also try to refinance their homes because the banks have lowered their rates following the reduction in our central bank’s overnight policy rate. It’s a great advantage to do so even now so if you have not thought about doing it before, you might want to consider it now.
Many people have also stopped investing as a way to conserve cash and I don’t blame them. Who knows just what the market brings in those down times, so better hoard the cash then to watch the investment value go down the drains then. People preferred to put their cash into fixed deposits then, and I have to say that it’s one of the safest ways to get some form of returns versus nothing at all.
So what other smart ways have you been practising to conserve your cash? Are you still doing it now?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I actually stop my unit trust monthly debit n keep the money to myself – investing some into stocks. the rest ah…cut down on few things – don go out so much, cut down on the so-called luxury food, don buy any WANTs. after my 40% pay cut fr my prev job, i realized that i can actually survive (ngam ngam) with the new pay…so now that i m back to normal salary, i should be able to save around 30-40%
Wow! That’s incredible savings! Good for you. It does take some getting used to, doesn’t it? But when you are forced into that situation, more often than not you find that you will just make it. I guess it’s all a matter of discipline too.
I do not stop invest. Instead, I follow closely on how, what and where I can save. For example, instead of keep them in standby mode, I insist all my family members to turn all the A/C off whenever electrical items like TV or radio are not in use. I also request them to switch off the lights and fan when they are not in the room. After months of practicing, I realize that my electrical bill has dropped by almost 24% in average.