The Best Money-Saving Tips People Often Forget 💸

[Music] oh i live in one of the most expensive places in the us and the cost of living is increasing every single year [Music] throughout the years i've had to make adjustments and learned how to manage my finances in order to create and sustain a life here in paradise you guys seem to really enjoy my last video on this topic and i really love talking about it so today i wanted to continue the discussion of some of the best ways that i'm able to save money which has been really helpful to me so without further ado let's get started naturally i think putting away money and saving is a great habit but if we have already put enough for our emergency fund i think the best next step would be to invest our money and that's because due to inflation which can be around two to four percent in the us annually the money that's just sitting in our account is actually losing value if it's not increasing with the rising costs there are so many different ways to invest and you really don't need a lot to start with and now we have so many free resources to learn how we can start investing in stocks bonds retirement accounts real estate just to name a few things but also we can invest in ourselves in our education in our health and our overall well-being which can provide a life-changing return saving is great but ultimately money is just a tool we can better put it to use by investing it to plan out our future and increase our purchasing power when it comes down to it we shouldn't hesitate to spend it if it will enhance the quality of our lives because sometimes that can be the best investment [Music] when someone tries to propose a deal or an offer i always try to see it as the start of a negotiation and really i do this for everything rent my phone bill my car insurance my starting salary of course and even my medical bills and sometimes i'll just ask upfront for a reduced price but other times i will offer either my services or my time in order for a reduced price and it can be a win-win situation for example in san diego i offered my landlord to water his garden and also to clean the communal laundry room once a week in order for reduced rent and he gladly accepted it now of course there's no guarantee that this will work 100 of the time but i always think to myself the worst that they can say is no and even if they don't accept my proposal we'll usually go back and forth and land on an agreement where we can both be really happy [Music] in my previous video where i talk about my eight savings tips i talk about only buying those things that we truly need and we hear this all the time we talk about a need versus a want but i feel like we can blur the lines between the two if we're not truly sure where the sense of need is coming from for example for me i wanted to buy this camera bag that is a little bit more upgraded and had this specific feature that i really liked but this need was coming from a place of impulse and access with this logic it can be really easy to kind of justify every single purchase that we make so even before we get to that decision-making process i feel that it's right and also the first step to assess where the sense of need is coming from i got into the habit of asking myself is this vital to my well-being is this something i need for my day-to-day routine is this purchase out of my own insecurity or something that the media is pushing me to buy and if i didn't buy this what's the worst that could happen these questions have been helpful to prioritize what is essential from the rest of my purchases i use my google calendar for pretty much everything in my life and i also use it as a tool to map out my finances it's really easy to just log in reoccurring bills like my credit card bills or my utilities and set a reminder for myself so that i'm never late and also if i know something like a big expense is coming up for example my car registration or an annual vet visit then i set a reminder for myself so that i can be better prepared to pay those big expenses this way i'm never wasting my money on things like penalty fees or interests which can add up over time personal finance is all about planning out and prioritizing the money that we have and it's crucial that we find the right tools to help us make the process a little bit easier knowing our exact expenses can help us to kind of recognize how much we need in order to live and survive and continue our current lifestyles for me and my husband our number is around 2 500 to 3 000 u.s dollars every month and this includes pretty much everything our housing utilities phone bills cars pretty much all of our basic needs calculating this number puts into perspective how much we actually need to work in order to live our current lifestyle how much we need to save and invest in order to retire our numbers can give us a realistic idea of how much we can put away every single month and this can act as a guide for our savings goals this can be done in so many ways with budgeting apps tracking your expenses checking your statements but it's not just about having the knowledge but proactively planning out your finances once you know your number [Music] taking that extra time to research all the different resources in our community it can help us to save a lot of money but it can also help us to reach our financial goals a lot faster for example some of you guys know that i work in real estate and there are just so many different resources for first time home buyers programs like first time home buyers and down payment assistance programs which can aid us with our down payment and closing costs individual development accounts where savings will be matched there are high yielding savings accounts which can accelerate your savings also i'm constantly looking for different free community resources like different events classes and entertainment and i feel like sometimes i get more value out of those than the ones that i actually pay for i only use credit cards for every single one of my purchases because i can get up to two percent back for every dollar that i spend and i can redeem it for cash back miles and other points and this saves me so much money of course i only charge onto my card what i can pay off in full every single month so i don't get myself into debt pay the interest on the balance because of all the miles that we accrued over the years we're able to always fly for free and get amazing deals along the way [Music] financial advice has always centered around the individual what can i do to save and how can i grow my wealth but what if we can help each other my parents have dedicated so many of their years to support me and my sister and i know that when they retire that i want to return the favor back to them and support them i don't think i would enjoy my success or my wealth if i couldn't help others around me especially my parents i think people underestimate the power of working together i know that i'm more than capable of supporting myself and creating the life that i want but at the same time it's great to have a life partner who shares the same values and who can also be my partner in growing our wealth together having a solid partnership is like having to lift only half of the weight and it can be mutually beneficial and of course i'm not saying that you need to find someone in order to optimize your savings but i am saying that people in our lives really do matter and they can make a huge difference in our lives especially in a place like maui it's really about who you know rather than what you know and i've personally gotten offered so many great jobs gotten really great real estate deals and even free things just because people are looking out for each other and there is a sense of community which i really love being knowledgeable and resourceful in our personal finances it can be such a powerful tool to set the foundation to live an abundant life and i think no matter what our economic situation looks like we can always try our best to prioritize and be intentional about how we're using our money and how we're saving our money thank you guys so much for watching today's video i hope you enjoyed it and please let me know in the comments below if you have any helpful savings tips that you would like to share i'm sure that we could all benefit from it and if you liked the video don't forget to hit the like and also subscribe for more slow living and minimalism videos until next video guys take care and i'll talk to you soon bye

Channel: Malama Life

Views: 171,506

Keywords: How to save money like a minimalist, Simple tips to start saving, ways to save money with minimalism, minimalism and saving money, minimalism and money, how to save money, minimalism, minimalist, finances, ways i save, money, ways to save, minimalist finances, how to start, saving money, save money, buy less, tips for saving, budget, Financial freedom, personal finances, saving money minimalism, minimalist money ideas, budget tips, money tips, budget hacks, Malama life

Id: q0u9UOxPuuk

Length: 11min 55sec (715 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 20 2021