Triple Your Savings in Two Months

Updated: November 17, 2020

Less than two months to go and it will be the start of another year. And if you’re the type of person who makes New Year Resolutions, then you should know that now is the best time to start working on them.

Do you want to save more money next year as your resolution? Then take those “baby steps” today, so when the calendar year ends, you’ve already made that change into a habit.

And to help you save money, one of my readers has generously shared below twenty things which she did that allowed her to pocket some extra cash for investing.

Her journey hasn’t been easy, but the rewards have definitely been worth it. Let’s read what our guest blogger, Helen, has for us today.

A few months ago, while I was looking at the PSE building, I realized that my interest in investing (buying stocks) is still there.

So I checked my savings account and planned how to come up with the money I need to start investing because my savings is shamefully low.

I also started asking friends and family for investing tips, banks for their investment products, stockbrokers about their services, and the ever-reliable Google, to search about investing.

Like any other investing article on the internet, saving tips is one of the links under the “You may also want to read” section. Naturally, I clicked one of them.

As I read one article to another, I became hooked and decided to study savings and investments further.

Armed with the knowledge from powerful investors like Warren Buffet to a mother who is trying to make both ends meet, I decided to follow these money-saving tips to find out if it will also work for me.

1. Use LED bulbs. They are way expensive than the other kind of bulbs but you’ll save more in the long run. Our electric bill used to be around four thousand pesos but after changing two of our bulbs (those that we usually use and often forget to turn off) to LED, our electric bill went down first to three thousand then two thousand.

2. Unplug appliances and turn off lights if you’re not using them.

3. Sell your desktop and buy a laptop or notebook.

4. Use environmentally-friendly mobile phones, like Sony Ericsson’s Greenheart line. Not only they are environmentally friendly, but also energy efficient.

5. Save all your coins and deposit them to your bank at the end of the month or to pay your bills.

6. Save one hundred to two hundred pesos every week and deposit them to your savings account.

7. Pay yourself first. Ask your bank if they can automatically transfer money from your payroll account to your savings account so you won’t miss your money and you’ll be happy to see that your money is growing. If you’re interested in investing, try BDO’s UITF where you can start investing for as low as one thousand pesos.

8. Open an account in banks that give higher interest rates. So far, BPI Family Bank has the highest interest rates I found.

9. Walk. Not only it will make you fit and relaxed, but you will also save money.

10. Bring your own lunch. If you’re like me working in Ortigas, where there is no “karinderia” and a single meal cost around one hundred pesos, it is really wise to bring your own lunch. Aside from saving money, you’ll also save time going to and from the nearest fast food or restaurant.

11. Minimize eating out.

12. Avoid spending too much on coffee and alcoholic drinks.

13. Subscribe to sites like Free-eBooks.net for free ebooks.

14. Subscribe to airfare sites like Cebu Pacific Air for their latest low rates.

15. Make reading a habit, not watching T.V.

16. Sell your old stuff instead of letting them collect dust.

17. Cut your landline and stick to your mobile phone.

18. If you don’t need a high-speed internet connection at home, try using broadband instead. So far SUN has the most stable broadband.

19. Know the difference between want and need and stick to your needs. I remember the movie “Leap Year”. The male lead asked his leading lady what she will save if her house is burning and she only has sixty seconds to do it. Ask yourself this question before buying anything, if it worth saving then buy it.

20. Use your credit card wisely. As much as possible, do not use it just to make both ends meet or to buy something because you can’t afford to buy it in cash. More often than not, those things that you are willing to buy but can’t afford are the things that you do not need.

After two months of practicing these saving tips, I tripled my savings and I am now close to my goal to start investing.

Mind you, those two months weren’t easy, actually, I stumbled a lot along the way. But like a baby determined to learn how to walk, I learned to accept my failures and tried harder to stand up and try again.

Happy saving!

This article is written and was contributed by Helen Piñgol.

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