6 Tips That Will Help You: How to Budget and Save Money

We all lead busy lives. And this means that sometimes we don’t take a moment to pause and plan how we can best manage our finances. But managing your finances doesn’t have to be complicated. All it means is being sensible with how you budget and save money whilst planning for your future.

Planning, budgeting and saving will give you have the best chance of achieving your financial goals. Whatever they are, our simple budgeting and savings tips can help you achieve them.

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Start now

It doesn’t matter if you haven’t started saving. Most people have trouble budgeting and saving money. So don’t panic. You’re not alone.

It’s simple advice, but the best time to start budgeting and saving is today. And the first thing you should do in order to start is to understand your current spending habits.

Understand what you spend

To begin to work out what you can save, it’s best to start by tracking your outgoings. This will give you a good understanding of your monthly budget.

The best way to do this is to use the 50:30:20 Rule. This guideline considers your net earnings after tax and states that:

50% of your earnings should be spent on your everyday essential needs, such as rent, mortgage, food, healthcare etc..
30% goes on variable, non-essential expenses, like shopping, vacations, socialising etc..
20% should be saved and invested.

Take a look at your current financial situation and see if it fits the 50:30:20 Rule. If it’s close, keep on going, perhaps tweaking it here and there as you go. If you’re not close, don’t panic. But start to make changes that bring your monthly budget into line with the 50:30:20 guideline.

Make a plan

The best way to put a budget in place and make a savings plan is to speak to a financial advisor. At Sarwa, we can help. You can arrange a call with us by clicking here and we can put a savings plan together for you.

It’s easy to make a savings plan on your own. The key is to keep it simple and the best way to do this is to make it a habit. So plan to save regularly (20% of your monthly income if you can). And the easiest way to do this is to set up a direct debit to an investment platform, like Sarwa.

So the key is to keep it simple and start, even if you only have a small amount to save today.

Reduce variable expenses

A great way to increase the amount you can save is to reduce your variable, non-essential expenses, such as money spent on clothes, dinner with friends, nights out and holidays. These shouldn’t be eliminated. But a reduction gives you more to save. So eat in with friends rather than out. Watch a movie at home rather than at the cinema. Book holidays closer to home.

When you add up what you save, you’ll see a big upswing in what you can save each month.

Audit yourself

As with all plans, it’s important to check whether you’re on track. Take time each month to look at your plan, and assess whether your budgeting and savings are (roughly) in line with the 50:30:20 Rule.

By reviewing your progress, you’ll stay on track or learn when you need to take action to fix something if you’ve strayed off the path.

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Sarwa can help

At Sarwa, we can help you budget and save. We are helping people of all ages in the Middle East invest for the future. You can open an account in less than 10 minutes and we match you with a personalized portfolio of diversified, low-cost funds. It’s really that simple.

So if you want to discuss your plan to budget or save, get in touch. We’d be delighted to help.

Ready to invest in your future?

Start now

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