Saving money requires the individual to be very disciplined. This is because it is normal to have a lot of expenses that exceed the amount we are expecting. This is if we have not already taken loans that we have spent that we have to pay back. If you really want to save money, this article will enlighten you on the smartest ways to save money.

Save before spending
When you want to save, it is imperative to already know how much you want to save every month or how many percent of your income you want to save. Once you have made this decision, the first thing you should do is to remove the amount or the percentage before you do anything else. Failure to do this or if you are waiting to finish spending before saving the rest, you would find yourself with empty hands and nothing to save. Once you remove the amount you want to save, you might want to put it into a fixed savings account or in a place where you would not be able to easily access it. Perhaps, you can put it in a bank account that you do not have an ATM or app for. This way, to use the money, you must physically go to the bank to withdraw it. This would often discourage you from touching the money. However, if you leave the money where you can easily access it, it would be a matter of time before you would be tempted to spend the money.

Investing
Investing provides you the opportunity to not just save but to earn from the money you are saving. Thus, if you can invest wisely, you would be able to have another source of income different from your regular source of income. You can read up on how to invest spare change so that you can make wise decisions.

Save as you spend
If you do not want to remove a chunk of your money every time you get a paycheck and start to feel like you are punishing yourself, you can go through the smarter way of saving as you spend. This way, the amount you would be spending will be leaving your account as 50 cents, 1 USD, 10 cents, 2 USD and you would n’t even feel the effects on your account. If you do not have a means of instantly keeping tabs with how much you are saving, you would be surprised at how much you have saved within 6 months or a year as it would be well over a thousand USD.  There are two major ways to achieve this, either you save a percentage of what you spend or you save the change that is left after each expense.

Get an extra job
Another smart way to save if you are already pressed with your income is to get another job and save every income for that job. You could look for a job that is like a hobby to you that you can do during your free time. For instance, if you work Monday to Friday, you could do photography on Saturdays and Sundays at weddings and other events. Whatever income you earn from photography goes straight to your savings account while the income that you earn from your normal job goes to taking care of your day to day needs.