Financial literacy is an important life skill. And it’s not just about complicated things like investing, stocks, and bonds. We’ve collected practical tips that will help you spend less than you earn.
Pay for subscriptions together with friends
Some services allow you to split your subscription. For example, VK Music offers a subscription for two and four. The more participants listen to music with you, the cheaper the subscription will be. And you can add up to four people to the Yandex Plus subscription. Each participant will have their own cashback, profiles in Music and Kinopoisk.
Another option is to pay for different services and share access with each other. Let’s say you pay for an online movie theater, and your friend pays for a book service. The main thing is to agree on the rules of use in advance so that there are no quarrels. And check whether you can access the service from different devices at the same time.
Buy things you rarely use together
You can split or rent not only subscriptions, but also household items. It’s especially great to chip in for something that is rarely used but needed by both: board games , a fondue set, or a clothes steamer can be split 50/50. Sometimes this is even more profitable than renting something. On average, the same bicycle can be rented for 300 rubles per day, and bought for 25,000 rubles. If you ride a rented bike all June, it will cost you nine thousand rubles. You can ride your own bike endlessly until your friend needs it. But it all depends on how often you use it: if you only need a bike a couple of times in the summer, it’s more profitable to rent it.
Practice no-spend days
A no-spend day is a day when you consciously avoid any unnecessary expenses. This practice will not only help you save money, but also train your awareness. Before conducting the experiment, you need to choose a quiet day without any special plans, because it will be harder to refuse spending if you have a trip to the cinema or a cafe planned for the evening.
You can take a thermos with you instead of your morning coffee from a coffee shop, and prepare your food for work in advance and bring it in a container. Record moments during the day when you want to order something online or buy something right now due to boredom, stress, or just habit.
There is also a more radical method, when you refuse to buy anything for a whole year . But there are many psychological and life aspects that can interfere with the experiment, so not everyone can withstand it. You can choose specific days of the week that are free from spending. If you like the result, then practice a month without buying anything.
Review your rates
Perhaps your current mobile tariff does not have enough gigabytes of Internet and you have to pay extra in the middle of the month, or, on the contrary, there is too much left, and the remaining gigabytes are burned. To optimize expenses, analyze the usage statistics for 3-6 months through the application of your operator, see what tariffs other companies have.
More favorable conditions can also be found on a transport card: get a discounted travel card or buy an unlimited monthly pass. For example, in Moscow, an unlimited “Ediny” travel card for 30 days in the “Central” zone costs 2870 rubles. This is more profitable than buying one-time trips per day for 64 rubles, but on the condition that you use transport at least twice a day on weekdays and weekends. You can choose a tariff for yourself and use, for example, payment by biometrics for 53 rubles.
Try not to follow trends
There are many influencers and brands on social media whose job it is to sell you a product or service because it is “modern” and “in line with today’s values.” Most often, fashion is the one that gets caught in the crossfire. For example, you need to buy spring sneakers , and you go to TikTok to see what models are considered trendy now. In the stream of videos with product selections, you can even forget about personal style and individuality. The downside is that next year these shoes will no longer be considered good, and you will have to buy sneakers again.
Focus on your taste, try to slow down and think for 24 hours before making a purchase decision. Another way is to limit content that provokes unnecessary spending. Videos with an emphasis on consumption can be hidden from recommendations, and in extreme cases, even complain about it to the platform.
Take advantage of corporate benefits
Social package — additional perks from the employer in addition to the basic salary. The Labor Code does not define the employee’s social package. The composition and conditions of the social package are not regulated by law, so each employer determines them independently. In 2022, the hh.ru research service found out that the most important options for employees were voluntary health insurance, company transport, provision of equipment for work, and others. You can and should use the social package, because it does not oblige you to anything and allows you to reduce serious expense items. If you have been working in the company for a long time and the employer did not write anything about benefits in the vacancy, then ask about it now. Perhaps the company’s policy has changed and you can also get insurance, sports compensation, or tuition fees.
Try to change your habits
They say that a habit is formed in 21 days, but this is not entirely true. It takes up to 254 days to sustainably form a new habit or get rid of an old one. For example, you are used to pleasing yourself with shopping and have been doing this for the past five years. Imagine how difficult it will be for the brain to learn to receive emotions in another way: reading or walking in the park .
You won’t be able to abruptly give up spending, so try to balance your budget using the 50÷30÷20 method: put aside 50% of your income for essential expenses, 30% for wants and small pleasures, 20% for savings or paying off debts.
Don’t be afraid to return things
This right is enshrined in the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights. A good without defects can be returned within 14 days from the date of purchase. The main thing is that the product retains its original appearance, has factory labels on it, and has a receipt or other document confirming payment.
To arrange a return , you must contact the seller with a written statement describing the reason for the return, a copy of the receipt and your passport. The seller is obliged to accept the goods and return the money within ten days. If disputes arise, you have the right to demand an examination at the store’s expense.
It may seem shameful to bring the item back and the seller will look askance. But this way you can get your money back instead of wasting it on an item you won’t wear anyway.
Try to refuse adaptive features
Adaptive preferences include practices aimed at conforming to social standards of appearance: makeup, nail extensions, any type of hair removal from the body, cosmetic procedures. It is important to understand that giving them up is not the same as lack of hygiene. Such practices often require large financial costs, but they can arouse genuine interest and be your hobby. If they still do not bring pleasure, then try to arrange a small challenge and give up procedures for a month or reduce their number to assess the impact of adaptive practices on the budget. The money saved can be put into a savings account. This will help you see how much you spend on maintaining adaptive preferences. Do not continue the experiment if you understand that giving them up causes discomfort.
