Fighting the month-end money crunch?
Are you living from paycheck to paycheck?
Do you regret not having a side hustle?
The real problem doesn’t lie in the amount of money you make, but in the way you spend it. Our previous blog might help you learn more about the fundamentals of money management.
The thrill of making a purchase in this world of instant gratification is almost addictive, but the dopamine hit doesn’t last long and leaves behind an impending regret, like eating a large pizza while on a diet. We’ve all been there!
So, what do we do? Be stingy and not spend at all?
That’s a completely impractical solution, but rather you can start spending wisely by making some small changes to your lifestyle and to your spending habits. Continue reading to know more about how to make the said changes to your spending habits.
Dining Out
According to Mordor Intelligence, about 39% of Emiratis spend around 50-100 AED and 33% spend around 100-300 AED for dining out. Food is seconded only by housing expenses. It eats up (pun intended) the largest chunk of resource allocation.
Restaurants
You can either reduce the number of times you go out dining by cooking more meals at home or pick a weekend and cook meals in bulk. But if cooking isn’t your cup of tea, then you can plan out your visit and use offers aggregators such as Hundred to look for offers on the restaurant you intend to visit. If you were to visit a restaurant during off-peak hours, you just might get an extra sweet deal on your total bill.Cafe
If like us, you too suffer from caffeine deficiency every 6 hours, or maybe you’ve found yourself a special barista that makes your coffee “just right” buying a go-to coffee every day might be an involuntary ritual for you. But considering that an average Starbucks coffee costs around 10-20 AED per cup, so that amounts to somewhere around 300-600 AED per month. This information might just be enough to make you seriously reconsider brewing it at home. Unlike restaurants, coffee is a daily expense, so you can find yourself a credit card or a loyalty card that promises you the maximum savings. You can use the Hundred Offers app to compare cards that offer you the best deals on your favorite cafe. You can also apply for the said card directly from the app.Shop for groceries with a list
Have you ever noticed how fresh vegetables and produce are always stocked near the entrance of the store whereas an everyday essential such as dairy is always stocked all the way towards the back of the store? This doesn’t just happen by coincidence; grocery stores and supermarkets are laid out in a manner to trigger a customer’s impulse buy decision.
To resist such a temptation, create a list of all the grocery items you intend to buy and resist the urge to deviate from the list, no matter how tempting those salt and vinegar potato chips look. You can also use the Hundred Offers app to check out stores near you that offer deals on grocery shopping.
Reduce automobile expenses
While we Emiratis love our cars and all things motoring, let’s just face it, Cars are money guzzlers. For most cars we own, their value consistently goes down and they also polish off the ever-so-costly fuel by the gallon. Speaking of which, did you know that your credit cards offer you cashback on fuel spends? Also, if you own a car, servicing costs are a necessary devil you have to put up with, because in the longer run, not maintaining your vehicle periodically can incur you a much larger expense in damages/repairs.
Cut expenses on medical bills
Even after your health savings accounts and insurance, the medical bill still comes up to a shocking figure, upon closer look, you see that a large part of it is made up of prescription meds. Don’t panic just yet, there are a couple of things you can do to reduce this amount.
Pharmacy is no longer under the monopoly of brick-and-mortar shops, there are many online pharmacy stores that offer a wide variety of meds at great discounts. If you’re old school and shopping for medication over the web isn’t your thing, you can always ask your physician to suggest a low-cost alternative to the brand-name meds he’s prescribing you. Usually, many offline pharmacy stores offer deals based on your cards.
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Want to know about how to save more on luxury items, Click Here
Happy Savings!
