Saving Right Now Series Introduction: Earn Money by Saving

Over the next few posts, I will be giving out advice on several ways in which you can start saving money right now. You can do anything you want with what you save, but I highly suggest that you be financially smart and find something practical or profitable that you can do with your excess money. 

Philosophy: This series reiterates that you will earn more money simply by cutting back on spending!  

Its one of the oldest and truest sayings: "A penny saved is a penny earned." As a graduate student straight out of college, its one of the issues I have the worst issues with.  College/graduate students are always pushed for money but more importantly for convenience.  We often sacrifice what little money we have for increased convenience.  But our double-edged sword is that we live on a tight budget (well tighter than those with steady and/or disposable income).  If we can be smarter with our spending without inconveniencing ourselves, it does a great service to us as well as others who want to put money away. I will show you suggestions of things I have personally done as well as other options you might want to look in to. Next are a few things I will cover in my series:

1. Curb your poor spending habits. I will show you various options that are simple yet effective in showing how much money you are wasting on unnecessary things, ways to monitor your living expenses, setting up an easy budget to manage and adjust, and how to set up monetary goals for yourself.

2. Cut Costs on Living Expenses. Personally, a lot of my living expenses are fixed (rent, water/electricity) but only to an extent. I will show you ways in which I have cut costs on utilities and other living expenses that might be beneficial to you.

3. Earn Money on Your Spending.  There are many rewards programs that can help you save money whether its on gas, groceries, or online shopping. I'll do my best to show you the best ones, as well as the one's I use.

4. Smarter Saving Options (Short Term). Many people settle for sub-par benefits from checking or savings accounts. Let me show you some smarter options that could earn you interest on the money you need to use or save for the short term.

5. Assessing your Retirement Goals (or Long Term Saving Goals). Depending on where you are on your journey through life, long term goals will be different. As a grad student, I'm already looking at options to save while in school to help me once I graduate and have to start paying back those burdensome student loans. Others may be currently in the workforce and looking at ways to put money away til their golden years. What's great is you can actually do both if you're smart with your money. I'll show you what I'm doing and planning to do and provide options for whether you are looking to start saving money early for retirement (highly advised) or looking to save up for that vacation trip, house, or whatever you're seeking.

Follow me through this series and see what savings you can make to free up extra money in your budgets. Please feel free to comment with any suggestions or experiences you've had!