Five Ways To Save Money Every Month

New Delhi, December 21: The first rule of saving is that one should always set aside a fixed amount from his or her income every month instead of saving what is left at the end of the month. But going beyond that idea of “saving before spending”, there is a more consumerism-oriented idea of saving that has become popular these days – “saving while spending”. While the idea is focused more on spending than saving, luring customers to spend during sale periods while convincing them that they are actually saving money, but many savvy consumers are actually saving some extra bucks every month using various deals, discounts, cashbacks and other offers. Here are five ways one can save while spending:

1. Using credit card offers: Most advice about credit cards and its dangers - the risk of getting into debt, paying huge amount in interest and penalty charges. But if used wisely, one can make the most of credit cards by not only smartly managing their expenses but also saving some money while at it. There are several credit card programmes these days which offer exclusive offers including discounts, reward programmes and cashbacks. For example, using some of ICICI’s, HDFC’s and SBI’s credit cards, one can save on movie tickets by getting one ticket free of cost with each paid ticket. Similarly, Standard Chartered Bank offers credit cards which help you avail five per cent cashback on paying all your utility bills. There are other such programmes which let you save money on dining, buying groceries, booking flight tickets and so on.

2. Using online payment apps: One of the most popular ways to transact these days, online payment apps not only bring convenience, but can also help you save money. To attract more customers, these applications have been offering great discounts and cashback benefits for a long time now. While wallet applications like Paytm, PhonePe and Mobikwik offer discounts and cashbacks to wallet, GooglePay offers cashbacks which is credited directly to your bank account.

3. Using merchant app discounts and offers: From buying grocery to ordering food online, and from making hotel bookings to simply buying a movie ticket, there are now dedicated apps for everything. And if one is really savvy with these apps, one can find several offers and deals while using them. Food ordering apps like Zomato and Swiggy not only offer heavy discounts, but have loyalty programmes for their regular users as well. For instance, Zomato Gold paid programme lets you save money on dining in as well as food delivery by making one item complimentary on each order. Swiggy, on the other hand, has a paid subscription service which lets you make your orders with no delivery fee, while also availing other discounts offered on its app. Not only food delivery platforms but grocery buying apps like BigBasket and Grofers, hotel and travel booking apps like Oyo, Makemytrip and Cleartrip, they all offer deals and discounts which can help you save money.

4.  Using referrals: Referrals are a great way to save money. Not only does it help in saving money for those who refer a product or service, but also for those who get referred. Those who know how to use them well never install an app without a referral code. While some service providers offer cash for each referral, others offer free service or a discount on their first order.

5. Using debit card rewards point programmes: Not everyone knows that each transaction made via their debit cards also earn them reward points. Once enough such points are accumulated, they can be redeemed to make purchases at partner outlets of the rewards programme provider. SBI rewards, for instance, can be redeemed to buy phones, watches, speakers, pen drives and other items on its web portal. They can also be redeemed at retail outlets like Shoppers Stop, Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, Flipkart, Croma and Amazon, among others.

So, while a careful and smart planning of expenses can help one save money through these methods, the question is whether this money is used to buy more or goes into the individual’s savings. That is a crucial question that each individual needs to find their own answer to.