We learn a lot of things at school, including math, biology, and even second languages. However, we often don’t get to learn one of the most important life skills, managing our money. Sure, money doesn’t buy happiness, but the lack of it can cause quite the discomfort. Unless you’re born into money, you’ve probably experienced living paycheck to paycheck. You’ve probably also experienced occasions when money was tight. That’s why we’re focusing in this article on the kind of actions we should take to keep you away from such instances. Saving money is easy in theory, but a little more difficult in practice. After all, having more money means making money and saving as much as possible of it. So, let’s take a look at what kind of moves we can make to have more digits after the $ sign in our bank accounts.

First Things First, Spend Less

While it may seem obvious that spending less results in saving more, a lot of folks out there miss out on many money-saving opportunities. The thing is we need to actively work on finding ways to save money. Just saying “I’ll just spend less next month” can sometimes be effective, but definitely won’t be as good as categorizing your spending and managing each category separately.

Let’s narrow things down to 2 categories of spending:

• Keeping track of all current bills
• Cutting down your medical bills

Keeping Track Of All Current Bills

It’s nearly impossible to live without regular monthly bills, especially if you’re living in a city. We often have a rough figure in mind regarding how much we pay in monthly bills. You might even keep all your receipts stashed in a drawer somewhere. But if you’re serious about saving money, down to the dime, you should employ better ways to track your monthly bills.

Smart Apps Make Tracking Bills Easier

At this point, I think we all realize that computers and smart devices do a much better job with tasks that need precision. That’s why we suggest you look into using apps that’ll help make the process of tracking your bills a lot easier. Using apps such as Mint will not only help you keep track of how much you’re spending but will also help you reduce unnecessary spending.

Let us explain how Mint works. So for starters, the app is for free. You might find added paid services on it, but those won’t be needed when it comes to tracking your spending. Mint is a personal financing app. So basically you’ll need to link all of your bills to the app. The neat part is that it won’t just tell you how much you’ve spent. The app will also let you know when bills are due so you can avoid paying late fees. Moreover, you can set your own money-saving goals and track them on the app.

If you decide to link your bank account to the app, it will notify you when your balance is low. That way you can avoid paying overdraft fees by tightening your budget. Finally, Mint will help you track any and all investments and at the same time show you how your investments performed compared to previous months.

Cutting down your medical bills

Needless to say that the cost of healthcare in the US is much higher than anywhere else.  To put things into perspective, more than half of the country has medical debt of at least $1,000. Another way to look at it is that an average American family has to spend over 20 grand on health insurance every year. While these numbers might sound ridiculous, there’s no doubt that sooner or later we all need to pay for healthcare. So let’s at some ways to afford being healthy without breaking our bank.

Daily Routines Cost Much Less Than Hospitals

We know this sounds like a broken record that we’ve listened to since we were kids, but exercise, healthy food, good sleep and less stress will always be key to staying healthy. The thing with exercise that many people don’t get is that it doesn’t have to be intense. We all watch videos of people working out to get absolutely ripped. You don’t have to do that to stay healthy. Giving yourself the time to stretch and spend 10-20 minutes a day working out can have such a massive impact on your health.

And, if you don’t know what kind of exercises to do, there’s plenty of mobile apps out there to guide you. There’s an app called Strong that comes with pre-set work plans for whatever goal you’re trying to achieve. When it comes to healthy food and good sleep, there’s not much to tell. Just remember that a Big Mac is not a healthy choice for lunch.

Get Health Screenings Through Your Insurance

Many people out there don’t know that most health plans must completely cover health screenings and certain shots, like vaccines. When we say “completely cover” it means that you won’t have to copay for anything. When you think about it, you’ll always be able to treat an illness quicker and cheaper if you find out about it early on. Check with your insurance provider and go over the list of health screenings available for you.

Look Into Government Healthcare Assistance Programs

The conversation about national health coverage is pretty much a daily political discussion at this point. How it should work and who should get it seems too complex for anyone to figure out. But that shouldn’t stop you from seeking help from the government to cover your healthcare costs. We’ll briefly explain the 2 most popular programs, Medicare and Medicaid, and what the difference is between them.

To put things simply, Medicare is a national healthcare assistance program designed to help the elderly and the disabled. Being ‘elderly’ refers to individuals 65 years of age and above. Disability is often recognized by the government as physical and developmental disability, as well as chronic mental diseases. Medicare will offer many types of coverage, but one particular program you should consider is Medicare Part D. Also known as Supplemental Drug Coverage , the program aims to help eligible individuals get their medication for a subsidized price. There are many factors that go into it, so refer to the government website to find out how much you can save.

On the other hand, Medicaid is there to help out low-income folks. It basically covers many medical costs, and limits the out-of-pocket spending for other costs. It’s possible to qualify for and acquire both Medicare and Medicaid at the same time.

Now Let’s Look Into Making Extra Money

Whether you have a job or not, whether it pays well or not, no one’s going to complain about extra income. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, perhaps even have some debts, you should definitely look into making extra money on the side. You’re probably thinking “I don’t have the time or energy to work more.” You’ll be surprised to know there are many ways to make extra money without breaking a sweat.

Rent Out Unused Spaces In Your Home

Everyone loves having their private space. We also don’t want strangers taking up space in our homes. But, here’s a different way of looking at it. Whether it’s an extra room or perhaps even a garage space, you can make decent extra money off of it. On average, Airbnb hosts make over $900 a month from renting out spaces in their homes. Some people will go as far as advertising their rooms as working spaces, which helps narrow down the type of tenants they get, while charging extra for the “premium” service.

Getting A Side Gig Is Easier Than It Ever Was

We all know there are tons of jobs that are done online. However, many people don’t know where to find them or if they even qualify for them. We’re here to tell you that there are plenty of easy, low-qualification jobs to find online. These jobs may not be your main source of income, but considering the time and effort they require, they’re fantastic sources of extra income.

You Can Make Good Money Answering Surveys

We get these survey requests every time we use a product or service. And answering those surveys usually comes with no benefits. But, what if we answer surveys, and actually make money in return?

To be fair, surveys are usually pretty easy to answer. Which is fantastic if you realize that you can make money from answering them on platforms such as Survey Junkie. Tasks on the platform can take anywhere from 2 to 30 minutes. Obviously, shorter surveys will pay you less. But let’s say you spend an hour or 2 everyday answering surveys. You might actually end up making decent money by the end of the week. Survey Junkie also hires people to join focus groups, which can pay a lot more than answering surveys.

Conclusion

We all want to have more money in our bank accounts. Whether we’ll use that money for rent, food, education or healthcare, having more money is hardly ever a bad thing. But the thing is we’ve got to be smart about it. We can’t just say “oh, I’ll just be better at spending in the future.” We need to take actual steps that will help us be more efficient with our money.

We highly suggest you start looking into using apps that will help you keep track of your spending. If you know you have to write down some of the expenses, it might turn you off from spending on stuff you don’t actually need. You will also have a better understanding of what you spend most on. Also, using apps like Mint, will help you avoid paying unnecessary fees, like late fees or overdraft fees.

Besides that, we all need to look after our health. But, even then we need to be smart about how to spend money on healthcare. You need to use your health insurance with all its benefits, because otherwise it’s a waste. When you take steps to prevent getting so sick you need a hospital, you’ll definitely save a lot on hospital bills.

Finally, getting a side job is not difficult. Even if you have a busy day, most of us end our day staring at our phones. If we’re going to stare at them for hours, we might as well make some money from it.