5 Simple Ways to Start Saving Money

Growing your income and reducing your expenses – these are the keys to save money. That sounds easy, but how many of us can actually achieve our financial goals? In the Worldwide Cost of Living 2020, Hong Kong was ranked first as the city with the highest living costs. Everything is expensive here, and it always takes a tremendous effort for people to achieve their financial goals. If you are looking for ways to save money, here are a few tips that you may be interested in!1.Create a savings goalBefore you start saving, ask yourself: What am I saving for? Travel? Buying a property? Marriage? Having a savings goal is the best way to motivate yourself! Once you’ve identified your goal, you are less likely to spend impulsively, and more likely to stop and reconsider before making any expenses.Even with an ultimate goal in mind, a plan is essential in order to meet your objectives. There are many different ways to do this – for example, you can consider breaking it down into weekly, monthly, and yearly saving goals to make it more progressive and realistic. For extra motivation, you can also consider printing out your plan as a constant visual reminder, or even invite your friends to join your savings challenge together!2.Establish a budget and track your spendingOnce you’ve set up your savings goal, it’s time to carry out your plan! Plan a budget and set aside a portion of your money for savings purposes, while for the rest of the money that’s planned for spending purposes, jot down all of your transactions and review each of them. This will be very useful for you to understand where your money is going, so that you can amend your budget goal accordingly. Find a way to keep track of your progress – there are plenty of wealth management apps, or even an Excel spreadsheet can also do the job . If you’re using WeLab Bank, all of your income and expenses will be shown in your WeLab Bank account, so that you have a full picture in one place without having to do the tracking manually.3.Cancel unnecessary subscription servicesBesides fixed services like insurance and telecom fees, let's look at how many monthly plans you’ve subscribed to.Many of you may have 3-4 music subscriptions, but you’re most likely only using one of them. You may have a gym membership, but sometimes your gym closes too early or is just too far from your office or home, and so you end up paying for a one-time entrance fee and go to the nearest 24/7 gym. Another common scenario may be subscriptions to cloud drives for your 100,000 photos, of which 50% of them are images that you won’t flip through again.How many subscription services are you subscribed to? Think about which ones you really need and which ones are just “nice-to-haves”, and see if there is anything you can unsubscribe from!4.Spend smart with card productsAlthough we’re talking about savings, some daily spending is essential and unavoidable. By spending smartly with credit cards and taking advantage of different loyalty programs, you can maximize your savings! However, if you can’t control your spending, it’s best to avoid spending future cash with credit cards, as you’re essentially spending on a credit line that you’ll need to repay on time to avoid overdue charges and penalties. To ensure that you’re only spending money that you actually have, our WeLab Debit Card will deduct money directly from your core account, so that you’ll only be able to spend what you have!
How to apply for a WeLab Dedit Card 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeXzX2_EyZI&feature=emb_title5.Monetize Your PassionBesides cutting costs, you can also look for ways to earn extra money with a side hustle! Typical side hustles include: private tutoring, teaching piano; or if you love writing, being a freelance copywriter is also a good idea. If photography is your thing, try selling photos on stock photo websites, or look for some weekend event photography jobs!Not a big fan of the ideas above? Watch our "How to earn money by side hustle" video to get more inspiration!Saving is easier than you think! Find methods that help you save and work for you, and say goodbye to overspending!