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How to Save Money Making Less Than $1000 per Month

Four Ways a Part-time Waitress Saves Money by Living Frugally and Budgeting Wisely

By Olivia HousePublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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As a restaurant hostess and waitress who works about thirty hours per week, I am no stranger to budgeting and making sure that I spend my money wisely. I make about $650 per month on average, so, naturally, it's important to me and to my checking account that I don't spend too much on things that I don't need, or that aren't going to last. Here are some things that I have learned about budgeting since moving out of my parents' house eight months ago:

ONE: Keep track of dates to save in advance.

One thing that definitely helps me to stay on top of my bills is making note of when each bill is due. I know it seems like an elementary concept, but doing this helps me to understand how much money I need to have by a certain day, and therefore, what I can and cannot spend up until that day. For example, if I know that my rent, which is $305 per month, is due on the first of each month, then I know that I need to have $305 at least a couple of days in advance. Additionally, if I have that money a week or two in advance, I go ahead and write my rent check, and pretend that the money is already out of my account, leaving only what is leftover from it as my spending money until the next time I get paid. What this does is ensure not only that my rent will be paid on time, but that I will have money leftover in case I need to grab a quick bite out, or fill up my gas tank.

TWO: Don't spend money if you don't have to.

If there is a certain brand that you like, splurging on your favorite label for a couple of times is fine; I do that, too. However, spending extra money simply for a brand name is just being inconsiderate of your own finances. By shopping at cheaper grocery stores, such as Aldi or Lidl, you can save way more than you'd ever think, and still come home with the same items. Why spend two dollars on a dozen eggs when you can get them at Aldi for $0.43? Or three dollars for half a pound of organic carrots when you can get them at Lidl for $0.85? Another way to save money is to shop for clothes and shoes at secondhand stores, from the thrift shop down the street to your local Plato's Closet.

THREE: Be frugal with your food.

One thing that I find myself spending a lot of money on if I'm not careful is food. I love a good Chipotle bowl, or a famous chicken sandwich with large fries from Chick-fil-A. However, what I've found is that there are very easy ways to eat well at home for an entire week, while only spending about what you would eating out just once or twice at a popular restaurant. For about $10 at Aldi, I can buy enough turkey, cheese, wraps, veggies, and dressing to have a turkey wrap every weekday. For an extra $2, I've got a bag of chips or a side of mixed veggies to go along with it. If I ate at Chipotle every day for lunch, for five weekdays in a row, I'd be spending about $45. So by only spending around $12, I'm saving almost 400 percent that I can now put towards some other expense, or store up in my savings account. Another way to save money on food that allows you to eat out is eating out at places that you know are inexpensive, that you can eat off of more than once, or both. If I'm on the road and I need some lunch, I could stop at a local sit-down restaurant and spend $15 or more, or I could go to McDonald's and get a McChicken and a large Coke for $2.14. I know, I know, McDonald's isn't always ideal, but neither is being broke when you have bills to pay or a family to take care of.

FOUR: Never say no to an extra shift (unless you absolutely have to).

Another thing I've learned that is super beneficial to saving money is picking up extra shifts at work whenever I can, or if I have to switch shifts with someone, trading my shift for one that requires more hours on the clock. By doing this recently, I've managed to get an extra fifty bucks on my paycheck time and time again. This technique works inversely too; don't call out sick just because you don't want to work, or get someone to work for you without trying to convince them to trade shifts instead of just having them pick one up for you. In a nutshell, try to work as much as you can if the opportunity arises, and don't miss out on work that is already yours just because you're feeling lazy. My motto every time I don't feel well, or just don't want to work the shift is: "In seven hours, this will all be over and I'll be fifty bucks richer."

I hope these tips have helped you out in the same ways that they have helped me get into a mindset of saving and learning to live a good, healthy life while still keeping my spending to a minimum.

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About the Creator

Olivia House

truth sleuth with a knack for storytelling through shorts, poems, and random bits of character and plot / simply complicated; lover of inconvenient sectors of science and history.

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