It doesn’t have to be something super original or super inventive just so long as it saves you money in the long run. Something you do that you don’t notice many people around you doing.
I know that what’s obvious, even intuitive for some, is far from obvious to others of course, but this isn’t a brain picking contents so just give some budgeting methods do you feel have worked for you in your particular circumstances. No one lives the same, and differences in avg salary, prices, taxes, and misc. deductibles can vary so wildly that I don’t it’s fair to speak on a global level. But still, I think most of my personal “hacks” (hate that word though) can apply to most people on the sub at least. So here goes 2 of my humble takes (the first one is probably the most useful to me right now)
- Postponing a big purchase till the end of the month (but putting the money for it aside) - a weird one but it works wonders. I put money aside for all non-necessary things that I want in my “savings” box (literally, a box in my bedroom) and take it out and buy what I want only if my “main” account can handle it. This also goes for luxury stuff like new PC parts, new clothes, new perfumes… etc. In the case of all three, I also watch for discounts and usually try to buy off-brand stuff that’s inexpensive but still quality. That means second hand (but still quality) clothes, barely-used PC parts that I even resell sometimes, and clone perfumes like Chez Pierre (my recent find) or something on Fragrantica that basically all give me the same goods (or like 9.5/10 of what I want) but save me so much money in the long run
- Learning to fix all basic household appliances - can’t stress enough how much money I saved by knowing how to fix my AC alone. Example: this summer the AC fan broke. I watched a tutorial, and learned how to tape it up good with asbestos duct tape and super glue. Two months later, it’s still spinning and I’ve probably saved more than a 100 bucks (spent maybe $10 on the tape and glue and voila…)