Alexandra Talty writes on Forbes: “Between millionaires blasting Gen-Yers for eating avocado toasts and reports of millennials spending $96 billion dollars on food, people love talking about twentysomethings spending habits. And while no one wants to discuss sexy topics like soaring college loans, unaffordable housing and the lagging job market, stashing money in the bank is one way you can hit your financial goals.”
Here are some ways to save money in your 20s
1. Pick a month to do a cash diet: Take one month to only spend cash for your day-to-day expense. Using cash will really help you see how fast you’re spending your money and make you think twice about your purchases.
2. Entertain at home more often: Instead of meeting up at the bar, try to meet up with friends by throwing dinner parties at home. You’ll have plenty of time to relax at your table and won’t have to deal with a huge check at the end of the night.
3. Negotiate better contracts on recurring bills: Go over some of your recurring monthly bills like cell phone, car insurance and electricity. If one of them is expiring soon, you can either call and try to negotiate a better price for renewing or start shopping around and finding better deals.
4. Consider refinancing your debt: Check into refinancing any debt you have while interest rates are still very low. Even 1% can save you a ton of cash every month with student loans and mortgages.
5. Stop by your local library instead of buying books on Amazon: Browse Amazon for books but instead of buying them, save them to your cart and head to your local library and get your books for free.
6. Practice delayed gratification: Strategically planning larger purchases can save you hundreds. For instance, electronics are always best to buy during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, while travel prices tend to decrease between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.
7. Don’t buy new: Between thrift stores, Craigslist and the Facebook marketplace you can snag steep discounts on most anything lightly used.