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Traditionally, Indians are consumerists. Every Indian female and male, regardless of age and income, is preoccupied with acquisition of consumer goods- both durable and consumable.
Statistics from various Indian and foreign sources revealed, India’s consumer spending stood at whopping Rs.17.05 billion during the third quarter of the financial year 2017-2018.
In a country of 1.3 billion citizens, where 21.9 percent live below the poverty line, this large consumer spend is quite high.
Commercials on TV, newspapers, radio, street-side hoardings, special offers at stores, discounts given by restaurants, the boom in online shopping are leading to a surge in spending and decline in saving patterns of Indians.
According to figures for the fiscal year 2015-2016, provided by the Ministry of Statistics Programs and Information, savings by households fell to 31.6 percent from the 32.3 percent in the previous year.
This clearly indicates, saving money is the main casualty of India’s rising consumerism and that’s the reason you should save money.
By the above statement, we do not blame consumers or their spending patterns. Consumerism is healthy for Indians since it helps them improve lifestyle. It keeps companies in business and helps them expand, generating more jobs.
However, there are some excellent ways and means to save money in India. Below, we take a look at some of these.
These 30 save money tips will let you know how to save money live better by doing just simple things. We have categorized these ways for students, teenagers, housewives, working men, retired & in general.
Save Money tips for students
As a student, there is not much to worry about. All your expenses will be met by mom and dad or your guardian. Also as a student, you are not required to look deep into family finances or savings and investment-related issues. However, here are some ways you can save money for your parents.
Back-To-School sales
Generally, Back-To-School sales are held twice a year by large stores selling student requirements such as school bags, stationery, and books. You can avail discounts by purchasing your stationaries during this period.
Cooperative stores
Cooperative stores in villages, towns, and cities sell notebooks and stationery at cheaper rates at the beginning of school seasons. You can save between five and 10 percent of expenses you would otherwise incur on buying elsewhere.
Free books & stationery
Charity organizations in India give away free notebooks, stationery and sometimes, school bags to students. You can avail of these freebies and save money.
Scholarships
Study well for a great future, excel in your class and get scholarships offered by your school or some external source. They help your parents save on fees and other expenses.
Travel
As student, you can avail discounted travel on government run bus services, Indian Railways, state-owned and private airlines. Buy a bus or train pass for your daily commute to save as high as 50 percent to 75 percent of your transportation costs.
Save money tips for Teenagers
Understandably, teenage is the best part of life, when you want to enjoy. Money should not be a constraint. You can still use some technique that help school students save money like buying travel pass, opening bank account, health and fitness and availing scholarships. Yet, here are some save money tips to help you save more.
Save money live better by shopping online
Remember, online stores offer everything you need, from cosmetics to garments, smart phones to electronic gadgets. Invariably, these cost 10 percent to 25 percent lesser than at stores. Look for online sales too, for more savings.
Save money with Group travel
As teenager, you will be tempted to travel around with friends and classmates. Booking airline, bus and rail tickets for student groups helps you save as much as 50 percent fare.
Youth hostels
As teenager, you are entitled to membership of various international organizations including Hostelling International, Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). Now, YMCA and YWCA are not religious organizations, so your faith does not matter. Memberships of these organizations will help you stay cheap while away from home, in a group or alone.
One way of fostering friendship is to share rides with friends. You can either ride on a friend’s motorbike or car or simply take them on yours. Sharing fuel costs is a great way to save money.
No addictions
Research worldwide proves, teenagers are most likely to develop addictions to drugs, alcohol, tobacco as well as movies, social media, gambling and sex. These will take a heavy toll on your pocket money and leave you craving for more. Staying off these addictions is beneficial to your physical, mental and financial well being.
How can housewives/working women save money?
Whether you are full-time housewife or working, there are several avenues where you can save a lot of money. Housewives generally manage most critical functions like shopping for food and cooking as well as planning the family budget. Here are some tips to help save money.
Sales & special offers
Major stores frequently hold a sale offering regular groceries at prices that are five to 10 percent below the market average. You can buy such discounted stuff from one or more stores to save money. Also, look for special offers and new launches.
Special offers such as Buy-1-Get-1 free and the likes helps save money provided you are cautious enough to check production and expiry dates of the product. Newly launched products are sold much cheaper than their well-established counterparts.
Save money tips with loyalty programs
Subscribe to every loyalty program offered by stores where you shop and banks where you hold an account. You get loyalty points for money you spend at the store. These can be redeemed for groceries and other stuff.
Loyalty points from banks helps you buy things for the house. Online shopping for groceries and other household essentials is a great way to save money, provided they give free home delivery. Cooperative stores also offer stuff at prices slightly lower than others.
Save money live better through bulk shopping
Invite your neighbors, relatives and friends to form a group and buy your household needs in bulk from wholesalers. You can save as much as five to 20 percent on your purchases.
Additionally, you will also save transportation costs since the wholesaler will deliver your stuff home.
Electricity bills
Ensure all appliances, electronics and lights in your house are switched off, while not in use. Also, have power guzzling electric bulbs replaced with low energy consuming fluorescent tubes and bulbs. Adjust proper temperature of your refrigerator, since they account for high electricity usage.
Pay bills immediately
All utilities and service providers charge a penalty for paying bills after the due date. This can vary from Rs.10 to Rs. 250, depending upon the service and its provider. Paying immediately helps avoid this penalty, gives you a better credit score with the provider and avoids undue disconnection and reconnection charges.
However, if there is a dispute, bring it to the notice of the service provider immediately. Instant action will save you considerable money at times.
Save money tips for working men
Single men who work generally have cavalier approach towards money. Au contraire, married men are considered as head of the family and hence, have lots of obligations, including financial ones, towards spouse and kids. Whatever your civil status, here are some tips that can help you save some money or stretch your Rupee a little longer.
Travel passes/ vehicle pool
Unless you are fortunate to have a company vehicle or fuel allowance from the employer to afford driving a car to work, dependence upon public transport will be heavy. You can save costs on public transport by buying bus and railway passes of longer durations such as three months. They offer a savings of at least 20 percent to 25 percent over monthly passes. Vehicle pooling is another great way to save transportation costs.
Ironing
This is a sphere where all men can save lots of money. Having your family’s clothes ironed at a laundry may not be quite expensive. However, you can save this expense by performing the task yourself once a week. The few hundred rupees you save can be better utilized elsewhere for investment.
Home tutoring
For married men with kids, home tutoring is a task they can easily perform. Here, we talk of children who are school students and not enrolled for higher education that requires specialized coaching. As father, you can help your kids revise lessons and conduct occasional tests. This way, you can save a lot on expensive coaching classes, where children of working parents are compelled to go nowadays.
Bill monitoring
Every household receives a plethora of bills every month. As head of the household, you can check these bills for any errors and mistakes that have caused you to be charged more. It is fairly common for electricity, piped gas, mobile services and landline providers to charge more due to flaws in their billing system or wrong readings. Checking your monthly bills before payment will help you to save money.
Clearing liabilities
Sometimes, we are forced to take one or more liabilities on board, in form of loans and credit for home, vehicle or other purposes. Get rid of these liabilities at the earliest by stepping up installments, if possible.
This will help you get debt free faster and get a high credit score. Further, you can also negotiate a lower interest rate with the lender for stepping up payments, thus saving you several thousands of Rupees you would have spent over years.
Best ways to save money for everyone
Here are some more useful tips that can save you money. Further, you can also make this saved money to work for you in the stock market, saving schemes or other hedged investments.
Avoid credit cards
A credit card attracts something called annual membership fee which can be anything from Rs.200 to Rs.2, 000 per annum. Some banks waive the first year membership to entire subscribers. Buying on credit cards is fine but pay entire amount. You can pay about 10 percent of the spent amount ever month.
However, the unpaid amount attracts interests that can go as high as 28 to 30 percent per annum every year. The interest charged by the credit card issuer this month also attracts additional interest the next month and so on.
Meaning, you may end up paying more interest than the credit amount. Credit cards are notorious for sending perfectly sane people on shopping binges.
Discount vouchers/ Cash back
Online retailers as well as physical stores offer discount vouchers for spending a particular amount. You can find these coupons & deals on CouponWaale.in. Avail these discount vouchers and cash-back coupons to use for future shopping. They can help you save as much as 50 percent of the bill, the next time you shop.
Cash withdrawals
Considering you already hold a bank account, here are some tips for saving money. Acquaint yourself with the bank’s policy for use of debit cards at Point-Of-Sale machines, online purchases and ATM machines of other banks.
Better learn about their overall policy regarding cash withdrawal. Some banks permit only five withdrawals per month, regardless whether you spend at POS, online or withdraw from ATMs of other banks or make a cheque payment.
Others allow five free withdrawals from other bank ATMs while future ones are charged. Some banks also charge for more than five withdrawals at their own ATMs. The charge can vary between Rs 18 and Rs.25 per transaction.
Tax savings
The India government offers a variety of schemes that helps people save on Income Tax. These include investing in postal savings schemes, insurance policies and lots more.
Check with an experienced Chartered Accountant about which schemes you can avail of to save money that would otherwise be paid as tax. Generally, these tax-saving investments fetch you reasonable interest.
Shopping list
It is a good idea to ask every member of your family whether they require anything specific before going to shop. Also, take stock of all the essentials and household requirements you have and make a list based upon anticipated usage. This saves you vital money that would otherwise be spent on random shopping based on guesswork.
Ways to Save money for Retired/ Senior Citizens
For those lucky to draw pensions, saving money after retirement or as senior citizens may sound weird. However, saving money is equally important for retirees and the elderly, regardless of the wealth they have accumulated, pensions and income from other sources.
Here we present five simple ideas for retired people and senior citizens to save money and yet, enjoy good lifestyle. To save money as retiree or senior citizen, avail of all discounts and rebates in taxes that are currently prevailing in India.
Buy health insurance
The best time to buy health insurance is while working. This way, you have a policy that covers any sudden illnesses typical with ill-health. The reason we recommend buying medical or health insurance prior to retirement is, most insurers do not provide the facility to people above a specific age group.
Every insurer has a different age after which they do not issue health policies. Further, to cover a broader range of illnesses, your policy needs to be taken at least three years or more.
The good news is, nowadays lots of insurers are also offering medical insurance policies for senior citizens. Cashless health insurance shields you against spending your hard earned cash or digging into lifetime savings.
Never relocate
Millions of people believe that retiring to native village or town will help them save expenses while providing a relaxed retired life. This is a pure myth. Firstly, relocating from the city or town where you have worked involves buying a house.
Even if you own a house or ancestral property, relocation costs can prove high. Secondly, relocation means bidding adieu to old friends, colleagues and relatives.
Making new friends and acquaintances takes time and also involves expenses. You also become susceptible to crimes against senior citizens in such places and may end up being defrauded of cash and valuables.
Buy Holiday Savings Plan
Obviously, as retiree, you would wish to travel and explore various destinations in the abundant spare time. Holidays cost a lot of money. In recent years, a lot of banks and travel agents are offering holiday savings schemes.
This means, you put invest book a holiday package and pay for it over a period of six to 12 months. Upon payment of the last installment, you can utilize the holiday package and travel.
Your investment in these plans attracts an interest. Hence you actually pay much lesser for that dream holiday.
Post Office Saving Schemes
India Post offers two excellent saving plans for retirees: Senior Citizens Saving Scheme (SCSS) and Monthly Income Scheme (MIS). While SCSS has a lock-in period of five years, it offers you a great rate of 8.3 percent compounded interest per annum.
This means, the money you receive as retirement benefits from your employer, works for you. Another safe way to make your lifetime savings or retirement benefits work for you is by investing in India Post’s Monthly Income Scheme (MIS), which holds immense benefits.
A single investor, you can deposit a maximum of Rs.450,000 in the scheme or Rs.900,000 if you include your spouse or kids in the account.
At a rate of 7.5 percent per annum, you get a monthly income from the post office, paid directly into your savings account. Alternatively, you can invest the same in a Recurring Deposit account through direct debit order.
Avail Senior Citizen benefits
Almost every Indian state offers a host of benefits to senior citizens. This ranges from discounted travel on state-transport buses and those operated by municipal bodies. Additionally, you get great discounts on airline and railway tickets, medical expenses at government hospitals and lots more.
Some states like Goa offer a monthly pension of Rs.2,000 for women aged 58 years and above and men of 60 years or more. However, these benefits are available only if you register as senior citizen with the concerned department of the state government and procure the Senior Citizen Card which is issued free of cost.