Ant expenses are responsible for our portfolio becoming thinner than expected. These do when the time comes to pay for basic services, it does not reach you, that you become a slave to credit cards and interest-free months, in addition to generating chronic stress for “not having money.”

So how do you save so your little pig doesn’t cry every fortnight? Adina Chelminsky shares 50 tips to save in your day to day. In her words, she was invited to the Money Fest to give the theme “most arid and impossible of all”, however, Adina remains positive and says “we will see that it can be done.”

Adina is a Mexican entrepreneur, expert in personal finance, author of 5 books (several bestsellers) including ‘Cabrona y Millonaria’ , endless articles, founder of Tianguis.mx and in her spare time she records the podcast of ‘La Burra Arisca’ . Her passion in life is mentoring entrepreneurs and painting her hair in phosphorescent colors.

Image: Capture Money Fest

50 tips to save

1. See your finances in the mirror. During one year for each month, write down absolutely all the expenses you make at home. At the end of the month, separate the expenses by item, see what you are spending coldly on, so you will realize much easier about the money leaks.
2. Budget. Follow it, within this it allocates an amount to savings as if it were a forced expense.
3. Have where to save. Open a bank account where you deposit all your money there. Having money in a drawer or a mattress is the easiest way to save money.
4. Get a monthly amount automatically deducted from your payroll to deposit it in your savings account.
5. Create a tax strategy. Seek specialized advice to help you maximize deductions on your annual tax return.
6. Leisure is the mother of all vices including waste. Stay busy with activities that don’t involve spending out of boredom.
7. Don’t eat your money. When you go to the supermarket, take a list of what you need and buy only what is written, giving yourself a trick or two. Be careful with the pre-built lists in the apps, you don’t always require everything that is there. Be careful with the big promotions, they are hooks for you to buy other items at a regular or perhaps higher price. Get in the habit of using coupons or discount tokens for the products you normally buy.
8. Your pantry is not a bank. Don’t save your money there, do you really need 10 cans of tuna and three cans of detergent? Hoarding often results in waste. Say no to panic shopping.
9. If you smoke, stop smoking even if it’s vape. Cigars or vape items decrease not only your health, but also your money.
10. Live safe. Unexpected expenses can derail the most careful plan of action. Have the proper insurance.
11. Cut down on your coffee. That frappe a week is about four thousand pesos a year. Do not leave them, reduce their consumption by half.
12. Check that the clothes you send to the dry cleaner are really what they need, if not, look for an alternative to wash at home.
13. Vacation out of peak seasons. Not only will you find the best prices, you will save yourself the crowds in tourist centers and you will have the joy of enjoying what your city is without traffic.
14. Look for other recreation options. There are beautiful places to have a picnic where you can spend the day at a much lower price than in a restaurant.
15. Divine treasure youth , you leave never to return. If you are of age, take out your INAPAM credential and use it to get discounts.
16. Do you really need all the streaming services you have? Do you use all the apps you ever downloaded? Review and cancel the costs that they are making you monthly.
17. Are you going to have a child? Take advantage of prepaid plans that offer attractive discounts at some hospitals and gynecologists. And most likely that baby will need orthodontics, some dentists also offer similar plans.
18. Save by preventing small fixes to blemishes in your home, person, or car before they become major expenses.
19. Reuse , go green for the ecology and for your money.
20. Become industrious or industrious. Learn to change light bulbs, unclog pipes and more everyday problems, to reduce emergency calls to plumbers, electricians, among others. YouTube has some wonderful sources of information.
21. Review and compare your cell phone and Wi-Fi plan at home so you have the right one.
22. Give her affection, don’t buy it. A card with a personal message, a homemade gift or a detail designed especially for someone, are much more valuable gifts.
23. Credit cards are a double-edged sword . You don’t need seven different credit cards, two are more than enough, try to use cash most of the time or one debit card. Pay the full balance of your card every month, the interest rates charged are very high. Now, if you use them as a means of financing, choose the one with the lowest rate, not the one that offers you the greatest additional benefits such as points, which may sound very attractive but are very expensive at the end of the day.
24. Promotions in deferred payments or months without interest , not only tie you to payments to your credit card, they also distort your vision of what you really owe. So you have to use them very carefully, only for essential expenses. And no, a plasma television is not essential.
25. Review the amount of your direct debit payments every month to avoid errors and leaks.
26. Cook at home. Do a Sunday activity to prepare food for the week. You will eat better, healthier and cheaper.
27. Beware of the words that hook you like “on sale”, “discounts”, “pay 2 and get 3”. Evaluate first if they are things you really need or if they are thrill purchases.
28. Take care of online purchases. Not because they are easy to order does it mean that they are items that you really need.
29. Learn to say no to your friends who sell jewelry, clothing and others, not because you do not want to support them, but buy only what you need, not because of commitment and seek that the quality of the products is adequate.
30. Save on transportation costs. Try to reduce the cats you make through mobile applications.
31. Learn to do beauty services at home like painting your hair, for example. Avoid having someone come to your house or go to the salon to do most of the procedures.
32. Reduce valet parking to the maximum. Opt for a daily parking first, a difference of 30 pesos a day translates into an annual saving of more than 10 thousand pesos.
33. Do not buy any item over 1500 pesos without comparing its price in at least three different places. You will be surprised the differences that can exist.
34. Emphasize saving in water, electricity and gas. Environmental conservation measures such as turning off lights, closing the water tap, bathing in less time, are not good for the world, they are also great for your pocket.
35. Every day check your pocket and deposit all the coins under 5 pesos in your piggy bank. Then once a month he takes that little pig to the slaughterhouse, that is, to the bank. You will be surprised by the carnita that it gives.
36. Avoid the chatter of your children , they are a drain of money that usually end up broken. Rest assured that the best gift for your children is to be with you.
37. Withdraw money from the ATM wisely . There are commissions for use if it is from another bank or even yours.
38. Make your children good brothers , who inherit things like clothes and books from school.
39. Cancel your subscription if you don’t go to the gym.
40. Be smart and avoid a lawsuit. Make sure you don’t make any business or personal dealings without a contract that both parties fully understand.
41. Take advantage of the points and miles they offer you for being a frequent user of a service. But be careful, many times these promotions are to promote more consumption.
42. The flower of abundance and the like. No.
43. Set a budget if you like gambling or gambling and don’t get out of there. In the heat of the moment, you can bet so much that it hurts your savings plan. Games are fun, they are never a channel to earn money and get rich.
44. Do not drink for fashion , get advice to find excellent options at lower prices.
45. Go sleep early. Leave the departures only for the weekends, you will wake up with the peace of mind that both you and your assets are more alert.
46. Make your hobbies a business.
47. Don’t buy fashion, buy quality. Choose classic clothes that you can wear for a long time.
48. Be a good financial teacher. Teach your children how to handle money while they are your financial dependents.
49. Paper talks. Ask for all medical and psychological reports in writing and keep them in a physical or electronic file.
50. Money does not buy love.