All people have different abilities and different life circumstances. And the needs of each person are different. Some people are used to living in a big way, while others have to save literally every penny. How to live on a living wage? Look for the secrets of saving below.
Living wage
Officials in our country have very good salaries. They send their children to study abroad, go on vacation several times a year and have beautiful palaces in the picturesque areas of the capital. But while the elite live on a grand scale, a certain stratum of the population is forced to live on a very modest income. Pensioners, people with disabilities and people without education fall into this category. These people have to survive on the minimum allowance that the state pays them. Since May 1, 2018, the minimum wage is 11163 rubles. How to live on a living wage, not die of hunger and at least once a month allow yourself to have fun?
Is it possible to survive
All people have different requests, this is understandable. But all people want to eat every day and walk, if not in fashionable clothes, then at least in clean and seasonally selected clothes. Can people who receive 11163 rubles per month afford it? How to live on a living wage? The experiments were conducted by many compassionate citizens. They created a situation in which they tried to live on a very limited budget. Someone did it, someone doesn’t. Think difference in requests? Rather in luck. Those people who were able to live a month for 11 thousand were not sick and lived alone. And imagine a situation in which a single mother should support herself and the child for a living wage.
The situation with too small a minimum wage was made public, after which the deputy decided on the experiment. He lived for a living wage for only a month, and then he did not reach the end of his term. He managed only because he knew how to fish and for the last week he sat exclusively on a fish diet. After such an experiment, the deputy decided to raise the minimum wage, but his comrades did not turn out to be just as compassionate. Therefore, answering the question of how to live on a living wage, we can say that we should save on everything we can. But living in such conditions will be almost impossible. It will be more like survival.
Strict finance accounting
If you find yourself in a hopeless situation, and you have no options, how to find a way out of the circumstances? How to live on a living wage? You should make a habit of keeping a record of your finances. You can download a specialized application to your phone or record all your purchases in a notebook. It doesn't matter which way you control your budget. A person must achieve full awareness of how much money and what he spends. At first, do not deny yourself anything. Live a month, fixing your spending. If you are unable to record purchases, collect checks. Make yourself an evening habit to put everything in a notebook. Remember that the penny saves the ruble. Record all expenses, even if you bought a pie somewhere for 15 rubles, do not consider this a trifle. The habit of recording everything in a row will help you track where your funds go.
Buying a travel card
Is it realistic to live on a living wage? Yes, many people confirm this. If you become wiser to approach your expenses, you will surely succeed. The first thing that a person can greatly save on is buying a ticket. Buying daily trips by metro or tickets on the bus, you will spend an average of 1000-2000 rubles more than if you purchased a ticket at the beginning of the month. If you have to ride a lot at work, then buy a pass for all types of transport.
Is the office you work in a 20-minute walk from your home? In this case, buying a ticket is optional. You can go to work on foot. Do you think this is unrealistic? Maybe at first it will be difficult for you to get up 20 minutes earlier, but the realization that only 20 minutes will help you save 2,000 rubles a month will be a good motivation. From work, you also need to walk. Yes, there will be cases when public transport is indispensable. But getting used to walking, you will realize that you can ride much less than you did before.
Plan your purchases in advance
A person often buys a lot of useless products in a store. Why? Because when you go to the store hungry, it seems that you now eat everything you buy. Make it a rule to eat first, and then go to the store. Is it realistic to live on a living wage? If you learn to write shopping lists, then it will be easier for you to save your budget. The human diet does not change much from season to season. Therefore, if you go to the store often and cook for yourself, then you know your main consumer basket. If you do not deviate from it, then you can save well. For example, you know that you eat rice more often than pasta, then take 2 packs of rice and one pasta. It makes no sense to take only two packs. Excess products will only eat your budget and clog the shelves. Do not buy products that catch your eye, but which are not on the list. You wanted to buy fish, but in the store decided to buy meat? Do not make such spontaneous decisions. If you came for fish, buy it. You will buy meat when it is listed on your list.
Savings on promotions and discounts and cheap goods
How to live on a living wage in Russia? You need to save on everything you can. Start with a meal. Today, many large supermarkets arrange discounts on products, and they also make seasonal sales. Before going to the store, familiarize yourself with all the promotions in the nearest shopping centers. You can see the current prices of products on the store website or in a special application on the phone. By comparing prices, you will know where and what to buy. In this way, you can save not only on food, but also on household chemicals.
You can save on food and at the same time get maximum vitamins from food by eating seasonally. If it is summer, then more often buy tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches and cherries. And in winter, pay attention to tangerines, persimmons and bananas.
Replace expensive branded products with cheaper ones. Do not fall for the tricks of marketers who lay out expensive products at eye level. Cheaper analogues will lie either on the lower or on the upper shelves.
Get discount cards or get them from friends
Any major supermarket has its own customer loyalty system. If you constantly buy products in the same store, get a discount card in it. She will help you buy goods at an additional discount. Take the time to find out how your card works. In some stores, bonuses are awarded for a certain category of goods, while in other networks bonuses are awarded for all purchases.
You should also buy clothes and shoes with a bonus store card. If you don’t have one, ask your friends. Such a card will help you buy, for example, shoes at 20, or even 50% cheaper.
Cook your own food
Is it possible to live on a living wage? This question is asked by people who are used to living in a big way. Persons who know how to save know that the first category, which takes a lot of money, is eating out. Buying products and cooking them yourself is much more profitable than in any, even the most budgetary dining room. Side dishes that cost 30-40 rubles at home will cost you 10-15. And the soup is that dish that can be prepared from a minimum set of products, and therefore the cost of the first dish will be very low. If you want to save and replenish your budget, then do not spare time. Prepare food in advance and take it with you to work. So you can significantly save on food.
Look for free entertainment
A person cannot stay at home all the time; he needs to have fun. But sometimes there is no money left for entertainment. Is it possible to live on a living wage and not die of boredom? The solution will be this - look for free entertainment. For example, in almost all major cities, admission to museums is free. You only need to find out what days. Plan your day off so that it falls on a weekday. Then you can get rich spiritually without spending a dime.
Planning to spend time with friends? Call them to nature. Take the tents and ride into the forest. Such entertainment will give a lot of impressions, and it will cost quite a budget. Have to spend only on food.
Want to spend time at a party? Find events with free admission. To save money, you have to go to the other end of the city, but there you can visit the club for free.
You can go on your day off to walk in the park or go for a free theater performance. If you spend a little time, you can find fascinating lectures, interesting concerts and music evenings for beginning creators, for which you will pay with good feedback and sincere gratitude.
Visit more often
You can spend time with friends not only in the cafe. You can go to visit. Such an entertainment event will not require you to make any cash investments. According to the rules of decency should you bring something to the owners of the house? Bake the cake. Every good housewife has a simple recipe. Homemade cakes are many times cheaper than the store.
What cost of living will help you live a normal life? Each person will have this amount. But if you visit more often, you won’t have to worry about your budget. Good-natured friends will not only feed you, but also entertain you. Therefore, make more acquaintances. Friends will help you pass the time and have a delicious dinner absolutely free.
Save on electricity and water
The subsistence minimum of the population is not so great. Therefore, squandering money in vain is a luxury. How can I save? On changing some of their habits. How much water do you spend? Do you close the water when you are not using it? Not? But the counter shakes. You wash the dishes, and then someone distracted you from this process, and you are already standing and talking? Remember to turn off the water and continue the conversation.
The same can be said about electricity. How much do you spend electricity? For example, do you have the habit of turning off the computer when you are not using it? In standby mode or in music playback mode, the computer consumes a lot of energy, which you will have to pay for. To avoid stupid waste, turn off equipment that you do not use.
Get rid of bad habits
A person does not always realize that he is throwing money away. Smokers do not understand that their bad habit takes away not only their health, but also their money. A person who smokes half a pack of cigarettes a day can save from 60 to 100 rubles. Does the amount seem insignificant to you? But a month you get 3,000 rubles, which you can definitely find a use for.
Think about your addiction to alcohol. How often do you drink? Everyday? If so, then it is not surprising that you do not have enough money for a living. A bottle of beer on average costs 40-100 rubles, and wine - 400-800 rubles. By denying yourself the habit of drinking alcohol, you will improve your health, get rid of addiction, and save your budget.