Rounding it up
Want to save money the old-school way? Start by budgeting and sticking to it.
It also helps to be prudent about how and where you spend your money, like looking for the best deals or taking advantage of cash back programs.
Look for simple, little ways to save because over time, they’ll add up.
Finally, make the most of what you have, whether it’s choosing leftovers over takeout or making gifts rather than buying them.
When it comes to saving money, a lot of us look towards fancy new techniques and investment strategies.
But what if we saved and spent our money like our grandparents did? Without the smartphones, laptops, and the internet, people had to be resourceful if they wanted to stay on top of their budget.
Even though our modern world is full of high tech apps and tools that are designed to help us make the most of our paycheque, there’s still a lot we can learn from how our grandparents used to make ends meet.
Up next, we’ll walk you through four great ways that you can integrate old-school money saving techniques with the awesome features of your KOHO account to become an expert in budgeting in no time flat.
1. It’s all about the budget
Most of us don’t have piles of cash sitting around, so we have a limited amount of money to spend each month. The same was true for our grandparents.
To get by, our grandparents knew how to budget so that their expenses weren’t larger than their income. While what we spend money on has certainly changed over the years since our grandparents’ heyday, the basic principles of budgeting haven’t.
Any good savings plan begins with a well thought out budget. If you need a place to start, check out our ultimate budget template.
Once you have a budget template in hand, however, your job isn’t over. Sticking to a budget is an art form and it takes hard work, dedication, and persistence.
One of the best ways to stay on top of your budget is to make the most of the Insights you get from the KOHO App. With your KOHO account, you get real-time information about how you spend your money, which gives you instant feedback about how well you’re adhering to your budget.
You can also create savings goals within the app to help you stash some of your hard-earned money away for a house, a car, or so you can quit your day job and follow your dreams.
2. Be prudent about where and how you spend your money
Our grandparents knew how and where to spend their money in order to stretch out their resources as much as possible.
What does this mean when it comes to your spending habits?
Well, it means that you, too, should be prudent about where and how you spend your money. This involves simple things, like buying in bulk and taking the time to look for the best deal on something before you swipe your credit card.
By being careful with where you spend your money while using your KOHO prepaid Mastercard®, you can save money and make some extra cash in the process.
With your KOHO account, you automatically earn cash back on the must-haves. However, you can earn even more instant cash back with our brand partners if you do some research and shop at select retailers.
When you do your shopping and dining with our partners, you get your regular cash back percentage, plus some extra to sweeten the deal. Your grandparents would be proud of that thrifty spending.
"Most of us don’t have piles of cash sitting around, so we have a limited amount of money to spend each month."
3. Look for simple ways to save
Whether you want to pay off your debt or you’re looking to retire early, finding simple ways to save can make a big difference to your bottom line.
To be clear, we’re not necessarily talking about taking on a second job or a side-hustle, though that can certainly help if you're living paycheque to paycheque. Instead, we can get back to basics and look for easy things that we can do in our day to day lives to reduce the amount we spend.
Think about it: When was the last time you clipped coupons before going grocery shopping? In the modern era, apps such as Flipp can save you time when searching for the best deals. How about gathering up all your old change in coin rolls for some extra spending money? What about buying grocery items in bulk? And when online shopping — not exactly something that happened back in your grandparents’ young adult days, but the same principle applies — do you take advantage of all available deals and discounts?
To cut down on your expenses, get back to basics with these simple saving methods. It might not seem like much, but over time, the little things add up.
For extra savings every time you spend money, you can even opt for KOHO Extra. That way, you can earn even more cash back on purchases in transportation, groceries, and eating out.
4. Make the most of what you have
If you already have a budget and you’re thrifty as can be, you might be wondering what else you can do to save money. Back in the day, people didn’t have much, but they made the most with what they already had.
For us, that means doing things like eating leftovers instead of going out for the 12th day in a row and even making gifts instead of buying them (everyone loves homemade presents, anyway!).
Making the most of what you have extends into your financial life, too. Even if you’re not quite Warren Buffet (yet), you can still invest your savings in high-yield savings and retirement accounts like TFSAs and RRSPs.
Alternatively, if you’ve just gotten out of debt and you’re looking to get your savings up and running, making the most of KOHO’s RoundUps feature can help you turn saving into a habit.
Our grandparents lived in a very different world, and we have more tools than ever to track and enable savings. But there are some methods for saving money that are simply too tried, true, and straightforward to ignore. When combined with modern tech, these tips can feel like budgeting superpowers, harnessed for the good of your savings and beyond.