How To Save Money With 15000 Salary? - Invested (2024)

Saving money can save us from many brutal situations. When a person starts doing a job, it is unlikely to get a high salary. Most of the freshers get around 15,000 bucks per month and have to live with that. With only INR 15,000 in hand, the person has to pay his/her rent, bills, food, and much more.Moreover, here we will talk about how you can save money with 15000 salary. Though it might seem difficult at first and you would think of it as impossible, it will work. You can save money even with 15,000 bucks as your monthly salary.

In this case, how can a person save money on food? Will it be easy to save money with such a low income? Yes, it will be difficult to save money with a low income. But, who said that saving money is easy? Even if a person is earning more, he/she finds it difficult to save money, as they feel the urge to spend it more.

Effective Ways To Save Money With 15,000 Salary Or Income

You can save money despite the income that you earn. Even if your income is less than 15,000 bucks, you can still start saving money. Yes, it does sound a bit superficial, but it can happen. All you have to do is follow the steps below. These are some of the most common steps that people use to save money. They are highly effective and will further show you the path towards saving money.

Once you get started, you can devise your own methods of saving money. Here are some simple steps which will help you to start this journey.

1. Early To Rise

“Early to bed, early to rise; makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”- this proverb holds.

No, we are not saying that you need to sleep early and wake up early to save money. Instead, we are saying that it is better to start saving money from an early stage. By doing so, you would be able to have savings to support you in times of need.

Once you start doing a job, try to start saving money at least 3 months after the joining date. It takes around 3 months for a fresher to settle down in the new city and manage expenses. You can even start when you get your first pay-check, but let’s keep the 3 months threshold period.

In these 3 months, try to find out how much money you need to live in the new city. After settling down and shifting to a more normal life, start saving money. It is better to start saving money early rather than starting late.

Sometimes, it takes a drastic turn for some people to start saving money. Do not wait until some major thing to happen in your life, telling you to save money.

If you do not know anything about investment or savings plans, then start your research. When should you start research? From the beginning of your work career. Start researching and gather as much knowledge as you can about the savings plan. By doing so, you would get to know the best saving plan for yourself.

Meanwhile, you can start saving money in your home. Keep a small piggy bank and stash some coins or notes whenever you can. If you got a job at the age of 25, it is better to start saving from that moment rather than waiting for 5 or 10 years.

Most of the freshers believe in spending money rather than saving it. There is a misconception that once a person gets a job, then he/she should spend money for at least 3 to 4 years. After spending money for 3-4 years, the person should think about saving money. Besides that, most of the people even wait till marriage to start saving money.

All these concepts are wrong. If you spend your money in the first 4 to 5 years, it will become difficult for you to achieve your savings goals. Everyone should save money. Moreover, you can save money while you are enjoying your bachelor’s life. It is better to start early rather than regretting it later.

2. Pay Yourself Every Month

This might sound bizarre, but do try paying yourself every month. Separate a small part from the salary as your personal payment and keep it in your savings account.

Like your company pays you every month, make sure that you pay yourself too. What should you pay yourself for? Pay yourself for working hard, for being consistent, and many more. You can pay yourself 10% of your salary and keep it in your savings account.

Make some goals for yourself and save money for that. Whenever you are paying yourself, you will use this money for your financial goals. It is good to start with some short-term goals. It is easy to achieve short-term goals as they take hardly a year to achieve. What can be a short-term goal? You can include a new watch that you want to buy a new suit, phone or any such thing you need a year to save money.

Once you start saving money for short-term goals, you will find it easier to walk on this path. After achieving those goals, you will get a rough idea of how you should save money. After some years, start creating long-term goals, like buying a house, and start saving up for that.

The concept of paying yourself is basically saving money for achieving short-term goals. It’s like you are saving money and then rewarding yourself for doing so. Make sure to start with some basic short-term goals. It will keep you motivated and will help you to know the fundamentals of saving money.

3. Give Your Savings A Hike

The salary of a person continuously rises with time. There is no such thing as a “constant salary.” Even if your present salary is INR 15,000, you will get an appraisal. Getting a hike in your salary does not mean that you should spend it all.

Whenever you get a hike in your salary, give your savings a hike too. If your first appraisal is 10%, then make sure that you make a hike of at least 2% in your savings. It will help you in maintaining the flow of saving money. An appraisal will also change your budget by a certain percentage. Make sure that the appraisal even increases your savings amount. If you do not increase the amount of savings, then it will affect you in the future. You will not have enough savings for emergencies if you do not increase the savings amount.

Another thing to keep in mind, increase the amount only when you get your appraisal. If you try increasing the amount before getting an appraisal, it will ruin your budget balance.

4. Create A Spending & Saving List

If you want to save money, you need to sort out your priorities. One of the best methods to do so is by creating a spending list and a saving list.

Now, to create these 2 lists, you first need to get a pen and paper. Write down all the essential things on which you need to spend money. It can include rent, bills, food, and everything for which you want to spend money.

In another paper, write down the things for which you want to save money. Here, the list can include a new phone, a watch, a vacation, a new home, a car, and any such thing. Basically, this list will contain things you currently do not have money for after preparing the lists to go through them one by one.

In the spending list, mark out the essential things. After doing that, strike off the things which are not so important. For example, you cannot strike off your home rent, but you can strike off clubbing from the list. Know which things are “needs” and which are “wants,” and sort out your spending list accordingly.

Now, come to the savings list. Here, sort out the items on the amount of time you need to achieve them. For the items for which you need a year’s savings, give them the priority. For example, you have listed “buying a new watch” and “buying a new home” in your savings list. You cannot save enough money to buy a new home in one year. But you can save enough money to buy a new watch in a year. So, rank the watch in the first place. Likewise, sort out the savings list.

Once you are done with the list, start budgeting. State out the amount that you need to save for a year to achieve your goals. After knowing the amount, divide it by 12, and you will know the exact amount you need to save every month. Keep this amount fixed. Now, move to the spending list and state the amount for every essential thing. Calculate and write down the total amount.

If you see that the total amount is above your salary, start cutting down items from the spending list. Do not touch the savings list for cutting down expenses. Go through the spending list and then make changes.

The best thing about making these lists is that you can always update the list. It is better to update the list, but do not make it messy. Keep your points clear. Once you start achieving the items from the savings list, strike it off from the list. You must follow your lists and do not spend any extra amount.

5. Practice Simple Saving Habits

It is better to start with simple saving habits rather than messing up in a pool of schemes. There are tons of schemes floating in the market. You will feel yourself getting the urge to invest your money in there. But, do not invest your money until you know about the schemes.

It may take time to know about the various savings options. But meanwhile, you can practice some simple savings habits. Here are some simple saving habits which you can try while searching for the perfect savings scheme.

• Keep a small piggy bank in your home and use it. Whenever you get any coins as change, try to keep it in the piggy bank. By doing so, you are making yourself save money. This method is highly used by parents who want to teach their kids the need to save money. Once you start saving a penny or two, you are saving for your short-term goals.

• Try using the library instead of buying books. Libraries are the greatest source of knowledge that you can get for free. Go to your nearby library and use it. You can use the library to get books for various exams instead of spending money on buying. It would help you to save money on books and gather knowledge too.

These are just a few instances that you can try. Before you start spending money, think of various alternatives. If there are ways in which you do not have to spend much money, go for that option. Like, instead of using your vehicle, take a bus or metro to your office. By doing this, you will be saving money on fuel. While searching for the perfect savings scheme, make sure that you do not spend much money. Every penny matters and you need to minimize your expenses until you find the best saving option.

6. Vocal For Local

In the past few days, the chant “vocal for local” has taken a huge rise in the market. If you are planning to save money, always try to shop from local stores. Instead of going to shopping marts and malls, try going local.

There are local stores that provide high-quality items at a reasonable price. Whether it is groceries, fruits, dresses, or any other thing, try checking out the local stores. If you want to buy a new shirt, try avoiding the mall and check your nearby store. Various local shopping stores can provide you with high-quality dresses at a reasonable price.

Once you go local, you would definitely not want to go back to mall shopping. There are market stores and buildings in every city which adhere to the needs of the customers. Whether you need a new table, a chair, a laundry bag, or any such thing, your nearby local store makes sure you get it.

Besides that, the local stores even provide nice discounts to the customers. If you know how to bargain, then you can get the item at half of its price.

Another benefit you will get for local vegetable shopping is that you get fresh veggies. Most of the malls provide frozen vegetables at an incredibly high price. It is better to go to the weekly vegetable market in your city. These weekly markets provide fresh vegetables and that too at a reasonable price. Why not have fresh veggies instead of spending a fortune on frozen vegetables? It will not only be friendly to your pocket but will keep you healthy too. Locate your weekly market and visit it for your shopping.

7. Use Virtual Money

No, virtual money does not mean money in your account. Here virtual money means coupons and discount offers. Whenever you make any transaction from a payment app, you get a coupon or cashback. This coupon is your virtual money, and you can use it in your online shopping sprees.

Now, how can you get this virtual money? Most of the payment apps provide their customers with such virtual money when they use their services. While you are making any online payment, make sure to use the payment app to give you coupons and huge discounts.

Moreover, various coupon apps can help you in getting various coupons. How to use these apps? Whenever you want to buy something online, check the coupon apps for the links. Whenever you use the links in the app for your online shopping, you get coupons.

Whether you are booking a cab, booking tickets for a movie, or travel, check out the coupon apps first. It is better to compare and know the various coupons and discounts that you can get. Instead of using the official app, you can use these apps for booking. They are completely secure, and online shopping and booking apps do a tie-up with these apps. You do not need to bother about any problems as these apps are completely safe.

8. Switching For Saving

We unknowingly spend tons of money on telephone and utility bills. It is time to switch to save money. If your telephone services are not providing any reasonable plans, it is better to switch to another service provider.

Before you recharge your phone, make sure to check for budget saving plans. Most of the service providers do have budget-friendly plans, which will give you all your basic needs at a reasonable price. It is better to opt for such plans instead of spending money on expensive plans. If your service provider does not have such plans, then look for another service provider.

Compare before you switch to another service provider. Look for the prices and the type of service you will get, and then switch to the service provider. If you use post-paid services, then change it to pre-paid service. Pre-paid services are a lot cheaper as compared to post-paid services. Besides that, pre-paid services even provide better features and offer at a reasonable price.

If you want to save money on electricity bills, you need to switch to LED or CFL bulbs. CFL bulbs are energy-efficient and will help you in saving money. Once you start using these bulbs, you will see a huge difference in your electricity bills. A single CFL bulb can save INR 50, so you can imagine the amount that the CFL bulbs can save if you are using around 5 to 7 bulbs in your house.

9. Saving For Occasions

It is common to spend money on gifts. Whether it is your friend’s birthday or gifts for the family, we have to spend money on gifts. Companies provide a bonus amount to the employees during the time of festivals. Most of the money is spent on buying gifts for friends and family for the festival.

We spend money without thinking of saving it. It is a festival and who would think of spending money. We can spend money on festivals, right? Yes, we can. But we do not realize the mistake that we make while spending the money.

You can save money on buying gifts for family and friends. How can you do that? Try to save money for the festivals beforehand. We do know the exact dates for every festival and birthdays. So, start saving a small portion of money for the gifts. When you receive your bonus, you won’t find yourself spending it all on the gifts. Use a small part of the bonus amount, add up your savings, and then you can buy gifts. Save the remaining bonus amount in your savings account.

Try doing this, and you would be able to save money even during the holidays. Most of us waste money on festivals and later regret it. It is time to become smart and start saving a bit earlier for the festivals.

10. Create An Emergency Fund

Life is uncertain, and we do not know when we would face an emergency. There is a famous saying, “It is better to a warrior in a garden than being a gardener in a war.” It is always better to remain prepared for any kind of emergencies. Rather than being ignorant, you should start preparing yourself for the worst.

Even if you have your savings account and contribute to it every month, it is better to have an emergency fund. We save money for fulfilling our goals, and though it will help us in times of emergencies, it might not be enough. Once we start achieving our short-term goals, our saving amount decreases.

Create your own emergency account and contribute at least 5% of your salary towards it. Make sure that you do not touch the emergency fund unless it is an emergency. Let’s say you want to have a pet, but the cost of maintaining the pet is too high. You do have savings, but it is not enough. You look in your emergency fund and find that there is money to help you in this matter. Should you use the emergency money in this matter? Not at all. If you want to have a pet, then you need to save money for that. You can buy the pet after saving for another 2 months but do not touch your emergency fund.

As the name states, this fund is only for emergencies. Let’s look into another case. Your company is changing the location of the office to another city suddenly. Now, you have to shift to another city for the sake of your job. Here, you can use your emergency funds for shifting purposes. This, we can say, is an emergency. Likewise, you can use your emergency fund for medical needs, for some major house repairs, and any such thing. An emergency fund is for any unexpected situations for which you had not prepared beforehand in simple language.

11. Invest In Right Places

One of the biggest problems we face while saving money is not knowing the investment options closely. There are various schemes that can give you better interest rates than your current plan. There are various types of savings accounts that you can look for yourself.

Here, the saving schemes are divided based on the type of goals. If you want to save for your short-term goals, then it is better to use schemes like recurring deposits or other postal services. You can even invest in liquid funds for your near-term goals.

But, for long-term goals, you need a different savings plan. In this case, you can use PPF or NPS schemes. If your company is under EPFO, then you must have an EPF account. If you have this account, then you need not worry about achieving your long-term goals. If not, then you can always opt for PPF schemes. PPF is a government initiative, and it is completely safe. You can invest your money in this scheme and get benefits from it.

Moreover, there are various other investment plans, too, like term life investments and mutual funds. Everyone is investing in these schemes, but it is better to know about them before you invest your money in it. Gather knowledge about mutual funds before investing in it. Mutual funds are risky, and therefore it is better to know about the schemes before investing money. The same goes for life insurance and term life insurance too.

12. Buy A Health Insurance

I know you must be thinking that I said to learn about the investments and then invest in it in the above point. But, here I am telling you to buy health insurance. Why? Here is the reason. If your company is giving you medical facilities, then you are saved from paying expensive medical bills. But what if your company does not have any medical facilities for you? In this case, most of your money will go into medical bills.

So, it is better to buy health insurance, which will take care of your medical expenses. You can go through the various insurance policies for medical needs and select the one within your budget. Some apps would help you in comparing different health insurance. Use these apps and know which insurance policy is providing maximum benefits and is within your budget.

Yes, you have to pay the yearly premium fees. It is better to pay this premium charge rather than paying a huge amount of money on bills and medicines. Moreover, health insurance will keep you motivated to save money. After you achieve all your short-term goals and start focusing on your long-term goals, you need a lot of motivation to save money. Having health insurance will continuously keep you motivated to save your money and help you get your long-term goals.

13. Good Credit Score

If you are using a credit card, then make sure that your credit score is good. How to ensure that the credit score is good? Pay your EMIs on time, and make sure that you do not delay your payment. Keep your credit card balance low, and do not close your credit cards with high debts. By following these simple rules, you can maintain your credit score.

A good credit score will help you in getting low-interest rates and other perks from the banks. Moreover, if you have a good credit score, the bank will even allow you to get other loans with low-interest interest credit card companies, and banks have an annual fee that the credit cardholders have to pay. Like in debit cards, the bank cut a small amount for maintaining the card. Similarly, the bank charges some money for credit cards too. But, the charges for credit cards are higher than that of debit cards.

If you have a good credit score, then you can request your bank for an annual fee waiver and save money on it. If you are using a premium credit card, you can save thousands of bucks with an annual fee waiver. The banks cancel the charges only for customers who have a good credit score.

Besides that, you can even use your reward points to cancel the annual fee. With every payment of the credit card, most of the banks give rewards points. Use these reward points and save your money by canceling the annual fee. There are even credit card companies that offer cards with zero annual fee charges. You can look for such cards and then select the best one for you.

14. Below 50% Rule

The “below 50% rule” states that whenever you want to take a loan, then make sure that you contribute at least 50% of the amount.

For example, you want to take a home loan to buy a flat. Before taking a loan, make sure that you have enough money to manage the flat’s down-payment by yourself. By doing this, you will be able to keep your debt below 50%. It will help you to clear off the debt faster and save enough money for your other goals.

This rule is highly effective when you are moving towards your long-term goals. Before you proceed to buy a car or home, make sure that you have at least 50% of the amount in your savings. After having that amount, proceed to take a loan and achieve your goals. By doing so, you are reducing your debt level.

Now, most of you might be thinking, why take a loan if I can save money to achieve my goals? The question is valid. You do not have to take a loan for your short-term goals. Why? Because for short-term goals, you can save money in a year or two and achieve it. But, the same is not in the case of long-term goals. It takes around 10-15 years to achieve long-term goals, hence the name. Though you can save money until then, it might not be enough to achieve the goal.

Let’s take an example. You want to buy a phone which is INR 50,000. Now, for buying this phone, you do not need to get any loan. You can save money from your salary and then get the phone within a year.

In the second case, you want to buy a flat worth of INR 80 lakhs. Now, you started saving money, and after 10 years, you have saved around INR 20-30 lakhs. Will you be able to buy the flat with this much money? No, you cannot. But, you can use this money to clear the down-payment of the flat. For making the full payment of the house, you have to take a loan from the bank. If you have money to make the down-payment of the flat, you only need to take a loan of INR 50 lakhs from the bank. If you have not saved a single penny for the flat, you have to take a loan of the entire 80 lakhs from the bank.

In this case, it is wiser to make the down-payment with your own money because it will reduce your account’s level of debt. Long-term goals take a lot of time to achieve, as a person has to save enough money to at least pay half of the amount. Instead of taking a heavy loan, it is best to save money and have at least 50% debt in the account.

15. Never Stop Paying EMI

This might sound absurd to you, but you should never stop paying your EMIs. Let’s say you are paying a monthly EMI of INR 3000 for your bike or any other thing. It will take around 2-3 years to complete the EMI.

Once the EMI period is over, start saving INR 3000 as an EMI in your account. When you start paying an EMI, your mind automatically counts it as an expense, and you adjust yourself to live on the remaining salary. Once you have completed your payment, make sure that you save that INR 3000 from your salary.

Make a mental note that you are using the INR 3000 as your monthly EMI and saving it in your account. By doing so, you will be able to save more money. Another benefit is that your mind has already adjusted to living with the remaining salary, and even if you save those 3000 bucks, you will be able to live comfortably. So, it is better to save money instead of spending it on useless expenses. Do not change your budget planning after clearing the EMI. Follow the previous budget planning, where you had to pay 3000 bucks for EMI.

16. Investment In Gold

Investment in gold is one of the safest methods to lock your funds. While you are saving money for your retirement or any other long-term goals, you can always invest in safety goals. When you are investing in gold, you are locking your savings and preventing yourself from spending it.

Once you start saving money for your long-term goals, make it a habit to invest in at least 5g grams of gold every year. This way, you are saving your money for future usage. Gold and silver investment is one of the best methods that people use to save money.

It locks your savings, prevents you from spending it, and gives you higher returns. The price of gold and silver keeps on changing from time to time. When the price of gold is at its height, you can sell gold and get a higher return. You can either save this money or use it for fulfilling your long-term goals.

Try saving money for gold investment only when you start saving for long-term goals. It will help you to remain focused on saving money. A person needs continuous motivation to save money. If you have started saving money for long-term goals, then start investing money in gold. It will give you higher returns and will help you to remain motivated.

17. Lock Your Savings

It is better to lock your money when you are starting the journey for long-term goals. When you start saving money for your long-term goals, you start with small amounts every month. Now, after a year, when you see the total amount, you get the urge to spend it. Why? Because you do not have any small-term goals, and the amount is quite huge.

Here, your mind starts playing games, and you find yourself thinking of ways to spend even a bit of the amount. To avoid that, you should lock your money. How can you lock your money? When you start saving money for long-term goals, go for savings plans which can lock your money for several years.

There are several savings plans which can lock your money for 3 to 5 years. Within this period, you won’t be able to use that money for anything. Only after the lock period is over you can use the money. Look for plans which can lock money for a long period of time. Use such plans to save money for your long-term goals.

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