We’re living in some hard times. The pandemic has caused another recession, and many people are looking at getting thrown out of their houses or apartments. Some individuals have lost jobs, while others are not getting as many hours.
Now is the time that many people want to try to save as much money as possible. They’re looking for ways to hold onto what they have while trying to accumulate more at the same time.
Let’s look at ways you can save money and also get more. You might not be able to do everything on this list, but even if you can only implement a couple of these options, you’ll find yourself in better shape.
Get as Much Money as Possible for Your Car Accident Claim
Many people get into car accidents every day. When it happens, it’s unfortunate, but you’ll need to quickly figure out the next steps to take. If what happened was another driver’s fault, you will be in a much better position.
You need to try and get as much compensation for what happened as you can. You might have medical bills, and you’ll lose wages if you can’t work. You’ll also need to consider any pain and suffering through which you’ve gone.
Remember that the insurance companies will try to give you as little money as possible to settle your claim. They are for-profit businesses. The more money they can keep for themselves, and the longer they can invest it, the more cash they can make for the company heads.
For example, Nationwide does $49.3 billion in annual sales. That’s a staggering amount, and they want you to get as little of it as possible, even if they’re covering the other driver who hit you, and it was clearly their fault.
Hire a lawyer if you feel like the other driver’s insurance company is trying to lowball you. You might have to put most of the money you’ll collect toward medical bills and similar expenses, but you might end up with some left over, and that can help get you through hard times.
Put Off Getting a New Car or Other New Things
You might have an older car. Maybe it has a couple of hundred thousand miles on it. If it still runs, though, now is probably the time you need to keep it for as long as possible.
If you finally get to a point where it will cost more to fix the car than to replace it, that’s when you should get a trade-in. However, you shouldn’t get a brand-new vehicle. It might have some impressive tech and exciting features, but it will depreciate as soon you sign any paperwork and drive it off the lot.
It’s better to get a used or certified pre-owned vehicle. That can definitely save you a lot of money.
If you’re hard-up for cash, you should also wait to purchase other new things. Maybe you want a new wardrobe because you’ve had the same clothes for a while.
These are things you want, though, and not things you need. You’ll have to put off getting replacement clothing and similar items until you’re in a better financial situation.
Shop at Goodwill or Secondhand Stores
You can also save money, even if you feel like you absolutely need new clothing items. Perhaps you have a job interview, and you don’t have anything appropriate to wear.
Rather than shopping online or at a brick-and-mortar store to purchase brand-new clothing, you can get much better prices at Goodwill or other secondhand clothing stores. You can often find items that are in great shape, and they will cost a fraction of what you would likely pay if you bought the clothes brand-new.
Buy Food in Bulk
You can save money if you get a Sam’s Club or a Costco membership and stock up on bulk food items. You can get mileage out of bulk Ramen, pasta, beans, cereal, and similar items.
It might get monotonous eating some of the same meals again and again, but it’s cost-effective. You can also save money by eating out and ordering in less. Restaurant meals are tasty, but they cost way more than if you bought and prepared the food yourself.
One more thing you can do on the food-shopping front is to purchase off-brand food items. You can save money buying generic cereal versus Kellogg’s, and you can often do the same thing with many other items on your list.
Invest What Money You Have Wisely
You might not have any money to invest at all, but even investing a little is better than none. You can look at the options that are available to you.
You should avoid the stock market. You can make money quickly that way, but you can also lose it just as fast. Maybe you have an uncle who has a hot tip, but there are safer things to do with your savings.
You can get a high-yield savings account. That will bring back more money every month than a checking account, which will yield almost nothing.
You can also look into CDs or mutual funds. Mutual funds are one of the safer investment options, though you normally need a minimum investment amount. CDs can also yield a great return rate if you have enough money to afford one and enough time to let it mature.
Playing the lottery is one thing that you should never do or that you should stop doing. You might dream about hitting it big, but the odds are not at all in your favor. There’s a reason why some people call it a poor tax. It’s because mostly desperate, impoverished people play it.
While you can save or gain some money by doing all of these things, the best thing you can do is find a high-paying job. If you don’t have one, keep looking, and try not to let anything discourage you.
