How to live on a living wage: minimum wage, strict money tracking, shopping planning, tracking promotions in stores, tips and tricks

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

All people have different abilities and different life circumstances. Yes, each person has their own needs. 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? See below for savings secrets.

Living wage

Officers in our country have very good salaries. They send their children abroad to study, go on vacation several times a year, and have beautiful palaces in picturesque areas of the capital. But while the elite live in grand style, a certain segment of the population is forced to live on a very modest income. Pensioners, disabled people and people without education fall under this category. These persons have to survive on the minimum allowance that the state pays them. From May 1, 2018, the minimum wage is 11,163 rubles. How to live on a living wage, not die of hunger and at least once a monthafford to have fun?

Can you survive

All people have different needs, that's 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 11,163 rubles a month afford it? How to live on a living wage? The experiments were carried out by many compassionate citizens. They created a situation for themselves in which they tried to live on a very limited budget. Some people got it, some didn't. Do you think the difference is in requests? More like luck. Those people who were able to live a month on 11 thousand did not get sick and lived alone. And imagine a situation in which a single mother must support herself and her child for a living wage.

The situation with too little minimum wage was made public, after which the deputy decided to experiment. He lived on the subsistence minimum for only a month, and even then he did not reach the end of the term. He managed only because he knew how to fish and for the last week he had been sitting 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 as compassionate. Therefore, answering the question of how to live on a living wage, we can say that you should save on everything you can. But living in such conditions will be almost impossible. It will be more like survival.

Strict accounting of finances

If you are in a hopeless situation andyou have no options, how to find a way out of the circumstances? How to live on a living wage? Get in the habit of keeping track of your finances. You can download a specialized application to your phone or record all your purchases in a notepad. It doesn't matter which way you choose to control your budget. A person must achieve full awareness of how much money and what he spends. At first, do not deny yourself anything. Go through the month recording your spending. If you can't record purchases, collect receipts. Make a nightly habit of writing everything down in a notebook. Remember that a penny saves a ruble. Write down all expenses, even if you bought a pie somewhere for 15 rubles, do not consider it a trifle. The habit of writing everything down will help you keep track of where your funds go.

Purchasing a travel card

Is it possible to live on a living wage? Yes, many people confirm this. If you become smarter about your expenses, you will definitely succeed. The first thing a person can save a lot on is buying a travel card. Buying daily metro trips or bus tickets, you will spend an average of 1000-2000 rubles more than if you purchased a travel card at the beginning of the month. If you have to ride a lot for work, then buy a travel card for all modes of transport.

Is your office 20 minutes walk from your house? In this case, it is not necessary to buy a ticket. You can walk to work. Do you think itunreal? It may be difficult at first to get up 20 minutes earlier, but knowing that just 20 minutes will save you 2,000 rubles a month will be a good motivation. You also have to walk from work. Yes, there will be cases when public transport is indispensable. But once you get used to walking, you will realize that you can ride much less than you used to.

Plan in advance

Man often buys a lot of useless products in the store. Why? Because when you go to the store hungry, it seems that you will now eat everything you buy. Make it a rule to eat first, and only then go to the store. Is it realistic to live on a living wage? If you learn how 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 a lot. 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 just two packs. Extra products will only eat up your budget and clog the shelves. Don't buy products that catch your eye but aren't on the list. You wanted to buy fish, but decided to buy meat in the store? Do not make such spontaneous decisions. If you came for fish, buy it. You will buy meat when it is on your list.

Savings on stocks anddiscounts and cheap goods

How to live on a living wage in Russia? You need to save on everything you can. You should start with food. Today, many large supermarkets arrange discounts on groceries, and they also do seasonal sales. Before going to the store, check out all the promotions in the nearest shopping centers. You can see the current prices for products on the store's website or in a special application on your 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 the maximum of vitamins from food by eating in season. If it's summer, then buy tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches and cherries more often. And in winter, pay attention to tangerines, persimmons and bananas.

Replace expensive branded goods with cheaper ones. Do not fall for the tricks of marketers who lay out expensive goods at eye level. Cheaper analogues will either be on the lower or upper shelves.

Get discount cards or take them from friends

All large supermarkets have their own customer loy alty system. If you constantly buy products in the same store, get a discount card in it. It will help you buy goods with an additional discount. Feel free to find out how your card works. Some stores give bonuses for a specific category of goods, while other chains give bonuses for all purchases.

You should also buy clothes and shoes with a store bonus card. If you don't have it, ask your friends. Such a card will help you buy, for example, boots for 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. People who know how to save money know that the first category that spends a lot of money is eating out. Buying groceries and cooking them yourself is much more profitable than eating in any, even the most budgetary canteen. Side dishes that cost 30-40 rubles at home will cost you 10-15. And soup is a dish that can be prepared from a minimum set of products, and therefore, the cost of the first course will be very low. If you want to save and replenish your budget, then take the time. Prepare food ahead of time and take it to work with you. So you can significantly save on food.

Search 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 events. Is it possible to live on a living wage and not die of boredom? The way out will be this - look for free entertainment. For example, in almost all major cities, admission to museums is free. You just need to find out which days. Plan your day off so that it falls on a weekday. Then you can be spiritually enriched without spending a dime.

Planning to spend time with friends?Call them to nature. Take tents and go to the forest. Such entertainment will give a lot of impressions, and it will cost quite a budget. You will only have to spend money on food.

Want to have a party? Find events with free entry. To save money, you will have to go to the other end of the city, but there you can visit the club for free.

You can go to the park on your day off or go to a free theater performance. If you spend a little time, you can find fascinating lectures, interesting concerts and musical evenings by emerging artists, for which you will pay with a good review and sincere gratitude.

Visit more often

You can spend time with friends not only in cafes. You can visit. Such an entertainment event does not require any financial investment from you. According to the rules of decency, you should bring something to the owners of the house? Bake a pie. Every good housewife has a simple recipe. Homemade cakes are several times cheaper than store-bought ones.

What living wage will help you live normally? Each person will have their own 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. So make more friends. Friends will help you pass the time and have a delicious dinner absolutely free.

Save on electricity and water

The living wage of the population is not so great. Therefore, wasting money for nothing is a luxury. On what cansave? On changing some of your habits. How much water do you waste? Do you turn off the water when not in use? Not? But the counter winds. Are you washing the dishes, and then someone distracted you from this process, and you are already standing and talking? Don't forget to turn off the water and continue the conversation.

The same can be said about electricity. How much electricity do you use? For example, do you have a habit of turning off your computer when you are not using it? In standby mode or in music playback mode, the computer consumes a lot of energy, which you have to pay for. To avoid stupid spending, turn off the 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 he alth, 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 it turns out 3000 rubles, which you can definitely find a use for.

Think about your addiction to alcohol. How often do you drink? Every day? If so, it's no wonder you don't have enough money to live on. 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 he alth, get rid of addiction, and besides, save your budget.