Budgeting for many is such a pain! Are you problematic of your zero savings despite you having a better salary compared to 5 years ago? Do you wonder why you still haven’t managed to tuck a penny? While it is true that prices of commodities may have risen compared to years back, you may be the culprit as to why you still can’t afford to save up.

There’s an interesting law in economics which I took particular interest in High School because it answers my question of how to stretch my stipend. I was introduced to “Engel’s Law” which states that consumer purchases do not remain unchanged when income changes. A rise in income, therefore, corresponds to higher expenditures. Let’s tackle it more concretely. So, maybe you started driving used cars till you were able to afford brand new. Your employment with a better paying job also made you forget about cooking at home and every weekend, you now frequent a fancy restaurant or bar. You are not happy anymore with eating cookies on a Sunday so you stuff your freezer with ice cream and other goodies and go to theatres at least twice a month. Need I say more?

So you say aha! And then you start crushing out most of your grocery list. You notice there’s barely anything left there. You start thinking about what you do for leisure every month and think whether you should limit going to a movie to once. Take walks in the park with your girlfriend every Saturday instead of bumming at a bar drinking beer which is good because cutting your beer intake is healthy to your body and pockets.

Now, let’s do more than that, walk in to your bathroom and see if you could find more than two bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion and shaving cream. Do you consume all or just waste them? How’s your fridge? Do you waste food? If so, that’s not cool. Maybe you have been overspending on food. A friendly tip is to never go to the grocery store more than once a week. Also, get coupons if you can and make sure you strictly follow your list which contains all you need and nothing extra. Going to the grocery with your belly full will also limit things you pick and buy. Watch out for big discounts. Try another brand of cheese or check out that new store in the corner. Maybe you can save more there.

Do you even record your monthly expenses? I suggest you do. It will help you keep track of what you spend on a monthly basis and thus, lets you know if you splurged on something. Knowing what it is can help you control your budget the next time.

Research for alternatives. Replace your bulbs with cost-saving lights. Minimize coffee shops and have coffee or tea at your garden instead. Read books and magazines online or borrow from a library over purchasing these. Develop a cheap but an equally-satisfying hobby. Use cloth kitchen towels and not paper towels! It’s all right to not spend on signature clothes and other items. If you have a good eye, then, you will look equally good.

Save more by availing rebates. Get a rewards card. Refinance your loan and funny enough, someone mentioned by staying married. Divorce can be emotionally and financially costly! Do you also pay yourself first? Make it a habit to do this every pay day. Saving is now being considered a must-do. It’s not save what you can but pay yourself first through your savings. A good percentage as to how much you should put aside for savings would vary depending on your income and expenses. But it should be from 10% to 20%. If you can do more than that, then, go ahead!

You can add to this list and be creative about doing all these saving. Make it fun. Budgeting does not always mean depriving yourself; just checking and making sure you are giving yourself the right ingredients to enjoying your life. It doesn’t have to be expensive. If you try all these today, you don’t need a raise to get richer by next month!

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Miz Helena is an avid writer of lifestyle articles and is co-owner of Abundant World Publications which is part of a vast network of quality and affordable self improvement audios and ebooks