I think the best habit of saving money would be to keep a track of it. Observe your saving trends for a few months and then keep that as your target. Remember that your target shouldn’t become a nuisance to your family and yourself. People need clothes, food, education and other stuff to live so don’t start saving money by investing on these necessities less. Just re-orient your spending. Click here to read more.

Start saving money early

Don’t wait for the next month, or the next year. Start saving now, even if it a tiny amount. The earlier you start, the more money you’ll have in your later years. This is because when you save money, especially in a bank account that pays you compound interest, your saved money too begins to earn compound interest. Even small portions can eventually end up earning big interest if you start saving money today.

Spend wisely

Are there some expenses you are needlessly incurring? See if you can stop them. Once you sit down and start making a list of easily avoidable expenses you’ll be so surprised. These expenses may be so insignificant that you don’t even notice them but when they add up, year after year, they will turn out to be big money. Here are a few examples of avoidable expenses:

• Letting some electric appliances running even when they are not needed.
• Keeping the TV on even when you are browsing a newspaper or a magazine and there is no one in the room beside you.
• Taking big servings of food and then leaving much of it on the plate.
• Buying new clothes when you don’t need them.
• Purchasing or upgrading gadgets even when there is no need.
• Buying food and throwing it, uneaten.
• Buying expensive things when cheaper, and sometimes even better alternatives are available.
• Eating out too often.
• Smoking and consuming alcohol.

You can add many more items to the list.

Automate your savings

There are some schemes and saving plans that automatically deduct some amount from your pay and save it. Some of such schemes can even get you tax benefits. Since you get your paycheck after your saving amount has been deducted, you don’t have to worry extra about saving your money and you can prepare your monthly budget accordingly.

Build a healthy, disciplined lifestyle

Lots of expenses, especially medical expenses happen because we don’t take good care of our lives. If you live a healthy lifestyle — eat healthy, drink lots of water, sleep on time and enough, stay away from addictions and substance abuse — you can save lots of money that you other way spend on doctors and hospitals. Consume less junk food and more healthy food. Junk food costs a lot and doesn’t give any nourishment. On the other hand, vegetables and fruits don’t cost that much and they are full of nourishments.

Invest wisely

Invest your money instead of simply stashing it up somewhere. This is because the value of money, as years progress, diminishes due to inflation and other economic factors. Invest in reliably and time tested mutual funds if the stock market seems too risky. There are many insurance plans available that, upon maturity, return you good money. This way you have money according to the current value, not according to what it was 20 years ago.

You can implement these methods of saving money today.

To be able to bargain better is really an art and I think I’ve never been able to master this art. To some people bargaining comes naturally and some bargain just to show off or just because they cannot purchase anything before bargaining. But you can only bargain where there is scope for bargaining. For instance I have never seen people bargaining in an expensive restaurant or a boutique or an electronics shop because the prices are clearly mentioned in the menus or on the tags.

You can bargain where the price is not clearly defined. Take for example buying vegetables in a farmers’ market instead of a general store. Or you can bargain for a better deal while buying a computer and get the hardware and software choice of your preference. You can also bargain when you are buying something second hand. And you should definitely bargain if you are renting a room or an important because even a slight change, due to the recurring nature of the cost, will make a big difference. Read this post that tells you 10 negotiable ways to a fatter wallet.