Whether you’re already a money management master or only starting your active budgeting journey, there are some easy tips and tricks to help you save money on a daily basis. Here’s a snapshot of simple truths to remember.

How to start budgeting

At first, it may seem like a bridge too far, but when you break the whole journey down into smaller pieces and take it step-by-step, you’ll become a budgeting master in no time. Here are the first things to do on your journey toward saving money on a daily basis:

• Set budgeting goals. Think about where you’d like to be in 3 to 6 months. What are your financial goals? Start small and move on to the bigger ones.
• Write down your income and expenses. Do you have monthly salary payments coming into your account or are you more of a project-based worker? How regular are the payments in that case?

Take the last 3 to 6 months as an example and write down your income and all of your expenses — even the little ones (… yes, those cups of coffee you get on your way to the office all add up!).

Sure, it may seem like an annoying task at first, but you’ll get a good overview of where your money is going. Be honest with yourself, as your end goal is to save money and build a good habit of budgeting.

• Make a budget you can stick to. After mapping down your income and expenses you’ll probably see a pattern forming — where you spend the most and what you can cut to save money.

If the word budget sounds too formal and frightening, think of it as a plan to track what’s coming in and going out. The whole idea for budgeting revolves around you knowing what you have to spend and how much money can be saved after covering all your expenses.

List your expenses as the:

• the things you need to spend money on;
• and the things you want to spend money on.

Both of them are important but put the needs first and the wants second. To save money, your expenses should be smaller than your income.

If that’s not the case, see what and if you can cut. If you can’t do that straight away, create a budgeting plan for yourself to reach that goal as soon as possible.

• Create a buffer for yourself. Saving money can help you to be more financially secure. Even a small amount can make a difference in the long run so save as much money you can every month.
• Do occasional check-ups. Be sure to review your budgeting goals and progress on a regular basis. It helps to stay on track. You may spot some little wins on the way which end up motivating you to save even more. It’s a win-win!

Budgeting apps to try out

If you’re trying out budgeting for better daily money management, it might be a good idea to test some apps created for the purpose. Here’s a list of some popular ones on the market right now:

• Mint, recommended by Nerdwallet;
• PocketGuard, recommended by the balance;
• You Need a Budget, recommended by Investopedia;
  
• Personal Capital, recommended by CNET;
• Albert, recommended by Forbes;
• CountAbout, recommended by Money Under 30;
  
• Goodbudget, recommended by Pocket-lint.

If you have any other app recommendations, be sure to share your findings with others on our Facebook or Instagram page! Or, perhaps you have some great budgeting tips that we’ve not mentioned? You could share them, too!

Key takeaways for better budgeting

Now, if this was TL;DR for you and you scrolled quickly to this spot, here are some key takeaways on budgeting that you can remember:

1. To save money successfully, start with setting goals — no matter how big or small, it’s important to have a destination for your budgeting journey.
2. Be honest with yourself — if you map down your expenses and income, list ALL of the things coming in and going out, only then will you have a proper overview of your finances.
3. Budgeting = keeping track regularly. Write down all of your spendings, even the littlest ones.
4. Check back to see which expenses you can cut. Saving money is all about having a positive balance at the end of the month. So, check back and see which expenses are the ones you actually need and which are the ones that you want. Perhaps there’s something you can cut out?

Bolt Lite

Ok, that’s all great but why are we at Bolt giving you a lesson on the finance ABCs? Valid question.

First, good money management is something that everyone can benefit from and we really like everyone.

Secondly, we’ve created an option for you to enjoy the level of Bolt quality that you deserve, for even less. It’s a new ride-type called Bolt Lite.

So, whether you’re already actively budgeting or just starting your saving money journey, we recommend you to try it out! Just open the app and you’ll see it right below the regular Bolt ride-type. It’s quick, convenient, safe and even more affordable. Sounds like a fair deal, right?

All you need to do is download the app and tap to ride!