Life in a metro is full of excitements. Here we work hard at day and party harder at nights. The day and night have no difference here as we the city dwellers are active round the clock. Life is full of convenience here. Anything and everything can be delivered to your doorstep with just a few taps on your smartphone. In one line we can say that say that life in a metro is full of fun.
But if you flip the coin you will find the other side of the city life which depicts the fact that the fun you get here is never for free but indeed very costly. For each and every convenience you enjoy here keeps on hitting your wallet. If you belong to a super-rich family or you earn really well without any financial liabilities then those expenses may not affect you. But if your situation is not like above mentioned, you may need to think twice before you act.
If you are a city dweller with a low income, you really need to manage your money well to survive. Here are some tested and tried money management tips to survive in metros.
# Tip No 1
Make a Budget
A budget is something which should be prepared by the people of every financial stage. Whether you may be earning less or more, without a budget it is never possible to manage your personal finance efficiently. If you are living in a metro city, making a budget of monthly expenses become a must have for you. You must know when you are to halt or slow down your expenses you were making at the initial days of the month. An unplanned budget is the main reason for facing a cash crunch at the end of the month.
# Tip No 2
Have a Smartphone
Though this trick may sound weird at first in context to money management, the fact an opposite one. One needs to have a smartphone with an internet connection to sustain in metro cities. A smart use of a smartphone can help you to save a lot in daily expenses. You can search for shorter routes, can book a shared cab, can find places with affordable food, can avail cash backs and offers and many more. The importance of a smartphone in city life can never be overlooked.
# Tip No 3
Walk or Bike to Job Place
If your job place is within the diameter of walking distance, you can better take a walk or bike to your job place. Walking or biking has a number of advantages. It saves a good amount of money while keeping yourself healthy. Taking a regular walk or cycling helps you to avoid lifestyle diseases which are very common in city dwellers. If you are living in cities like Bangalore or Pune, you can even rent a bike for a very minimal charge.
# Tip No 4
Go Homemade
They say health is wealth and the food you eat has much impact of it in your health as well as in wealth. Eating homemade food is cost-effective while enriching your health. An average outside meal costs almost triple the amount you need to spend on homemade food. Taking meals outside on daily basis is one of the expenses that can drain a big share of your monthly income.
# Tip No 5
Remember It’s Ok to Say ‘NO’
There are times when you had to take some steps just because of the peer pressure at work. Remember the fact that the final call on your action has to be yours only. It is ok to say no sometimes. The financial condition of yours and your colleagues may not be similar. Sometimes it may happen that only because of the peer pressure we had to go out for lunch or movie. If you are not in a condition to spend at that particular moment, it is better to say ‘NO’.
# Tip No 6
Limit the Usage of Plastic Money
Plastic money has made the transactions much convenient. But the convenience that we get sometimes makes us spend recklessly. When we use a debit card or a credit card for a transaction most of the times it don’t pinch us as we just need to put our signatures on the receipt. But if you need to pay the same amount in cash it makes you feel that you have spent a lot. So in order to control the shopaholic monster inside you, it is better to use cash instead of a card.
# Tip No 7
Don’t Spend to De-Stress
Getting stressed is very common in metro cities. Being busy for day after day, struggling with everyday increasing traffic, escalating expenditures, break-ups etc can make anyone stressed in a while. Many of the city dwellers believe that shopping, eating out, going for spa, smoking, boozing etc makes you feel better and it is true to some extent. But if you keep on spending on de-stressing yourself in short intervals, you will be shocked to know that amount which you have spent in a year just to make yourself come out of the stress that came to you on your day to day life. It is advisable to find out a way to relax which is not heavy on the pocket.
# Tip No 8
Cut Off the Luxury Tax on Yourself
The tax what we pay for luxury items is quite high. It is true that giving a treat to your family now or then is fine but one has to mind the fact that the services and products that attract the highest tax slab should not be availed very often. Paying near about 30 percent tax is certain drains a lot of money from your wallet.
