Saving Money vs. Making Money*

The majority of people focus more on one of two strands when it comes to money; they either focus on saving money or making money.  The two mentalities are quite disparate, yet they can, of course, be combined for the most optimum results.

In this article we’re going to look at several ways to save money, and make money, but first it’s important to look at the difference between the two strands.

MAKING MONEY: HOW WE MAKE MONEY
When it comes to making money, we are all subject to inherent limitations, for instance, the majority of people are employed and work on the basis of trading their time for money – in this way, each hour they work they get paid a particular amount.  Yet, there is a limit to the amount of hours a person can work in a week, and similarly, there’s a limit to how much a person can reap for each hour of their time.

Yes, a person can become more skilled and valuable to an employer, meaning they can charge more for each unit of their time – yet – they are still subject to these inherent limits.

The brain surgeon and the cleaner are both trapped within the rules of the “rat race” in the sense that whilst the brain surgeon will charge more than the cleaner, they are both restricted in terms of the logistics of trading time for money.

This means that there’s often a trade off.  If you want to make a lot of money they you tend to have to give up a lot of time, yet there are ways to make money without having to give up your whole life in the process.

MAKING MONEY: PASSIVE INCOME
Today, the opportunity to work from home is much more pervasive than it has been in the past thanks to the internet. . Yet, just because you work from home, doesn’t mean you are necessarily making passive income.  Passive income is defined as a type of income that is generated from an automated process where you leverage a system or asset to bring about income, rather than trade your time for money, in the conventional way.

An example of passive income is if you have a spare room and rent it out to a lodger or via AirBnB.  The reason it’s passive is because you are leveraging an asset to make money rather than working in a job.  There are many opportunities to make money via passive income from investing strategies to network marketing and leveraging intellectual assets such as getting paid from advertisers, hosting adverts on your blog, or creating an online course. Another great way to make a passive income is Bitcoin. You might know a lot, you might know a little, but it’s definitely worth researching how to buy bitcoin via paypal/bitcoin per paypal kaufen, as this is a really easy way of getting involved in bitcoin investment.

MAKING MONEY: CREATING VALUE
The fundamental truth about making money is that to make more money, you simply need to create more value.  Therefore, you might want to look at ways to increase the value you can provide – for instance, if you were to get more education, you might be able to charge more for your knowledge.

SAVING MONEY: EVERYDAY ITEMS
There are man of ways you can save money, each day, for instance, you could go shopping in supermarkets during the time they reduce food – this is a particularly good option for M&S or Waitrose, as they seem to reduce their food the most, and it means you can get premium quality food for a fraction of the cost.

Similarly, if you shop around for the best PAYG Sim, for your mobile phone, you can save a lot of money on this too.  It might not seem like a huge amount, at first, but saving £10 each month on your phone bill adds up over time.

The same is true with fuel.  It’s important not to go driving miles out of your way to save a few pence on fuel, as this will negate the saving, but if you are filling up your tank be sure to find somewhere that offers the cheapest fuel in your area.  Usually, Asda and Morrisons are one of the cheapest places to get fuel.

You can save a lot of money by not owning a car.  If you use public transport, however, be sure to travel after 9:30am if at all possible, as fares are significantly reduced during off-peak hours than the commuting hours associated with the conventional 9-5 lifestyle.  Also, if you are taking a long journey, be sure to book well in advance, as train tickets are a lot cheaper if you commit to a specific journey on a specific date.

SAVING MONEY: AROUND THE HOME
When it comes saving money around the home, a lot can be said for keeping your energy costs down.  Energy, today, is very expensive. Therefore looking at ways to heat your home in an energy efficient way can be key to saving money, particularly with winter now upon us.

In addition, we spend an enormous amount on food and drink, yet don’t always make the best use of our budget here.  For instance, buying a large bottle of squash rather than fizzy drinks is not only a better use of money, it’s also healthier.  Cooking in batches, and freezing food in plastic containers is a great way to save both time and money.

Similarly, it can be a good idea to make snacks at home, rather than buying them on the go, particularly when it comes to breakfast – whether you have a big breakfast at home before going out, or make something to take out with you, it will save a lot of money as breakfast items seem to be incredibly expensive for what they are.

In a similar vein of saving money on energy, when it comes to doing your laundry, try to wash at low temperatures and stay away from the tumble dryer.  Instead, use a clothes horse to put your washing out next to the radiator.

SAVING MONEY: TRAVEL
Holidays can cost a lot of money, particularly if you’re travelling with children, yet there are many ways you can save on your travel arrangements – from flights to hotels, car hire to travel insurance.

Unfortunately, if you are travelling with a child one of the most powerful money saving strategies is to travel outside of the school holidays, as prices drop dramatically, indeed the same holiday during term time versus the summer holidays can result in up to a £200 price difference, per person!  That’s a massive saving, just by travelling out of season, but it’s hard to justify taking your child out of school so that you can go on holiday together. That said, presuming it’s pre-arranged, many schools will be flexible if you are committed to homeschooling your child whilst away.

If you’re travelling abroad, the flights can take a large chunk out of your travel budget, yet there are ways to find much cheaper flights than going to a travel agent.

There are comparison websites such as Skyscanner or Momondo that compare hundreds if not thousands of flights on the dates and destinations you set – comparing all airlines and most online travel agents to show you the best price.  Indeed, it’s interesting that you could visit Expedia and pay a lot more for the same flight than a different online travel agent.

The same is true of hotels, as ultimately, the hotel has different deals in place with various travel agents; meaning some will be selling the room cheaper than others.  Therefore, it’s good to go on sites like TravelSupermarket to find the best rates.

If you’re more interested in package holidays, however, Teletext Holidays is a place that offers a wide variety of budget trips – marketed by various travel agents.