As Gen X, we grew up with parents that preached save, save, save. It is not the same tune these days. I've also read how your daily coffee habit costs you a million (I wouldn't know I don't drink coffee, but I do Starbucks hot chocolate sometimes). Growing up, I have always wanted to be an auditor. I graduated from high school in the islands of Tonga, moved to the USA for college, and became an auditor for a US bank. When I got to that level, I thought, why not continue to climb the ladder? As I did that, it came with a nice salary and bonuses which I can't say I didn't love. However, when I got married and was about to have my first kid, I remembered my Grandma's advice, "when you find that one person, settle down, and focus on your family and kids as your priority, and focus on why we're here on earth." Being a mom and wife sure has changed my perspective on many things. However, meeting my husband reminded me that we don't need a luxury life; we can enjoy life by living below our means. That said, everyone has their priorities, and this is ours. We don't have much, but we can earn and save enough for our needs because there's more to life than money. If you don't believe me…I can refer you to my Polynesian people. Money is great, but without God, family, food, and music…life is not as rich. I love our culture because it grounds us whether we are rich or poor; it isn't all about money. That said, we still need enough money to pay for our living expenses and what we need. My family continues to strive to do our very best with saving and using these five basic tips on how to save:

1. Create a budget and track your spending

Of course, creating a budget is the first step in saving money. This helps you track income and expenses and identify areas to reduce spending. List all monthly income sources, including salary, side hustles, and other income sources. Next, list monthly expenses, including rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, transportation, entertainment, and other expenses. My husband is the one that manages this piece for our family. Summer and I are a stumbling block that needs to work on getting with the program. However, we continue to try every month to be better. It has been a work in progress for the past 10+ years :)

2. Automate your savings

When you set up your savings to automatically transfer from your checking account to your savings account each month, it is the best. This way, you have yet to see that money and are less likely to spend the money you intended to save.

3. Use cash back and rewards programs

One of our favorite things to do, mainly because my autistic kid has a daily McDonald's order - biscuit with sausage and egg without the biscuit and brown juice (Dr. Pepper). When we were in NZ, she could not eat any because their egg was not the same as the one she was used to. Cashback and rewards programs can help with everyday purchases. As I mentioned above, earn points for every purchase and redeem them for freebies or discounts. I know McDonald's does that, and so does Chick-Fil-a because we love using those per Summer's order.

4. Shop around for better deals

This is usually for big purchases, and it's essential to shop around for the best deals and not just buy the first item you see. Take time to research, and compare prices from different retailers. You can also use coupons and promo codes to save money online. Look into Rakuten and Capital One Shopping!

5. Cut back on unnecessary expenses

This is definitely what my kid and I need to work on. We're grateful for Dollar store with Summer and her requests for rewards for doing certain things. However, this involves eliminating or reducing subscriptions you don't use, and services you don't need. Cutting back on these expenses can free up money for your savings goals.

To conclude, we all have our ways of saving, which are definitely basics. You can start implementing these tips today or at least have them linger in the back of your head as you are about to buy. Good luck and happy savings! Our family continues to work hard to improve, but we are not there yet.

Till Next time….