NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: SAVING MONEY DURING AN ECONOMIC CRISIS

It is no secret that this year has taken a financial toll in every generation. However, a new year renews hope, especially this year with a health and economic crisis happening.

Resolutions, although seldom successful, have become a reason to aspire to something greater in the current bleakness of things.

Usual resolutions include goals like losing weight or exercising or eating better, but for millennials, saving money is the top New Year’s resolution choice. According to a survey by YouGov, 55 percent of millennials made saving money their main goal for 2021 while goals like exercising and losing weight trailed closely behind.

In fact, millennials were the only generation that made being financially stable their top priority this year, and who’s to blame them? Millennials have been riddled with financial struggles ever since the crash of 2008 and have yet to recover. But sometimes recovery is a long and timely process, so here are a couple of tips if you find yourself trying to save an extra buck in the new year.

First off is budgeting, which might seem obvious, but it is always crucial when trying to save money. Nowadays, budgeting can be as easy as a swipe. Many banks have mobile apps that can make budgeting and saving super easy. If you’re not quite there yet, however, CNBC News suggests making a list of monthly expenses including fixed expenses like bills and variable expenses like groceries, for example, and then comparing the expense to your income.

The second thing is to create a rainy-day fund. In this pandemic, every day is a good day to use your rainy-day funds and it might even seem futile to create one now, but the worst always happens when you least want or expect it. Taking a couple of dollars out of your income for a rainy day can really add up and save you for when things come crashing down.

The last is especially useful during the pandemic: monetize any skill you have. A lot of people are working part-time jobs or have been completely laid off, so using your natural skills can make you a pretty penny. Photography, website building, cooking, and sewing are just a few skills that can be monetized in your time of need.

In 2020, the economy pushed us to our budgeting limits and made us reconsider what is essential to spend on. Let’s hope 2021 makes money-saving resolutions a breeze.