Despite what your guilty conscience might be telling you, spending money on nonessential items is okay—within reason. An occasional jaunt to the cinema or run to the coffee shop won’t break the bank. But if you indulge yourself pretty frequently, then we need to talk about budgeting for these expenses.
Our resident consumer expert Samantha Landau shares her top-notch tips for putting cash aside for nonessential purchases, without sacrificing your financial goals. There are just three strategies you need to follow to enjoy the best of both worlds:
Build a budget and stick to it. While there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself, it’s important to budget accordingly—whether your spending is spontaneous or not.
Consider adopting the 50/30/20 rule to help organize your finances. With this method, you’ll want to spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on necessities, including food, rent and utility bills; 30% on nonessential expenses, like coffee runs and entertainment; and 20% on financial obligations, such as loan repayments and building savings. Of course, you can tailor it to your lifestyle and alter the percentages based on your financial goals/priorities.
Make saving money a habit. With prices increasing recently, take any and all opportunities to save money. If you find yourself shopping for nonessentials online, use a cash back site, like TopCashback, which guarantees the highest cash back rates at over 7,000 retailers nationwide, including Walmart, StubHub, Groupon and more.
Pro-tip: Save in-store with TopCashback Gift Cards, which offers money back on digital gift cards to over 300 retailers, including DSW, Target and Bath & Body Works.
If you find yourself shopping for nonessentials online, use a cash back site, like TopCashback.
Subscribe and save. There’s a subscription for just about everything these days. Rather than spending money (and time) going to get your favorite nonessentials, opt for a monthly subscription delivered straight to your door.
When signing up, make sure you’re shopping through a cash back site, like TopCashback, which currently offers money back on subscriptions from Trade Coffee, IPSY, HelloFresh and more.
What are some ways you budget for nonessential essentials? Did you know about the 50/30/20 rule? Tell us below.
Related Posts: 3 Practical Tips for Trimming Everyday Expenses
by Diana Baratta
Diana Baratta is the senior copywriter at TopCashback.com. After beginning her copywriting career at a paper company, where she harnessed her creative chops writing about…paper, this self-described “bargain shopper” has felt at home talking about our many stores, deals and money-saving tips the last few years.
