Efficiency depends on a well-made plan, which I advise you to put on paper and review periodically. Why not have more money for hobbies, or save more?
Think about how you can better manage your budget right now.
Here are some ideas to keep in mind to be more efficient in 2025:
1. Estimate your income by the end of the year and your mandatory expenses
To manage it properly, it is first necessary to know what the budget is. Ideally, you should know it exactly, but if there are a lot of variables, it is also okay to try to approximate it, as accurately as possible.
In a moment of silence, review the income you rely on month by month, until the end of the year.
After you have written down your estimated income, subtract from it your mandatory expenses each month: how much your bills cost on average (electricity, gas, maintenance, television and internet, telephony), how much you spend on average on food, clothing, education, and how much the rent is, if you don’t have your own home.
The difference between estimated revenues and mandatory expenses will be the budget to be streamlined.
2. Keep in mind that unforeseen things can happen
Americans have a saying: “Expect the unexpected.” In translation, “expect what you don’t expect.” Part of the money left over after mandatory expenses should be reserved for unforeseen expenses.
It may not happen every month, but problems may arise with the car you need to get around the city, with the apartment’s central heating, with the washing machine, with the refrigerator, you may need to pay for a doctor’s consultation and spend hundreds of lei on medications, etc.
The real budget, which you can juggle, is the one from which you subtract this type of expense.
3. Don’t neglect the need for relaxation
To work efficiently, it is advisable to relax from time to time. From the remaining money, you can plan 30% for entertainment activities.
Whether you go to the cinema, the theater, play a casino slot , or rent a soccer field with friends, hobbies are important.
Set aside at least a few hours of relaxation per week.
It is essential not to exceed your allocated budget, because you will ruin all your plans.
4. Get rid of what you don’t use
The idea is to put everything on paper so that it is easier for you to differentiate between essential expenses, which we talked about above, and “optional” ones.
Of the non-essential, you might identify some as unused. You can be having subscription to streaming, which you never used in a while. It could be the international minutes addition on your mobile phone plan where you pay an extra dollar a month for such but do not travel or communicate with people who live abroad. Eliminate all that you are not using.
5. Declaring a no-spend day
Any time you leave the house, you’re spending money. It doesn’t matter if it’s a little or a lot. You’re buying a bottle of water or a coffee or a bagel, or maybe you’re using public transportation and paying for a ticket.
When you spend a few lei, you don’t even notice. If you were to put absolutely all your expenses into a spreadsheet, you would see, at the end of the week, that insignificant amounts have added up to over a hundred lei.
Do an exercise of willpower and set yourself a day a week where no money comes out of your pocket.
6. Don’t buy poor quality products
Don’t buy low-quality products just because they’re cheaper. They’re likely to break down faster and you’ll need more, so overall it’ll cost you more. Also, don’t spend a fortune on a product just for the brand.
If there is something similar on the market but cheaper, opt for the less expensive option.
7. Invest in personal development
Constantly invest in yourself, and the money spent in this direction will return a hundredfold.
Spend some amount of your money on courses, which can raise your financial literacy or help you take webinars held by experts in finance.
As soon as you change the way to think, so managing money gets easier, while the way one spends his/her time to create more.