How to save the family budget?

Let’s start with the fact that you can start saving from the main item of expenditure – utility bills. Of course, you cannot reduce the rent, but paying less for gas and water is quite realistic. Install counters. Believe that the cost of installing them will pay off very quickly, and you will have to pay much smaller amounts for gas and water. Or, for example, a home phone. Do you talk about it a lot? Maybe you should completely abandon the landline phone, or at least change the tariff?

Savings on food. At first glance, such savings look at least blasphemous. However, there is nothing reprehensible in this. To save you will allow, for example, a list of necessary products, compiled before going to the store. Comparison of prices for the same products in different stores, discounts at the end of the day or promotions, purchases in the wholesale market or in the economy class store will allow you to save money without compromising the quality and quantity of your home menu.

The same goes for other purchases. If you are looking to save money on your family budget, then feel free to track sales and compare prices. Don’t overpay for a branded item sold in a downtown boutique if the same item is sold cheaper elsewhere. Expensive furniture or household appliances can also be purchased at discount prices.

The saved funds will just replenish the budget item of savings. And let the replenishment of this article not be immediately large, but the five hundred rubles set aside every month will turn into three thousand in six months (and this is already something). And resist the temptation to take money from the emergency stash. That’s why he is inviolable, to help you out at the right time. Otherwise, such a moment will surely come when you will have nothing in the emergency reserve.

If you start to control your expenses, if you know how to properly manage the family budget, you will be able to avoid many unpleasant situations associated with a lack of money. Do not forget that it is not money that should determine your wealth, but the ability to properly manage it. Take the first step: the road will be mastered by the walking one.

How to save and increase family savings?

Keeping money at home is a habit from the 90s that is still alive today. Some people still keep money at home, which is called under the pillow. Although the state provides guarantees for bank deposits, there are also other options for storage.

Cash is a headache for tax and regulatory authorities. Money in the bank is much easier to control and track transactions. If a person received money illegally or simply did not pay taxes, then savings at home under the pillow will allow you to hide property from regulatory authorities.

The bank may request the source of origin of money when opening a deposit for a client. Complete anonymity is one of the main advantages of saving at home. Another weighty argument in favor of saving at home is that you always have the money. You can spend money at any time and you do not need to be afraid that the bank will burst or its cash desks / ATMs will run out of cash. This provides you with a certain independence from the financial system, but this independence comes at a cost. And this retribution lies in the main disadvantages of this type of savings.

Money under the pillow does not work and does not generate income. Even a regular bank deposit can bring you 8-10% per annum. Official inflation in Russia is on average at around 6-8% per annum. As a result, it turns out that you not only lose potential income in the amount of 8-10% per annum, but also lose 6-8% of the purchasing power of your money. In 3-5 years, you will “lose” almost half of your savings. Do not exclude the possibility of losing money physically. A fire may break out in the apartment or you may be robbed corny. This is the risk of losing 100% of your savings. And if you decide to insure your property, then most companies do not insure the money available in the apartment. You can buy a safe to store your savings at home, but such a move may attract additional attention from thieves.

Trust in the banking system in Russia is at a high level. The Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) played a significant role in this. Bank deposits up to 1.4 million rubles are insured and their return is guaranteed by the state. If the banking system and the DIA are working, then deposits up to 1.4 million rubles cannot be lost. You can count not only on safety, but also on the return on investment.

The ideal option is a replenishable option, but with the possibility of early withdrawal without loss of interest. As a rule, the most profitable deposits (9-10% per annum) are burdened with fixed terms, which means you do not have access to your money. This is the main disadvantage of savings in banks.

Only those who can confirm the origin of their money can use the bank savings option. As soon as you open a deposit in a bank, you are in the field of view of the regulatory authorities. This does not mean that your bank is distributing information about you. The money that is “lit up” in your account can potentially raise questions from regulatory authorities.

You can store in the bank not only rubles, but also currency and even precious metals. Some banks also offer financial instruments for investment, such as buying shares. A bank deposit is the most conservative banking instrument suitable for savings. The remaining banking instruments are more related to investment instruments, rather than savings, and are also associated with greater risk.

If you have enough savings, then you can form your own currency basket.

Experts recommend including three currencies in it: rubles, dollars and euros. You can buy other currencies in Russia, including the promising Japanese yen or Chinese yuan, but for savings it is better to use the largest world currencies.

The percentage of currencies in your portfolio may vary depending on your vision of the future. One of the most common schemes: 40 to 60. Where 40% is the currency of Russia (rubles), and 60% is foreign currency. You can form your currency portfolio, for example, 40% from rubles, 30% from dollars and 30% from euros.

This ratio is due to the fact that you can put savings in rubles in the bank at 8-10% per annum, thereby earning income. In addition, the Russian ruble is the currency with which you can pay within Russia. And if you continue to live in Russia, then you definitely need to have at least part of your savings in rubles.

Savings in foreign currency will not provide you with a high return on the deposit, as the rates vary within 0.5-2% per annum. Foreign currency guarantees you stability, and also promises potential income if the exchange rate changes a lot.

Thus, bank deposits have pros and cons. This is a conservative investment option with minimal risks and minimal income, which actually saves funds, but in no way contributes to their increase and accumulation. Deposits are what it is advisable to place the emergency reserve of the family budget in the amount of at least 6 monthly household incomes.

However, in modern realities it becomes quite difficult to increase the accumulated funds.

Banks are gradually ceasing to be the guarantor of saving money. Of course, they should not be discounted, but it is worth focusing on other sources in investing. In addition to deposits, relatively recently, a new mechanism for saving one’s savings has appeared – individual investment accounts (IIA). The main purpose of the emergence of this type of investment for the state was to attract funds from individuals to the stock markets of Russia to improve the financial climate and the economy. To make the exchange more accessible to everyone, and at the same time, very attractive conditions were created that banks cannot provide under the current conditions.

IIS accounts are similar to regular trading brokerage accounts, but they have a very significant difference. The Tax Service of Russia either makes a deduction for them (traditional 13%), or completely eliminates personal income tax on all transactions for which income is received. The first option is in particular demand. It provides flexible options: it is enough to deposit any amount up to 400,000 rubles to such an IIS account during the year, and at the beginning of the next one, receive a tax payment of 13% for everything deposited within the year. Since the account is opened for 3 years, each year you can receive 13% of the amount deposited during this period (and already in March of the year following the deposit of funds, you will receive your first investment tax deduction).

In addition, you can additionally receive profitability from investing free funds, for example, in safe, tax-free and government-protected federal loan bonds (OFZ) and increase the yield up to 15%, since the yield on bonds, on average, is 7-9% per annum. This amount does not have to pay income tax, because government bonds are exempt from this. And since 2017, coupon payments on corporate bonds (companies) issued in 2017 and subsequent years have also been exempted from personal income tax. The final return on such investments may exceed the deposit one by 5-7% per annum.