Consumerism is evident in present-day American society, and even more so in teenagers. Often times, many teenagers will go to the mall or restaurants in their free time to hang out with their friends. After a long, fun-filled day of entertainment, the realization of how much money one spent becomes shockingly apparent. It is extremely easy to lose track of the amount of money one spends or has saved, especially if the money is not used strategically. To curb this, one can use a few simple money-saving tips to improve their financial crisis.

To begin, the most important, yet overlooked tip: save before spending. This may seem like an obvious concept, but many people often forget to save a portion of their income before going out and spending it all. Each month, be sure to determine the amount of money that will be kept for savings and separate it from the amount of money used for spending. About 50% should be used for necessary items, 30% for optional items, and 20% should be saved every month.

Keep track of your spendings. We often spend money on items we don’t necessarily pay attention to, and the costs add up in the long term. For example, if you spend money on snacks and water from the vending machines every day, it may not seem like a lot at first, but over time, the expenditure will accumulate and result in a loss of revenue.

Another way to save money is to make sure you take advantage of all discounts and sales. Often times, companies and stores will have discounts for students if you have your ID card with you. For instance, Apple has 5% discounts for students that allows them to buy an iPad or Mac at a lower cost. Another great discount is the student discount for Spotify Premium and Hulu. You can also save money by using coupons when shopping. Websites like Groupon or RetailMeNot contains coupons for an abundance of stores, online and physical. With so many beneficial discounts, you will be able to save extra money instead of paying full prices for everything.

For those who want to continue making money while simultaneously save it, you could get a part-time job. The extra money could come from a part<->time job at the mall, after-school activities like walking a neighbor’s dog or babysitting, or tutoring other students for money.

Saving money can seem useless in the short term, but over time, those savings will amount to a large sum. Therefore, it is important to start early to accumulate as much money as possible for future necessities.

Graphic courtesy by SISSI YANG