Ok, I will share my first Essay with you all!

WARNING: long post!

HOW TO SAVE MONEY

Saving money can be a challenging task for many people. It can be hard but it is not impossible. There are many simple moves that can help people save their money and improve their financial life.
Opening a savings account can be very helpful when trying to save. It is a lot easier to keep track of your savings if you separate from your spending money. Be careful though, some banks require that you have a minimum amount of money in your savings account; otherwise, they will charge a monthly fee. Make sure to ask your bank what their policy is for opening and keeping a savings account. If you think it is too much work try getting yourself a nice big piggybank, those work too. But do not attempt to cheat, make yourself a do-not-touch-the-savings rule.
Now that you opened a savings account or got yourself a nice piggybank you need to set a savings goal, how much you want to save and for what. Stipulate a certain amount of money you want to save aside from every paycheck to put in you savings. It can be 10 % of your weekly paychek, for example. Once you deposit your money, do not withdraw from your savings account or your piggybank unless you have reached your goal.
Hide your credit cards or cut them up, but keep one of them in case of emergency. By emergency I do not mean buying a top of line mountain bike on Ebay or a Coach Purse at Dillard’s. If you can keep yourself from using the “plastic money” you are already saving yourself some big bucks and avoiding debt. If you are already in debt, focus on consolidating it onto a lower interest credit card and paying it off as soon as you can.
Temptation is everywhere. Before you go grocery shopping make a list of the items you need. Without one you will be most likely to buy things you don’t need. A good trick is to cut out discount coupons from the Sunday newspaper, you would be surprised how much you can save with those. The problem is to remember to use them before they expire. If you do forget to use your coupons, look for the store brand products, they are cheaper and also are good quality.
Do you need new clothes? There are many stores in the Malls with good and inexpensive clothes such as Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe. Other stores, even the most expensive ones, often have clearance sales at the end of every season. In most of them you will find the racks with closes on sale towards the back of the store, right by the walls. And if you like the outlet stores, make sure to go very early in the morning; that is when they get the new arrivals. If you go in the end of the day, most of the good things will be gone already.
“Needing” and “wanting”, are two very different words but commonly mistaken by compulsive shoppers. When you see something you like think for twenty seconds before you actually get it and ask yourself “do I really need this?” If you are not sure, leave it!
Cook at home. This tends to be cheaper than if you were eating out all the time. If laziness takes over your body, just go for Taco Bell. They have cheap food and offer many healthy options. Also take advantage of the coupons you see in the Sunday Newspaper. There are discount coupons you can use in many different restaurants.
There are other simple things one can do that cost little or no money at all. You can make good use of the public libraries borrowing books and movies for free. If you like the movie theater enviroment, try going before 6 pm. You can save a couple of “bucks” on a movie ticket and use that money to buy a drink. Definetely avoid the vending machines. You will be saving yourself money and saving your body from junk food.
Saving money is a task that is much easier said than done. It will require a lot of work from one to put it in action. Not all of these moves will apply to everyone, but if you can incorporate a combination of some of these tips into your day-to-day life and be persistent you will be most likely to succeed and reach your savings goal.