Everyone, no matter if they’re struggling or doing well, needs to come up with a strategy for achieving their financial goals. Luckily, the tips and tricks to spending wisely and saving more aren’t a secret. Because everyone struggles from time to time, it can be reassuring to know that easy, online short-term loans from GoDay can help you deal with those extra-tight financial moments.

There are sure to be bumps in the road as you get your bearings as a savings pro and a payday loan can help you as you do just that. In the meantime, as you learn the ropes of money management, read on to learn some professional advice to save money to guide you along the way.

Set up a Financial Calendar

Do you know every day your bills are due? Your phone, rent, car, gas, utilities, loan payments, and more likely fall on different days. Missing payments can end up hurting your credit score and holding you back as you accumulate interest. When you create a financial calendar, enforce it with appointment reminders to make your payments. You’ll be sure to pay your bills on schedule without the stress of running late or delaying payment.

Adopt a Healthy Financial Mindset

Apply strategies like goal-setting, visualization, and mantras to your financial life to start to see results and to develop a healthy, growth-focused money mindset. You can create a financial vision board to explore your goals and, once it’s finished, to help you stay focused on achieving them.

A spending mantra might sound a little far-flung but it can really help you develop a healthy mindset. If your goal is to go on a vacation, then a mantra like “Is this better than Hawaii?” can remind you of your goals when considering impulse buys.

Avoid Lifestyle Inflation

As you start to earn more and begin upgrading your life with every pay raise, remember that it’s important to also increase your savings rate as your earnings grow. Lifestyle inflation is the process of increasing your spending when your income goes up, which as a general practise means that it can become perpetually difficult to get out of debt or make any long-term financial plans like saving for retirement.

You can avoid falling into the trap of lifestyle inflation by calculating your changes to budget with any increase in pay. Be realistic: after taxes and other expenses, you might not actually be bringing home the money to warrant some of your new expenses. You can also keep lifestyle inflation at bay by making gradual changes to your life instead of jumping into the first luxury car you can get your hands on. Modify your spending modestly and treat yourself to valuable experiences in life without committing to new debts that will hold you back for years.

Cost per Use Analysis

You can evaluate the value of your purchases based on how often you will use an item. For instance, it might seem smart to go for the $5 shirt instead of the $30, but if you only use that $5 shirt once before it falls apart and the $30 one will last you dozens of wears, then you’re spending less money per use for the $30 shirt. It’s the smarter buy. Apply this logic to things like electronics, apparel, and more to decide what’s really worth spending money on.