How to Save Money for Investing

Many private investors know that accumulating wealth does not really work without investing money. Nevertheless, people find many excuses not to invest. One of these is simply not having enough capital to invest.

Anyone wanting to make a considerable investment in the future without external financing support or simply wanting to be well-off financially in old age should prioritize asset accumulation.

In today's consumer society, it is not always easy to set money aside and invest it profitably.

After all, we are constantly bombarded by advertising with special offers that many people cannot say no to.

However, we often prefer to satisfy short-term consumer needs rather than provide for our future. Of course, raising enough money to invest regularly depends on your monthly income.

We have prepared some tips on how to optimize monthly spending simply and thus create capital for investment for those who are currently unable to raise capital to invest.

Determining the status quo

In order to optimize one's budget, it is always important to get an overview of one's income and expenditure. A budgeting app can help to keep track of monthly finances.

Generally, expenses can be divided into five categories:

• Food (groceries, drinks, meals in restaurants and cafés, etc.)
• Transport (car, public transport etc.)
• Housing (rent, electricity, water, heating etc.)
• Leisure (sports, travel, hobbies etc.)
• Finance (insurance, credit card, mobile phone contract, Internet etc.)

Reducing costs

The easiest way to establish reserves for accumulating capital is to reduce your monthly expenses.

There are numerous savings tips to help you save on specific expenses in the individual categories.

• If you want to save on groceries, you should opt for household brands and avoid regular visits to restaurants and cafés.
• Transportation costs can be reduced by carpooling or by using a vehicle with low fuel consumption. When using public transport, it is often more economical to buy monthly or annual tickets than to use single tickets.
• Living in a shared flat or moving in with friends or a partner can also reduce living expenses. Turning off electronic devices or switching to energy-efficient solutions can also reduce energy costs.
• Many sports activities can be carried out outdoors without having to pay gym monthly membership fees. In every larger city, there are regular free meet-ups for different activities where you can meet new people at the same time.
• Financially, costs can be lowered by comparing different providers, above all. There are always campaigns for new customers with which you can save a lot of money by switching to a competitor.

Increase income

Of course, one can also generate the capital needed to build up one's wealth by increasing one's income. There are numerous ways to earn extra money on the side.

The easiest way is to try to get more money for the same work. A pay raise can achieve this. If this is not an option, you can try to work overtime in order to earn more money in the short term.

However, there are also other secondary occupations in the Sharing Economy sector (Airbnb, Uber) that can be additional sources of income.

Alternatively, one can earn money online. However, this is often very time-consuming.

There are already numerous portals where people with certain skills offer their services.

If you have special skills that are in demand, you can use them to secure additional income.

However, capital from additional earnings is usually accompanied by additional time expenditure. For this reason, cost optimization is usually a better option if you want to raise money for capital investments.

Saving habits

Saving money also requires a certain attitude and discipline. Those who find it difficult to implement certain cost-cutting measures should define clear goals for themselves and pursue these consistently.

It is often good to place a standing order in order to transfer money regularly to a separate account. This ensures that one does not spend the money set aside for investment.

If you want to invest money successfully, you have to have a certain level of perseverance. It is often difficult for people who are just beginning to save money to cut certain costs.

As a rule, these are old habits that interfere with investing.

In the book Power of Habit, author Charles Duhigg describes how habits work and how to change them. The author states that it can take at least 21 days to get used to a habit.

21 days is a relatively short time, considering that a change in consumer behavior can have a positive impact on one’s future financial situation. Habits influence not only our daily lives but also the forms of investment we use to accumulate wealth.

According to statistics by Statista, 52% of the 45 million Germans who own savings books use this form of investment out of habit despite the fact that it does not yield a real return due to low interest rates.

Equity crowdfunding as an investment

People who want their money to work for them need to look for alternatives.

Equity crowdfunding offers investors the opportunity to invest capital in growth companies and startups. It allows them to benefit from the rapid growth of the young companies, leading to an increase in the value of the investment.

An investment in startups is certainly not comparable to traditional forms of investment such as the savings book. After all, investors do not have deposit protection and can lose their capital through it.

The reason why investors should include equity crowdfunding in their investment portfolio is for diversification.

If you want to earn a return, you have to look for risky investments. Equity crowdfunding platforms offer the opportunity to spread the capital over several investments and thus reduce the risk of default.

Of course, the security of an investment cannot be guaranteed; nevertheless, it is usually possible to generate a real return through balanced diversification over a longer term.

In equity crowdfunding, several investors simultaneously invest in innovative projects that represent added value for society.

A guest article by Jakub Krejci.

Jakub Krejci manages the financial portal Financer.com in Germany. He helps thousands of visitors a month to compare financial products and thus save money. Jakub completed his business studies in 2016 and has been active as a private investor in P2P lending for quite some time.

The Financer comparison portal helps you to compare various financial products quickly and easily and thus save money.

Do you know any other tips on how to make more money to invest? Share them with us in the comments below!