5 Smart Ways to Spend $15 Or Less
Fifteen dollars may sound like it is not enough money to spend. It may even sound crazier to use those fifteen dollars and invest it on yourself. I was on that boat. I used to believe that I could not achieve anything with that amount because in today’s economy, especially in New York City, fifteen dollars is not enough to purchase many things nor sustain a family.
However, I found out that five dollars is all I need to invest in myself, my self-improvement, and my finances.
- Learn Profitable Skills
This point may sound redundant, but it will make a significant difference in your life the same way it did in mine. It is one thing to learn skills for your job, but I believe that it is entirely different when you learn them for your success. One great place where you can learn new skills for less than $15 is Skillshare. In fact, you can join the 30 Day Summer Challenge where you will get two months of Skillshare for free. Thanks to Skillshare, I was able to learn how to invest my money and how to price my work as a freelance writer. Also, I learned how to manage my business without losing my mind.
- Shop Smart
Shopping smart is a no-brainer for some. However, many people, like my old self, tend to spend their money on unnecessary items that will not contribute to their self-growth. I am not implying that going shopping is wrong, but I am saying that I believe you should determine how and if your purchases can improve your life. Many Amazon products will facilitate your life while you focus on what matters the most. I saved money by purchasing a Wi-Fi operated plug that allowed me to turn it off with my phone. Thanks to this plug, my electricity bill went down by over $10 a month. It may not seem to be a significant decrease at first, but it adds up throughout the months.
- Invest it
Yes, invest it. I used to believe that I needed to have thousands of dollars to invest it in stocks. However, I learned that I could start by investing as little as $5!. You may use apps like Stash and Robinhood to begin your investing journey. Although you might not see a significant increase in your portfolio right away, you will be learning how to become better at investing. I was able to increase my portfolio by 10% within two months of using Robinhood. I also believe that
before investing in a random stock, you should take a basic investment course so that you know learn how to analyze the charts and make an educated decision.- Promote Your Business
This point is applicable whether you have a business or plan to create one. You do not need to spend a lot of money on marketing to effectively promote your business. If you rely on Facebook ads, instead of putting that your daily limit is $15, you can put that your weekly limit is $15. Since Facebook’s algorithm is always changing, you may still reach the specific audience you are trying to convert into potential customers. Pro Tip: do not forget to narrow your audience to obtain better results! I used to rely on Facebook ads to promote my business, and I used to spend over $15 daily! However, when I learned that I could use that same amount per week and still obtain significant results, I changed my marketing strategy. Due to this change, I was able to cut down my marketing costs and increase my conversions.
- Affordable Date
You do not need to spend so much money on food or entertainment when you go on a date. Instead of going to the movies and spending over $100 on snacks and a fancy dinner, you might consider staying in, buying cheap takeout or cooking, and enjoying a peaceful time together. My husband and I noticed that we were spending a lot of money going out to fancy restaurants in Midtown NYC for no reason! So we decided to cut that by cooking and meal-prepping. We also became better at cooking when we chose not to eat out so often. It was a significant change, but it was easy to adapt to once we realized that that money could have been going somewhere else.