Do you ever wish that you could save more and spend less?

One of the best ways to improve your budget is to look for ways that you can banish certain expenses from your routine. For instance, if you’ve got a subscription that you never use that’s eating your cash every month, canceling it will mean that you have more money to spend elsewhere.

However, there’s another side to budgeting too, and that involves making sure that you have the right strategy in place when you need to spend. Here, we’re going to look for ways that you can become a savvy spender and save more in the process.

1.    Have a Spending Plan

How often do you make purchasing decisions based on impulse alone? You know you need something, so you get the first thing that looks like a good deal, without doing your research. This is a common problem for many consumers. It can even affect the way that you shop for things like loans, insurance, and other essential services.

To make sure that you always get the best deal, go into every purchase with a plan. Know what you want to buy and why and have an idea of how much you want to spend. If you can’t find anything that suits your budget, spend some time looking for voucher codes or coupons that can lower the cost even further.

2.    Shop on the Right Days

Did you know that the day of the week can have a massive impact on how much you spend? A lot of online retailers offer the best deals and discounts on Fridays and Wednesdays. On the other hand, in brick and mortar stores, you’ll find a lot of markdowns mid-day on Fridays and Saturdays.

The best day to buy often depends on what you want to purchase. For instance, gas and airline tickets are available at different prices on certain days of the week. Do your research before any big purchase so you can arrange your schedule accordingly.

3.    Share your Info with the Brands you Like

These days, we’re all a bit more sensitive about how we share our details online. With things like the Cambridge Analytica scandal showing that we can’t always trust companies to keep our information sacred, it’s no surprise that people avoid sharing their details with brands. However, if you genuinely love buying from a specific company, then giving them your name and email address could be the best way to access some great deals and discounts.

If you’re worried about emails from retailers clogging up your inbox, just create a separate email account that you can use exclusively for signing up to corporate newsletters.

4.    Use the Digital Era to your Advantage

We’re living in a world where practically everyone has access to a world of information in their pocket. It only makes sense to use that technology to your advantage when you want to save some money. There are plenty of great websites out there that you can use to compare everything from the price of flights to the cost of loans. There’s also a host of browser extensions and plugins to look at too.

Check out the options online for browser extensions that automatically add coupon codes and discounts to your basket when you’re searching for a great deal online. You’d be surprised how quickly these apps can change your entire shopping strategy.

5.    Always Ask for a Discount

Companies in the retail space are always catering to different groups with specific discounts. For instance, you might be able to get a better price on a product if you’re a student, veteran, or senior. However, while many of the modern brands out there today offer these discounts, they might not advertise them online or on the door to their stores.

With that in mind, you need to be willing to ask for the discounts that you need. Even if there isn’t an obvious way to save money available, there’s no harm in asking the store assistant whether there’s any way for you to reduce your bill.

6.    Ditch Dynamic Pricing

Finally, when you’re shopping online – particularly with larger websites, make sure that you always clear your browser cookies and information before you start adding anything to your cart. Clearing your cookies and cache on your browser shakes off the dynamic pricing algorithms that stop you from getting the best deals because you’re not a new customer.

When you clear your cookies, you appear as a brand-new client to your chosen brand, which means that you get a better deal.