This is a guest post by  John. To guest post on this blog, please check our guest  post page.

Money is like sand, the more you try to keep it in your hand, the more it slips away. Hence it is quite pertinent for your personal finance management that you find ways to keep money in hand. Here are 7 money saving tips you can follow to save money and stay out of debt.

• Budget your expenses – One of the foremost requirements of saving money is living on a budget. You should not have the misconception that living on a budget means giving up on your luxuries altogether. It just means that using luxuries judiciously and living within your means.
• Buy during sale – You should buy products, especially clothing and other accessories during sale. Different shops in the mall give sale at different times. Hence if there is just one color of jacket that you feel you have to buy, you can wait till sales to see if it is there. Taking into consideration probability, you are bound to find it in one shop or the other.
• Use coupons- This is another way of saving money. You can collect coupons from magazines or even download them from different websites. There are websites which are only meant for downloading coupons. While there are also websites of brands that gives you coupons to download from time to time. These coupons provide you discount when you go for shopping.
• Use generic products – For things that you don’t need a brand such as many grocery items and household products, you can use generic products. Most often you won’t even feel the difference.
• Buy non-perishable items in bulk – When you are buying non-perishable grocery products you can buy them in bulk. This will help you to get discount in all shops.
• Minimize the use of credit cards – Credit cards are the main culprit behind you living beyond your means. They help you to satiate your immediate wants, thereby darkening your future with debt. Use credit cards as little as possible.
• Save on utilities – Save on utilities such as electricity and telephone bills. Also try to use public transport as much as you can to save on gas. You will be surprised at how much you can save by doing these.

I hope above tips help you for saving and keeping money in hand.

This is a point particularly applicable to young generation. I feel that having a credit card is actually biggest problem than not having a job itself. With compound interest rolling in your bills, you will turn poorer by each passing month. You will be forced to work just for paying credit card bills. Ask yourself. Is this you always wanted from life? What went wrong? Same applies to various forms of loans. Any kind of credit is dangerous. Resort to them only if it is absolutely necessary, otherwise manage your expense in the money what you have earned.

I am not saying that getting trapped in debt is entirely your fault. It’s very easy to get carried away when you see a fancy advertisement about a new gadget or a new offer on TV or internet. It’s called as aggressive marketing. But before pressing the buy button, ask a question to yourself, whether buying this thing is absolutely necessary? Are you buying this because your friend or relative has it? Is it wise to pile up debt in your credit card? Is there a solution to this?

Here is the solution. Controlling your temptation is the solution. If you feel controlling your temptation is difficult, cut the source of temptation itself from your life. Watch less TV, read less gadget reviews or even minimize visiting malls. By isolating yourself from the source of temptation, you are putting yourself in safe zone and you will be able to build a better financial position because you will be buying the things only which are essential.

Message is clear. Buy what you can afford. Spend what you have earned. Save money. Here is an in-depth article on how to improve your financial situation and avoid getting trapped in debt.