Setting aside extra money can be beneficial. You can plan for future expenses and prepare for emergencies. If you’ve already started saving—that’s excellent news.
But if not, it’s never too late to start saving money.
Many people put off their savings goals. They may be forgetful, feel like they don’t have enough extra money left over to save, or haven’t found a system that works well for them.
Are you looking for tips on how to start saving or how to save more money? You’re not alone. Here are a few favorite hacks to save more money:
1. Pay off your debt
If you have existing debt, it can hinder your financial goals. An enormous debt pile can negatively impact your credit score and personal finance situation. Plus, it may feel impossible to save money when you have minimal extra cash.
If you continue to put off paying off your debt, it will continue to grow and can get out of hand.
If you’re hoping to boost your savings, consider making debt payoff a top financial goal. The sooner you focus on eliminating debt, the faster you’ll be able to free up more of your income for your savings goals. You can then set more money aside consistently.
If you have a lot of debt, you may want to consider opening a balance transfer credit card. Many balance transfer credit cards have a 0% interest period, and you can use that to your advantage to pay down debt faster without accumulating additional interest.
Keep in mind that these cards usually charge a balance transfer fee to transfer existing debt from another credit card.
2. Open a high-yield savings account
You’re missing out if you don’t have a high-yield savings account. This bank account pays interest when you let money sit in your account. The interest rate is typically higher than your bank’s regular savings accounts.
Before opening up a new bank account, compare the rates. By choosing to open a high-yield savings account with a higher interest rate, you can let your money grow faster and will be able to save more money.
3. Automate your savings
If you keep forgetting to save, it may be time to automate your savings. Doing this gives you one less task to worry about as you handle your other daily needs and it makes your savings plan a reality.
You can set up an automatic transfer and have money transferred from your checking account to your savings account regularly. You can choose whether that’s once a month or multiple times throughout the month.
This will save you time and help you stay on top of your savings goals. For many people, automating their savings contributions allows them to save more money in the long run. Even saving a small amount will make a difference when you automate the process.
4. Track your spending and eliminate unnecessary purchases
Spending money is easy to do. We all make unnecessary purchases. No matter how financially savvy you are, it’s likely that you’re spending extra money on unnecessary expenses. If you’re not yet tracking your spending, it’s a good idea to start doing so.
You can use free or paid personal finance apps to do this. You’ll quickly see which areas you need to limit your spending to wave goodbye to costly impulse buys so you have extra money to put in your savings account.
5. Save your change
If you use cash to pay for things, you can use that to your advantage. Don’t let your change pile up in your wallet where it may be forgotten. Instead, collect your change and put it in a jar when you get home.
If you continue to do this each time you pay with cash, your spare change will add up. Every so often, you can empty your change jar, add up the change and make an extra contribution to your savings account.
Use these hacks to boost your savings. If you’re willing and able to change some of your habits, you can set more money aside and reach your savings goal faster.
With more savings, you’ll feel less stress and have greater financial security.
