Everyone fancies the concept of saving money, but as many know, it is not quite as simple as putting a handful of dollars aside each month. Saving goals requires planning and habit formation, and what works for one person may not work for another. While there are dozens of podcasters and self-proclaimed millionaires claiming you can become wealthy in an instant, there are a few proven ways to work on your savings account.
You don’t have to live frugally every day of the week, but if you take your time to consider the impacts of these money-saving ideas, then you can end up with quite a bit in your checking account.
Money Saving Tips
You have heard all of the obvious advice before; eliminate your debt first, don’t buy coffee/takeout frequently, and only make small purchases on your credit card. While there are some truths to these sayings, they clearly have flaws and aren’t as straightforward to achieve for everybody. Instead, you should focus on short-term goals and sit down to plan out a reasonable savings plan.
Some minor actionable steps you can take include creating high interest-bearing accounts such as CDs or money market accounts that can accumulate interest for you. This can help you keep your savings away from your checking account if you have the tendency to transfer between the two. If you take this course of action, be sure to leave some money around as an emergency fund, just in case you find yourself in a sticky situation.
Instead of worrying about each and every purchase, you should instead try to estimate how much you spend each week on snacks, drinks, and comfort items. Take that estimated budget and multiply it by 52, and you may quickly find that it is quite a substantial amount. Instead of weighing each and every purchase, instead set aside a reasonable weekly budget for these items and you may end up spending less.
How WSCE Can Help You Save
If you want a simple way to plan out a separate budget for those comfort items that allows you to start saving for retirement, then come to a WSCE location. We can set you up with a Green Dot Visa Prepaid Card that can work as a credit card without the commitment of one. Hopefully, these frugal living tips will help you with your monthly budgets, and you can end up saving big in the long term.
