Managing your finances isn’t something that comes easy to a lot of people. Financial emergencies can really through you off kilter and you may have to source outside help in the form of a same day loan if you don’t have the savings behind you. Creating a hefty savings balance does take time and effort. It’s not as simple as deciding to save and then it magically appears in your account without any hard work on your part. Saving money does take time and compromise in your other spending in order for it to grow substantially. So, if you want to max out your savings, keep reading and discover our top tips!
Budget
Budgeting is crucial when trying to save money. You need to figure out exactly how much money you have left to spend each month by calculating your total expenses. Once you have your spending amount ready, you can then start to plan a budget. You need to make sure that while your budget is strict, it’s not too unrealistic. Not giving yourself enough money to live on will only cause you to go massively over budget and spend more than you might have without one. Make sure you create a sensible budget that you can actually stick to, but still enables you to put money into your savings account.
Pay Off Your Debt
In order to save money, you need to have more of it each month, and if you’re paying out loads on debts, then you need to try and cut them down. Start by looking at which one of your debts you could pay off the quickest and easiest. For example, your credit card may only have a few hundred on it, so you could pay this off early. Once it’s been cleared, stop using it altogether so you can keep your debt to a minimum. Loans may take a little more time to pay off but making a few over payments could help bring it down drastically. Be sure to speak to your chosen lender and see if there’s any way you can pay things off early so that you can increase your monthly income.
Have Separate Accounts
Keeping your savings separate from your regular spending one is vital. If you start to combine the two, you’ll find that you eat into your savings without even realising. This can set you up for immediate failure, so be sure to open a savings-only bank account. You’ll also benefit from having a savings account as lots of them enable you to accrue interest on whatever you save. This way you can actually increase your savings without adding to them yourself. Shop around different financial institutions and see which ones have the best interest rates and you’ll definitely notice a difference in your savings.
Save Often
For some people, putting away hundreds at the start of each month doesn’t work. It can be tricky to do if you get paid weekly or intermittently so saving large amounts might be out of the question. Instead, why not save little and often. If you were going to order a takeaway, why not forgo it on this occasion and put the money you would have spent into your savings. Little savings like this can soon add up and they help you stop feeling like you’ve lost half your wages to bills and savings.
Cancel Excess Subscriptions
We all love a subscription service but having too many of them can actually be draining your accounts. You don’t have to cancel them all, because what is life without Netflix, but getting rid of the ones you barely use can make a difference. By cancelling the subscriptions that you don’t use, you could put the money you would have spent directly into your savings. It’s money that you’re not missing anyway, so you may as well pop it away. It’s been suggested that on average, people are spending at least $30 a month on streaming services, so think about how quickly that number will add up in your savings account.
Stop Splurging
Treating yourself to a luxurious purchase can be exciting, but it can also prevent you from saving money. There’s nothing wrong with buying yourself something nice, but when it becomes a regular occurrence, you may find your accounts are always depleted. Instead of buying that expensive pair of shoes the moment you see them, save up for them instead. By the time you’ve managed to save how much you need, you’ll most likely be less willing to part with such a large amount of your savings. This can really help you get a handle on your spending habits and teach you the value of your money as well.
Get Selling
If you want to top up your savings fast, then don’t be afraid to start selling things you no longer use. You’d be surprised how much passive income you have laying around your home. Even old phone boxes that are in mint condition can make you a fair bit of money. Do a declutter of your home and then see what is good enough to sell. Any money you make can be put straight into your savings as it’s money you wouldn’t have ordinarily, so you won’t feel like you’re losing out. Within a few weeks, you could have doubled your savings, simply by cleaning out your house!
If you really want to enhance your saving skills, then you will need to make some compromises. This can mean you don’t buy a coffee every day of the week. Instead, you bring them from home for the most part and only buy one once a week. Saving money requires you to make some lifestyle changes in order to actually put extra money away. However, saving money isn’t too tricky once you utilise the tips in this guide. Before you know it, you’ll have the perfect rainy day savings account and feel confident that it will only grow over time.
