Methods Of Saving Money

The coin jar is a great symbolic beginning for good saving habits and an wonderful lesson in how to save money consistently, even if the amounts you contribute each time seem humble. If you still use cash, put your “change jar” somewhere near where you keep your wallet or keys – the stuff you empty from your pockets when you get home. Want to know how to save money fast? When you get home, run to the jar instead of just walking!

When the jar gets full, you can take the family out for a nice dinner or buy something fun to do together. But, wait! That’s not saving… is it? Of course it is. You’re saving up funds until you can afford to do something you’ve wanted to do all along. You could have charged it, or run yourself short in some other area, but you waited until you hade enough to pay for everything. That’s savings. You may, of course, choose to deposit your change jar each week or month into a special savings account dedicated to a larger goal instead.

Save Money Fast By Automating

We live in an increasingly cashless society, however. Thankfully, technology has come to the rescue and we can use a “change jar” even if we never have actual coins in our pocket. In fact, it might work better this way. There are multiple apps you can download which allow you to round off your electronic purchases (debt cards, credit cards, even PayPal and such) to the nearest dollar. The difference goes into a dedicated savings account based on preferences you’ve set up in advance. Some apps give you the option of dedicating that balance towards “micro-investing” so that your savings grow even more quickly.

Just think of how many transactions you make during the typical week. If they’re rounded up by an average of fifty cents every time, you could be looking at hundreds of dollars every few months. By itself, this may not be life-changing. If you dedicated that money to specific short term savings goals, however, it can be quite a motivator. Plus, you’re avoiding debt by saving before you spend. Or, you can roll it into your long term savings goals in order to reach them even more quickly.

A slightly more aggressive version of this is to set up a recurring automatic transfer from your checking account to savings each week. As long as you make sure to account for it along with the rest of your spending, would you really miss $10 a week? How about $20? It won’t take long for you to forget all about it before realizing six months later that you’ve saved several hundred dollars.

Read more about these and other methods of saving money on the Billry blogs and other blogs across the Goalry family. First, though, go find yourself a jar and a quarter. You’ll feel better once you’ve started.

Good Ways To Save Money One Small Victory At A Time

Even folks who work hard and make a decent living find their money seems to vanish before they realize it each month. Half the time, we can’t even figure out exactly where it’s all gone! (That’s why a written budget is so essential to truly taking control of your personal finances, but we’ve carried on about that enough elsewhere.)

Imagine a roof with dozens of small holes in it. Every time it rains, the inside of the home is ruined. No one hole is the problem by itself – it’s the cumulative effect that gets most of us. Likewise, fixing one or two holes may not feel like it’s accomplishing very much at first. The impact over time of repairing that damage and replacing those shingles one by one, however, can be huge over time! One day we realize… it’s storming outside and we’re cozy and dry!

Some of the most important ways to save money are like that. Maybe you won’t see revolutionary change the first week, the first month, or even the first year. Keep faithfully plugging away at practical money saving techniques however, and one day you’ll discover you’re weathering an unexpected storm.

Many of these are things we already know we should be doing. Rather than sit around regretting what we could have been doing differently, let’s make a plan for moving forward. It’s not practical for most of us to make 37 revolutionary changes all at once, so what if you set a goal of 15 consistent changes in the next 365 days, starting NOW? That’s one a month, plus an extra every four months as a bonus. The key is to be methodical and have a plan, then hold yourself accountable – mostly simply by keeping track.

For example, maybe you start with one that actually requires very little time investment up front. You currently eat out about five times a week (three lunches and twice with the family in the evenings). This might be fast food, sit-down dining, or carry-out. If you could cut that in half every week by taking your lunch or making an extra meal at home, the savings could be noticeable quickly. If you replace those specific meals with simple things – sandwiches, fruit, or something in the crockpot – it doesn’t even have to mean that much additional preparation time. Do this for a month until it’s starting to become comfortable as a new habit.

Save Money In Layers

Thirty days later, it’s time to save more money. This time you’ve planned ahead a bit. You’ve saved your statements from the cable company, your various cell phones, those streaming services you really thought you’d watch more, and whatever else you’re paying for monthly. Time to get on the phone and start figuring out where you can lower monthly bills. Most will appreciate you being upfront about it (instead of just canceling or falling behind on your payments).

You don’t have to threaten to leave (unless you really mean it) – just tell them you need to lower your bills and might have to cut back or cancel your service. They all have specific instructions when someone calls needing help saving money. You’ll find that suddenly there are all sorts of alternatives that cost less. Pay attention to the details, of course – you don’t want to accidentally end up committing to even more than you have now. But with a little patience and a polite-but-firm approach, you may be able to shave $10, $25, or more from your monthly obligations. Plus, you’re still eating out half as much.

On month three you start doing extra work and devote what you make to paying down your credit cards. You mow lawns, you do freelance writing, you offer lessons in sewing or playing the guitar or speaking Spanish to local families for some reasonable amount. Besides making additional income, you’re connecting with your community in positive ways! Or maybe it’s making simple changes around your home to save on bills from your utilities. Sometimes we don’t need to spend an hour on the phone to figure out how to cut bills. Sometimes we need to close a few doors or unplug a few unnecessary items.

As we establish those new habits a layer at a time, the impact on our money saving goals is cumulative. In a few short years, you’ll be surprised how much may be changing for you. Read more about practical ways to cut bills and other saving tips on the Billry and Debtry blogs, and across the Goalry family. It’s more doable than you think!

Saving Money In The Big Ways

Finally, of course, come those big things we usually think of when discussing most common savings goals. Savings accounts. CDs. Savings bonds. Investments. Retirement. Life insurance. These things absolutely matter for our long term savings goals, and some of them can add up more quickly than you’d think. While we’re looking at smart ways to save money in order to afford that family vacation next summer or reading up on how to lower your monthly bills so we can replace that tired old washer and dryer, let’s not lose site of the realities of retirement and our hopes for our so-called “golden years.”

Saving big also means making careful decisions when it comes to major purchases – a home, a vehicle, even appliances or home remodeling. Often, it’s an issue of financing as much as it is purchase price. A few percentage points one way or the other can mean a difference of hundreds of dollars a year for a big ticket item. A single percentage point can mean a difference of thousands when we’re talking about financing a vehicle. And even a half-a-percentage point can mean quite literally tens of thousands of dollars difference when it comes to your mortgage.

That’s why some of the most important money saving techniques aren’t quite as obvious as tips on how to reduce bills or how to cut expenses – however important those things actually are. One of the biggest money saving tips anyone can offer is to tend carefully to your credit score. It’s simply too easy in the 21st century to check your credit report and request your credit score for anyone to have an excuse not to know exactly where they stand at all times. Why?

Your credit score impacts almost ever major money decision you’ll make the rest of your life. Thinking about taking out student loans for college? Your credit score will impact the terms available to you. Using credit cards to give you flexibility in your young married life? Your credit score is a major factor in the interest rates available to you and the credit limits set. Applying for a job? It may seem unfair, but many potential employers will run a soft check on your credit as a measure of your responsibility. Trying to rent an apartment? Many applications are rejected based on that little three-digit number.

One of the best ways to save money is to avoid paying thousands more in interest than necessary. Tending to your credit history and credit score now not only means more flexibility and greater options later, it means immeasurable savings from additional costs you won’t be paying on the most important purchases of our lives.