Especially now that the warmer weather is upon us it may seem that money is just being printed these days, as quickly as it reaches your account it’s gone. While it’s certainly important to take advantage of the life experiences while you can, but there a line you can draw between spending too much and holding onto too many pennies. You want to make sure you have enough saved by the time you’re ready to walk away from work and retire, but it’s also nice to enjoy what you love when you’re young. With a few tricks you can boost your savings in no time and finally start to see the balance start to rise each month.
Automate Contributions
This may seem like common sense, and it is to an extent, but the more you manually have control of you finances the more you’re likely to leave funds in your checking account and spend instead of savings, or even if you do, a fraction of what you would if you automated. By setting up a certain amount from each paycheck going into a savings account, you can ensure these regular contributions will add up each month. Just keep an eye on the balance when you finally do get there, as you may not want to have more than a few months’ worth of expenses reserves sitting in an account untouched where it could be building in a retirement or brokerage account.
Ditch the Gym Membership
If you were like many who signed up in the beginning of the year looking for a body transformation at the gym, those visits have probably slowed and you’re stuck paying for a monthly payment that you no longer use. By cancelling your membership and saving $50 a month or so, you can put that to better use while still getting your exercise by enjoying the weather such as jogging, taking the dog for a walk, or working in the yard.
Cut the Cable Cord
It took a long time to finally get there, but if you look at how much you’re paying each month for channels you don’t watch, only to DVR every show so you don’t have to watch commercials anyways, it makes little sense to continue to pay for cable. Since you’re like many who pay for cable but still watch streaming services mostly, then you may not even miss it. Sure, it will be an adjustment not to be able to channel surf when you’re bored, you can now find other ways to make use of your time, while saving money at the same time.
Try a Budget
Sure, it’s true that most households operate without a budget, but it’s not for a lack of trying. Let’s face it, budgets are tough to stick with, but if you can give a little discipline, you can watch the unnecessary purchases start to disappear and your savings start to grow as you only spend what you’ve allocated. Taking a bit further, if you only use cash for spending, you can only spend what you have instead of always putting on a credit card where there is virtually no stopping you from spending.