Whether you have a personality that loves to save or you’re working ferociously to pay off debt, here are 5 tips for small ways to save. No need to be discouraged by the word small, because small actions, done consistently, can have impressive results.
1. Never Spend a $5 bill
A woman I greatly admire was teaching a financial class and shared that she and her husband agreed that between the two of them, they would “Never Spend a $5 bill.” At the end of a certain amount of time (say every 3, 6 or 12 months), they’d take that cash and buy something they needed for the house, use it for their date nights, or to get away for the weekend.
2. Round-Ups
Using Round Up apps like Acorns, Stash, or Digit is a great way to trick yourself into saving as it rounds up every purchase from your checking account (sorry, it doesn’t work for most credit cards because you already get points or cash back) to the nearest dollar and the difference is put into the round of account of your choice.
3. Pay yourself
Pay yourself to exercise, to finish a book or project, to drink more water. Heck, even get a Swear Jar (see what I did there). Whether it’s how many miles you run, pages you read, ounces you drink, or whatever, you decide the amount you want to pay yourself. This is a great way to reward yourself as you’re trying to develop healthier habits.
4. Give up your guilty pleasure for 30 days
Diet Coke (I’ll take the regular stuff, please), Netflix, Chili’s Chips & Queso every Monday for while you watch The Bachelor, the REI outlet, or a Swig Cookie – whatever it is, it WON’T kill you to go 30 days without it. If you need some time to sit with this option, let’s talk about a pre-requisite for this one. Do you know how much you spent on said guilty pleasure? If not and if you don’t have it in your budget, track it for a month to see just how much you’re spending.
5. Automate it
The best way to surprise yourself with these small but consistent ways of saving is to open up another account that you can’t see. Out of sight, out of mind, and therefore, not as tempting to spend. Set up your direct deposit to a savings account that isn’t linked to your other accounts. Acorns and other programs also allow you to automatically withdraw or deposit your $5 (or any amount) weekly, even daily. Just think if you had $5 a day directly deposited to a “secret” saving account (probably with the total withdrawn at the end of the week, rather than daily), that’s over $1800 for the year that could easily help pay off debt, cover the cost of a vacation, or go towards other financial goals.
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