Whether you are looking to buy a new car, gearing up for holiday shopping, or need to refill your emergency funds, saving money is generally something that takes time. You can’t magically fill up your savings account overnight, it requires patience and discipline to make little drops in your savings bucket.
But if you are looking for a few shortcuts to grow your savings quickly, it is possible. Just be aware that it might require some larger changes to your lifestyle and sacrifices in order to reach your goal.
1. Stop Spending Money on Luxuries and Entertainment
The average american spends about $1,497 per month on non-essentials, or around $18,000 a year. The largest luxury costs per month is around $200 on eating out at restaurants, $180 on drinks, and $170 on takeout/delivery.
That is a lot of money per month spent on things you don’t need. If you want to save up money, this should be the first thing you cut from your budget. It’s unlikely you’ll cut out every single piece of entertainment, unless you are planning to live like your in Little House on the Prairie, but significantly cut back. Stop eating out, skip going to the movies, and be very critical of most luxury items you purchase.
It’s also a good idea to examine your entertainment services you are paying for and decide which ones to get rid of. If you have Netflix®, Hulu®, YouTube Premium®, and you are paying for cable, take a hard look at which ones you use the least and cancel them.
If you want some help identifying potential areas to cut back on or want a record of where you are spending your money, Pioneer’s Money Management tool is for you! Just log in to your myPioneer account and click on the Money Management tab. It keeps track of everywhere you spend your money and breaks it down by industry or purpose.
2. Go Beyond Just Cutting Coupons
Coupons are a very useful tool in the money-saving tool belt, but there is so much more you can do with them. Saving 50 cents here or there won’t revolutionize your saving account. But by combining coupons with deals and strategies, you can save big money on your groceries and other necessary purchases.
There are a wide variety of resources to help with finding coupons and deals online. The Krazy Coupon Lady can help with finding specific deals at stores in your area. Add the Wikibuy extension to your browser for online shopping to find better deals when shopping on Amazon®. Find tools that work for you and use them.
Before making any purchases, do a little bit of research to see if you can find a deal, a coupon, or a similar product at a lower price. Avoid impulse buying and instead take the extra time to save a few dollars.
3. Make Plans on How Much to Save Every Month
It’s a common mistake when trying to grow your savings is do all of your spending throughout the month and then deposit whatever you have left at the end into your savings. Either you use up all of your money every month, or each month your savings grow by irregular amounts.
A better strategy for saving money is to have a good budget lined out for your regular expenses, and how much you could save each month. Then, as the paychecks for the month come in, you deposit your savings first, then you pay your bills. That way, you aren’t tempted to use it for unnecessary expenses and you create a normal habit of saving regularly.
4. Pay Off That Debt Fast
When trying to save money, extra debts are a heavy chain dragging you down. They take your excess money away bit by bit. If you are capable of doing so, pay off your debts now. It might require using up whatever you have saved up right now, but it’s worth it in the long run. Not only will you prevent interest from growing, but then you can take the money spent each month on debts and put it towards saving money.
If you can’t get rid of your debt in one go, but have several different debts (like credit cards and small loans) weighing you down, use the snowball method to getting all paid off fast. Throw your extra money at the smallest debt and pay it off as fast as possible. Once that debt is gone, take the money you were spending on it and put it to the next smallest piece of debt.
Then, once your debts are gone, you can put all of the money that was going to it straight to your savings, growing it very quickly. While paying off the debts might take awhile, once they are gone, your savings will flourish.
5. Shop Around for Required Expenses at Lower Costs
Health insurance, utilities, car insurance, internet, cell phone, gas, food, and clothes. All of these are expenses everyone pays, yet you don’t have to just accept them as they are.
For many required living expenses, you can find ways to lower their costs. For example, let’s look at car insurance. If you drive a car, you need insurance. There are tons of insurance providers to choose from, and likely when you first bought the car, you did research on the best provider. But sometimes, insurance rates go up and suddenly your bill is much higher. So you shop around to find a new deal that’s better for you.
Especially expenses you choose who provides it, like internet, car insurance and your cell phone provider, you can often get deals for switching or becoming a new customer. If the average cost is about the same or lower and you can take advantage of a good deal, do it! Just keep an eye on when your new customer or special rate ends and if they try to raise prices too much, switch again!
6. Save Up That Spare Change
While it seems like a small thing, your spare change can lead to big savings overtime. If you use a lot of cash, instead of leaving the coins be loose and risk losing them, get yourself a place to store it.
If you use your Pioneer debit card for purchases, you should enroll for a ChangeForward account to help save money. With every purchase you make with your debit card, we round up the purchase to the next dollar and then deposit the change into a savings account. Many members are able to save a couple extra hundred dollars every year with it!
Open a ChangeForward Account!
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