Looking to crush 2019? Want it to be the year you take control of your finances? You aren’t alone. On average, one out of every three people make the resolution to save more money, alongside exercising more and eating healthier.
Simply jumping into saving money is not easy, especially if you’re currently living paycheck to paycheck. Plus, not every savings account is equal. Some can earn extra money on what you’re saving but make the funds inaccessible for a certain period of time.
Rather than just trying to figure out the best way to save money on your own, we’ve come up with some great tips and ideas to help you succeed at your goal in 2019.
Set a Reasonable Goal You Can Meet
The two biggest reasons people feel like they fail on a goal or resolution are: their goal was too large to accomplish and they didn’t clearly define it. Simply saying “I’m going to save money this year” isn’t enough because you won’t know when you’ve reached it. Is saving ten bucks enough? Or does it need to be $10,000? You need to know how much you want to save and create a purpose for that money. Some great ideas for savings goals include:
- Creating an emergency fund if you don’t have one yet
- Saving for a new car
- Saving for a down payment on a home
- Creating and saving for a retirement fund
- Investing money to earn more money
Create a Plan to Help You Succeed
You can’t accomplish a goal with only good intentions - you need a plan. To find success, find out how much you need to save each month and plan where you’re going to find it. For example, if you want to have a $1,000 emergency fund by the end of the year, you’ll need to save at least $83 a month.
To create your plan, look over your budget and spending habits. If you are living paycheck to paycheck (or at least not saving any money paycheck to paycheck), you need to find areas to save.
Look at how much you spend each month on non-essential and luxury items like eating out, buying new clothes, or attending expensive social events. Start cutting expenses there, eliminating them completely or finding less-expensive alternatives. Skip the morning coffee run, take your lunch to work instead of eating out, and have a movie night at home with your friends instead of going to a theater.
Need help building the plan? Our financial education partner GreenPath Financial Wellness has a worksheet to get you started!
Pick the Right Savings Account Option for You
There are many different methods of saving money. Just as you wouldn’t use a piggy bank to save for retirement, not every savings method works for every situation. Pioneer can help you find the best option!
For more basic savings goals - like creating an emergency fund or saving for a vacation - consider opening a basic savings account specifically for that purpose. You’ll be less likely to dip into that account in times of need or intense want.
If you want to grow your savings substantially, look into investment options or at least savings accounts with higher interest rates. A Term Certificate makes the money unavailable for a period of time, but it also means you can earn more money in the long run.
Another option is opening a Money Market Savings Account which can earn a higher interest rate as your investment increases, but it does have a higher minimum to open and maintain.
Find Ways to Save Without Thinking About It
Another large barrier to successfully saving money is remembering to actually save it. If you have a spare $20 in your wallet, you don’t think about depositing in the bank right away, you think of ways to spend it.
If you struggle with finding the time, willpower, or thought of putting money away, find a way for it to happen automatically. Set up an automatic transfer every month to move money from checking to savings, or have a portion of your paycheck go directly to savings with your direct deposit.
Another useful method is utilizing Pioneer’s ChangeForward Account. With it, each purchase made with your Pioneer debit card is rounded up to the nearest dollar. The change is deposited directly into your ChangeForward account. Easy, right?
Depending on how much you shop, you could save a lot of money without any extra effort. Interested in opening a ChangeForward account? Click the button below to learn more and get started saving today!
Learn more about the ChangeForward Account