How to Save Money and Increase Your Savings Account Balance - 10 Pain-Free Ideas to take to the Bank
10 Things to Boost your Savings Account
Saving money proves to be a challenge for some. It is true that if you want to save, you have to pinch a penny here and there. However, this is not difficult if you have a game plan. The following 10 suggestions are ways you can boost your savings. Don't try them all. Start with only three of these plays for your game plan and watch your savings grow.
- Free Cash to Stash. Think about starting your savings account with a bang. A $25 balance is discouraging when you start to save. Start thinking about putting away a portion (or all) of your next tax refund or work bonus. Since you would not have this money on a given month, you won't miss it.
- Out of Sight, Out of Mind. One of the easiest ways to save is to set up an allotment directly to your savings account. If you have a direct deposit, talk with your banker about setting up an allotment from each paycheck. The money can be funneled directly to your savings account and you can forget about it. An amount as low as $20 per paycheck will add up to almost $500 in a year.
- Change makes Cents. Every night have your family place excess pocket change into a jar or piggy bank. You can make a family night out of counting and rolling that change each month while discussing the next family vacation. You can make it into a contest: whoever saves the most gets to pick the vacation destination. By saving spare change you can save $20 to $50 per month or more. (A variation on this is a swear jar, if you think that would be profitable?)
- Home is where the Food is. Give up those french fries or brew your coffee at home. By avoiding a $5 food expenditure just once a week you can save $240 in a year. You can double that if you take a home lunch or skip the fancy coffee twice per week. Just make sure the extra $5 ends up in the savings account!
- Scrape the Bottom of the Barrel. Sometimes payday rolls around and you still have money left in your checking account. Instead of leaving it lost at the bottom of your checking account, just move it right into your savings account.
- That is not Allowanced. If you never have any left-over money it is time to establish an allowance for everyone in the family. That includes you, mom and dad! Make sure the amount is reasonable or you won't resist the urge to splurge. If you already have a family allowance, it is time to reevaluate.
- Charter a Barter. Save a little money by swapping with friends or neighbors. You can carpool or trade babysitting nights. You can also trade hand-me-downs, old furniture and other tangible items. My father was a dentist and once traded dentures with a jeweler in exchange for a diamond gift that he gave to his wife.
- Hard to Save, Hard to Get. Call your bank and ask about ways to protect your savings from yourself. You should be able to access the money in case of emergency, but it should be enough of a nuisance that you wouldn't do it to buy a pair of coveted shoes. The upside is that hard to access accounts also pay higher returns.
- Government Money. You can use the government as a means of saving by increasing your tax withholding. This will boost your tax refund in April leaving you more to money to save. This prevents impulse buying, but keep in mind that the money will not be available for emergencies and it will not collect interest. This is not an ideal method of savings, just an easy one.
- You Work for Money, Money Works for You. These general suggestions may be helpful to get you started. But the best way to save money look for ways to save money on monthly expenses. Can you lower your car insurance rate by switching providers? Do you really need that $200 cable package? Are you even using the gym membership? Can you cut down your cellular plan? Your savings game plan will be unique to your own budget. The first step is to build a saving game plan and view it as a goal.
Also Check Out: The Lazy Man Savings Plan for saving money you won't miss.