6 Tips to help you put $2000 in your savings account in the next 6 months!
- Create a grocery list – I challenge you to make a list of all the meals that you will have this week then make of list of the items that you need to make those meals (be sure to check the pantry). When you go to the grocery store only purchase the items on your list…nothing else! Go to the store with cash…this forces you to only buy what’s necessary (and keeps you to your budget). Cutting back just $25 a week over 6 months can put $600 in your savings account!
- Gather things around your home that you no longer use/need and post them on Craigslist for sale. Using Craigslist allow you to do it RIGHT NOW! Preparing for a yard/garage sale can see daughting, but this is easy! I would guess that if you just went through your kids video games and ask them the one’s they play you would find that there is at least 5 that are just sitting there. Post them online for $20 and you just earned yourself $100 to throw into the savings account.
- The latte’ factor. I know you have heard this before, but the average person admits spending $10 a week on coffee. If you skip your weekly runs for coffee over the next 6 months that could put another $240 in the savings account.
- Buy a Britta instead of bottled water. Bottled water is pretty affordable these days…heck you can pick up a case for $3 – $4….no big deal right? Well if we ACTUALLY drank the right amount of water we should each day…that’s 3 – 4 bottles a day x a family of 4…that’s (12 – 16 bottles a day) which equates to $2 – $3 a day x 7 days a week = $21 IN WATER a week that we can get from the tap for pennies! Take that $21 x 24 weeks and you just put $504 in your savings account.
- Bring your lunch to work one extra time each week. If you are finding yourself “grabbing lunch” more than taking a lunch to work it would be a great idea to cut back (and put yourself on a budget….paying with cash only) on eating out for lunch. The average lunch costs $5 – $7 to “grab” from a fast food restaurant. If you are able to cut back just 1 time of “grabbing a quick lunch” over the next 24 weeks would put $168 in your savings account.
- Take some time to pull out your home and auto insurance policies. Take a look at what your deductibles are set at. If they are any less than $1000 give your insurance agent a call and have him/her run you a quote on the savings you would get if you raised them to $1000. Many people find that they can save a few hundred dollars a year just by taking this one simple step! Some people feel a little uncomfortable having such “high deductibles”…but think about how many times you’ve had claims on both your home and auto insurance in the last 10 years. Let’s say you save $400 a year by increasing your deductibles…$400 x 10 years is $4000…even if you had 1 claim for each (home and auto) in the last 10 years you still would have saved yourself $2000!!!! Here’s another $400 to throw into the savings!
Many people find it difficult to save money. They feel as though the are “just making ends meet”. The truth is…with a little planning and discipline hitting the goal of $2000 in 6 months is quite achievable! Here’s to you, and your savings.
Source: creditabsolute.com