Trying to jumpstart your savings account? Let’s talk abouthow to save money fast and get your finances looking better than ever.
Saving money can be extremely difficult and tedious, especially if you already don’t have a lot of extra to spare when it comes to your income. These methods will be fairly simple and painless and will allow you to grow your savings quickly and efficiently.
Let’s get started.
1. Stick to a Strict Budget
The first and the most important step on how to save moneyfast is to stick to a fairly strict budget. While this can seem intimidating,over time, you will notice that it comes easier to you and benefits you in amultitude of ways.
Having a budget for food, gas, activities, etc. can really cut down on any waste or frivolous spending that you may have previously been indulging in.
To get started, there are a few key steps you will want to follow.
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First, make sure to know what your net income is. This will give you a vision of what you have to work with each month after taxes and other expenses are deducted. Once you have this number, subtract all of your expenses from it. Start with bills, and then add in groceries and other costs.
If you are unsure of how to track your daily spending, here are some apps for your phone that can help.
Then set your financial goals, both short- and long-term. Shorter term goals should be achieved within about a year, and long-term goals will, of course, extend further than that. These can be things like paying off a credit card and saving for your child’s college fund.
Once you have all of your needs, wants, and funds documented, see what you can cut out to save some money. The extras that you end up removing from your budget can be funneled towards your savings account.
2. Make More Money
Another easy way to save is to find little, even passive ways to bring more money into your home.
If you are very knowledgeable about a certain subject, you can try tutoring from your home computer. These jobs often have fairly flexible hours and will pay you pretty well. Places like Tutor.com and Tutor Me are great options for getting started.
Becoming a virtual assistant online is also a great option if you have a few extra hours to kill each week. This is a great opportunity for those who are extremely well organized and like to manage schedules.
Lastly, we recommend going through your old belongings and finding things that you can fix up and sell. Sites like Craigslist or eBay are ideal for your previously owned items. If you would rather make items and then sell them, you can use Etsy to showcase your work as well.
3. Reuse and Recycle
Sometimes going through your old clothes and other belongings can give you a new perspective on them. You may find items that you haven’t seen in a while and want to try using again or stuff that can be easily fixed up to become good as new.
Before purchasing something brand new, consider going through what you already own to see if anything else can take its place for free. Instead of throwing out old socks and t-shirts, for example, get out a sewing needle and thread and see if it can be fixed and reused first.
While also saving you quite a bit of money, it will also reduce waste in your home.
4. Cook at Home
While fast food and restaurants can be incredibly convenient and satisfying, they also cost you a fortune if you choose them over your own kitchen regularly. Buying ingredients at a grocery store and cooking at home is definitely ideal for how to save money fast.
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If you aren’t much of a cook, you can even look up recipes for some of your favorite foods from restaurants, or find boxed or pre-made options from the grocery store. For those of you who prefer healthier foods, buying fruits and vegetables in your store’s freezer section are easy to use in soups, stir-frys, smoothies, and other delicious treats.
Try a few new recipes each month and see where it takes you. Even if you don’t give up eating out completely, it will make an enormous difference to cut back at all.
5. Take Advantage of Your Library
Instead of renting movies from Redbox and buying brand newbooks from a bookstore, why not check them out for free at your local library?
If you are someone who really enjoys audiobooks and podcasts, a lot of libraries will allow you to listen to them on their website if you have a library card from them. This is infinitely cheaper than buying the audiobooks outright or even through a subscription service like Audible.
6. Switch Your Lightbulbs
Buying energy-efficient light bulbs will cost you a little more up front, but they will actually save you quite a bit of money in the long run.
You will very quickly notice that your electrical bill will lower, and you will have to buy light bulbs far less often.
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Either LEDs or CFLs are going to be what you want to use instead of normal incandescent bulbs. CFLs use a quarter of the energy of the average bulb, last for years, and are almost as cheap as buying the average light bulb. LEDs are a little more expensive, but they do offer the best lighting available, the bulbs don’t heat up, andthey can last for over a decade.
7. Buy Used Items
Instead of going to the mall to buy a brand new outfit, consider getting it used. While that idea may repel some people, clothing is considered to be used if it is only worn once, so you can still find high-quality items without paying full price.
Local places like Goodwill and Salvation Army are great options to get started with, and you can always check out online options like eBay, ThredUp or Poshmarkx.
8. Negotiate Your Bill Amounts
If you are looking for something extremely fast and effective, consider trying to negotiate the amounts of your bills.
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All you need to do for this is pick up your phone and call up your service providers. This can be for your phone bill, insurance, credit card, etc. Once you have reached them, simply ask if there is any way to get a better deal than what you are currently paying.
Typically, you are able to get some sort of adjustment, and even if it’s small, it will make a huge difference month to month.
9. Buy in Bulk
Certain items, when bought in bulk amounts, can actually be much, much cheaper than simply buying them every single month. This will, of course, cost a little extra money up front, but will truly save you quite a bit of cash in the long run.
Buy your paper products, meats, canned foods, and dry goods in larger quantities when the ounce/unit price is lower than it would be to buy the normal size. This will cut your monthly grocery budget down significantly each month and make it much easier to save some extra cash.
10. Rent Out Space in Your Home
Have an extra room or two in your house you aren’t using? Consider renting them out to people.
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You can lease this space out for people to actually live in, or you can use sites like Airbnbto allow travelers to vacation in your home when you aren’t there. This is a great way to make some extra money without too much time being taken away weekly.
Our Final Tips for How to Save Money Fast
We highly recommend incorporating at least a few of these top tips for the best results. With a little planning and sacrificing, it’s fairly easy to save money quickly. The key is to budget carefully, and know exactly how much you are making this month.
Which tip are you most excited to try out for yourself?