Simple, Yet Effective, Savings Strategies

Published October 9, 2018

By Jordan Ottaway 

There’s only so many ways you can talk about saving money, but that’s not going to stop me from giving you effective, yet easy, ways to give your saving's account the boost it deserves. Even if you already have a healthy savings, these tips are still for you.

Use ‘bonus cash’ wisely  

Whether it be a raise, yearly bonus, or any other sort of additional cash, you want to be mindful of how you make use of it. It’s a good idea to make a list of how you want to use that money so you’re less likely to go out and instantly spend it all. 

If you’re able to, there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself, but I always say that any extra contributions to your savings will greatly benefit you in the long run. I’m about to go a little deeper into this, but saying ‘no’ can help you keep that extra cash in the places it belongs.  

Say no

‘No’ says a lot. 

It might make you sound like a stick in the mud, but there’s nothing wrong with turning down a night out because you want to be smart with your money. This is something I’ve struggled with, but I’ve learned just how much limiting the times I go out can pay off.

Set goals (And track them)

Setting goals for saving is great. But if you want to turn saving into a habit, you need to have more than just a list of end goals in mind. 

Once you start setting goals, it’s important to track your progress so you know what adjustments you need to make along the way. Too many times we don’t make the adjustments we need and end up quitting out of frustration.

This is where setting daily, monthly, and even yearly goals come into play. Here are some tips to help get you started.

Daily tips: Limit the amount of times you eat out, cancel subscriptions you never use, use an app to find the cheapest gas when you need to fill up, and compare products so you know that you’re getting the best deal. 

Monthly tips: Lower your credit card debt, assess your monthly insurance payments to see if you’re getting the best deals, and even see how you can improve some of your other monthly household bills to see if you’re paying more than you should.

Yearly tips: If possible, plan to put as much as you can into your retirement accounts and meet that yearly contribution limit. Also, use tax season as a good excuse to have someone go over your information to see if you can be saving money there.

Lock cash away 

Think of this as a way to save you from yourself. If you want to put some money away and don’t trust yourself, stick it in an account that you can’t withdraw from. A great way to do that would be to try a certificate of deposit.

Putting your money into a CD keeps it-and you-safe. All you need to do is deposit however much is needed, make contributions when you can, then sit and let it grow until the term is up. The real benefit is that you keep yourself from messing with it.