21 Ways to Find More Money to Save
You know you need to save money. You say you want to save money. But what do you do if you don’t see obvious ways to do so.
Here are 21 creative ways to “find” money for savings. The list is not exhaustive. Some ideas will result in big savings, others in more meager amounts.
What I want you to do is stop telling yourself, “I can’t save money.” Because you can.
Read over this list of ideas and adapt any that fit your situation. Ignore the ones that don’t make sense for you. Better yet, use the list to spark your own ideas.
Here we go…
- Brownbag your lunch. You’ll eat healthier—your waistline will thank you—and you can easily save $1,700 a year.
- Look for (inexpensive) fun rather than (expensive) entertainment. Check-out movies and books from the library. Have game nights and potlucks with friends. Look for free civic events.
- Start using old-fashioned coupons. Saving just $7.50 per week amounts to more than $1,100 over three years.
- Downsize! Obviously, this is more complicated than clipping coupons. It’s a call to rethink priorities. Could a smaller home or less costly car now mean a less stressful future?
- Give up an unhealthy habit. Did you know if you stopped smoking a pack a day, you could save about $38,000 over the next decade?
- Form a babysitting co-op. Share the childcare burden and stash away the money you save.
- Form a tool co-op. So many expensive tools are used infrequently. Why not create a sharing arrangement with close friends?
- Have a garage sale, get rid of some clutter, and put the proceeds in savings.
- Instead of spending money on hunting, fishing, AND golf, pick one hobby and declare a one-year moratorium on the others. You’ll have more time for family and lots more cash to save.
- Use the “Wish List Spending Plan” strategy. Set a dollar limit ($50 or more) on all “extra” purchases. Any “off-budget” item that exceeds this price has to go on the list. Take seven days to ponder the purchase and ask, “Do we REALLY need this?” Often this “waiting period” helps us realize we didn’t really need that thing after all.
- Save—rather than spend—your tax return.
- Pay off your credit card debt, then only use credit cards if you can commit to paying the balance in full each month.
- Save on travel. There are all kinds of deals and tricks for going to cool places yet spending less.
- If your company pays employees for unused vacation days, work a few of those days and set that money aside.
- Seek value not status. This sparks the debate about “cheapo” items vs. quality goods. While it’s true that you often get what you pay for, it’s also true that many items are overpriced because we’re paying for image and pricey marketing campaigns.
- If you’re creative, make your own greeting cards with your own words. It takes effort, but it’s more personable and meaningful, and basic cards nowadays cost $6—and up!)
- Review your insurance premiums. Rates go up and down all the time. Have a trusted agent look at your coverages.
- Increase your deductibles. Don’t underinsure, but don’t pay for coverage you don’t need. Save the savings.
- If you have a cabin or lake house, rent it out a few months a year and save the proceeds.
- Continue a bill payment after you pay off that debt. Simply redirect that monthly payment to savings (since you’re already used to living without that money).
- Try the “$5 dollar a week” plan. Start by saving five dollars the first week, then ten, then fifteen, etc. Keep this up for 20 weeks, and you’ll have $1,070 to put in your Roth IRA!
Many “regular people” have used ideas like these to save thousands a year. You can do it too.
If you want to increase your savings, I challenge you to pick three of these ideas and try them for a month. Keep what works, discard any that don’t, and pick a new one for every one you discard.
Let me know how it goes!
Do you have some ideas I didn’t list above? I’d love to hear about them. Perhaps I’ll share them in this space in the future.
Meanwhile, if you’re wondering about your best options for turning your retirement assets into regular retirement income, I have a free gift for you. It’s a short quiz called the RISA (i.e., Retirement Income Strategy Assessment). Email bmoore@argentadvisors.com for your link. The RISA can help you figure out what financial strategy is best for you in life’s next chapter.
Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.
