These days, everyone wants to find a way to make their money go a little further. We know that we should be saving for the future and putting money away towards things like emergency expenses and goals. However, when it's tough to find enough cash to pay your daily bills, tracking down extra money for savings can seem practically impossible.
If you've tried all of the obvious saving and budgeting strategies, like keeping your money in an envelope and setting up a separate savings account, try these weird and wonderful options instead.
1. Choose a Bank that's Inconvenient
It's great to be able to do all of your banking online. However, when you can easily transfer your savings into your current account with a couple of keystrokes, it's difficult not to fall victim to temptation. If possible, consider setting your savings account up with a different bank to your current account. Once you've done that, make it as difficult as possible to access that money.
"Lose" your card so that you have to visit the bank in person to withdraw money. Choose a password for your online account that you're definitely going to forget. Let the money pile up by itself, without your interference.
2. Pay off your loan, then keep paying
With a little luck, the last time you took out a loan, you'll have also done some comparison shopping to make sure that you're spending as little as possible on your fees and interest rates. HappyPenguin Loans are a great example of a lender with a lower than average APR. Once you're finished paying off your loan (hopefully as quickly as possible), just switch your direct debit so you're putting the same amount of money into a savings account instead. You won't even notice the difference, and it'll make it easier to save.
3. Save a chunk of any big win
A financial win doesn't have to mean getting money on a scratch card. Sometimes, you can earn a little extra cash by working overtime or helping your friends out by acting as their taxicab. Whenever you make more money than you're expecting, push a big chunk of that "extra" into your savings. You can keep a small portion to reward yourself if you want to, as well, but it's better to forget about as much of the extra money as you can.
You'd be surprised how much you can save if you just pretend that you're not getting paid any extra for your overtime at all. Consider moving any money that doesn't come into your standard pay into your savings account straight away.
4. Download an App
One reason that many people avoid budgeting, is that it's often a time-consuming and boring experience. No-one wants to sit down after a long day at work and add up a bunch of numbers. That's why countless financial developers have started to design apps that will do the hard work for you. You can download apps that automatically track your spending habits and provide intelligent insights on how you can reduce your spending.
There are even mobile apps that analyze your spending habits and provide tips on how you can save a little extra each day. If you're looking into ways of growing your wealth, why not look into apps that invest your extra cash into new opportunities? You could invest even a couple of dollars a week and make a fortune over time.
5. Turn Saving into a Game
Finally, why not look for things you can do to make saving a little bit more fun? This is an excellent idea if you're budgeting with your family and you want to get the kids involved. For instance, you could start by putting a penny in a jar one day, then two cents in the same pot the next and so on. Eventually, you begin to make some seriously money by searching the house and everyone's wallets for extra cash to add to your savings account.
Whenever you go out shopping for groceries and other essential items, you can make a game of your savings habits again. Ask your kids to help you find the lowest possible price for a specific item and declare a winner at the end of the shopping trip. The kid that manages to save the most money on the shopping could be the one who gets to pick the movie for family night, as a reward.
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