602-433-4090

How to Save Money Starting Today

You want to save money. You know you need to save money. But, sadly, you are at a loss as to exactly HOW to save money every month, and start to see your savings grow. The good news is, it isn’t as hard as you might think to save money. Here are some simple steps you can take starting today to make that happen.

1. Set a goal. Let’s just say you have some high interest credit card debt that you want to pay off in 2017. That’s a worthy goal. If you can discipline yourself not to put anything new on your credit card, that’s a great first step. From there, take your total balance (you might have to look at this while sitting down, for safety’s sake) and break it down into 12 equal parts. This is what your monthly payment goal is. Now, how can you come up with this extra money?

2. Reduce the amount. One simple way to instantly reduce your credit card debt is to reduce the amount of interest you pay every month. A simple phone call to your credit card company can do the trick. Simply request a lower interest rate, and you may be surprised with the answer. Many credit card companies run yearly promotions. If you qualify, you can instantly get a break and a smaller minimum monthly payment, which is a great way to start paying off the balance. If you do not qualify for a promotion, shop around a little bit. There are lots of different interest rates out there, and you may be able to transfer all or most of your balance to a lower interest card.

3. Make it reachable. One strategy for saving a large amount of money is to break it down into “bite sized pieces” such as a weekly, or even a daily amount. If, for instance, you need to come up with an extra $200 a month to pay off your credit card balance by the end of the year, it will seem a lot less overwhelming if you set a goal to save $50 per week for four weeks.

4. Make it as easy as possible. Still too much for your brain to handle? Try putting aside just $10 a day for five days (you can take the weekend off, if you like). Seems a lot more doable when you look at it that way, doesn’t it? You can save $10 a day easily. Skip the specialty coffee and pack a lunch, and voila! You’ll have that extra $200 a month in no time.

5. Reward yourself when you reach a goal. We all need a little encouragement, so when you reach a goal, like saving $50 a week, do something nice for yourself (that doesn’t involve spending that $50, because that would just sabotage your efforts). Sleep in a little bit extra on Saturday morning, or rent a movie for a little over a buck and have a movie night in, with extra popcorn. You’ve earned it!

Try these simple steps to paying off your credit card or other loan balances, or use the strategies outlined above to save for a large purchase you can make with cash, and avoid extra interest charges. Heck, you can even save for a vacation trip using these savvy savings tips! The sky’s the limit when it comes to how much you can save this way, and what you do with the money you put away.