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6 Steps to Start Saving Money

Intro

I hear a lot of people say it’s almost impossible for them to save any money. Something always comes up, money is always tight, it’s hard to save when you have kids. 70% of Americans don’t have $1,000 in savings. Hopefully this article will help you find a way to put some money aside for emergencies, rainy days etc.

Keep Tabs on Spending

The first thing I tell anybody who is trying to save money is to download an app called Personal Capital. I talk about it in my article on ‘How to Pay off Credit Card Debt’. Personal Capital in a nutshell keeps track of all your spending. It will show you how much you’re spending on groceries, restaurants, entertainment etc. It can really open your eyes on what you need to cut back on. Personal Capital will show you down to the very store on how much you’re spending. Maybe you can plan grocery trips a little better? Or maybe you can buy a Keurig instead of going to Starbucks.

Work on Your Credit Score/Debt

This is basically a whole different conversation in itself. Having great credit saves you a lot of money. And obviously you have to pay off credit card debt before you can save any money. I have an article called ‘How to Get an 800 Credit Score’ that explains more in depth. Excellent credit can save you money on so much including lower interest rates, cheaper car insurance and better mortgage and/or car payments.

Wait Before Buying a Want

In this article I’m not saying to be cheap and not have that “you only live once” attitude. But, before you want to buy yourself a $300 watch or a $1,000 TV. Wait a month. Shoot, even just a couple weeks to see if you still want it. If you do then go for it. I’ve changed my mind on quite a few things by waiting and realized they weren’t important to me.

Always Shop for Car Insurance

There are a lot of car insurance companies out there. It’s a competitive industry. Don’t just get comfortable with one. Shop around every six months or year. Even if another company is willing to cut $15 off your monthly premium then go that route.

Analyse Your Bills

Analysing your bills every month is super important. For one, you want to make sure you’re not being over-charged on a phone bill or using too much electricity for your electric bill. But, it’s also good to constantly evaluate how much TV you’re watching, cell phone data you’re using. How often are you really going to the gym? It’s good to always look for deals also. For me, I like to especially shop around at the first of the year. A lot of times phone companies will have new cheaper plans or packages. Internet companies come out with new bundles or offers. They might have something very suited for your current situation and needs and you could find yourself saving $10-30 on these new deals.

Online Savings Accounts

I wrote an article a while back on why it’s good to have multiple savings accounts. But I’ll tell you right now why it’s good to even have just one. The great thing about an online savings account is you can set it up to have any amount automatically taken out of your bank account weekly or monthly. Maybe started out with automatically taking out $10 per week. Then the next month you have $15 taken out per week. Keep raising it each month to see where your threshold is. Here’s a few examples of some good online savings accounts: Ally Bank, Capital One and American Express.