Promise yourself you will save more money this year. You can do it.
Imagine what that would look like. Imagine the exact amount stacked in the bank. From all you have earned wouldn’t it be nice to have a stock pile? A pile for those financial goals you dream can become reality now with the money you have set aside.
Don’t think of saving money as boring, pointless or a time waster.
Instead think of it as a goal with a deadline. Look at it as a competition and reward yourself for winning! Get hyped!
Saving can be fun.
Here are 10 brilliant and creative ways to help start you with saving money now. Find the one that best fits your personality and lifestyle.
1. Create A DIY Piggy Bank
Make your own Piggy Bank. All the creators who love arts and crafts will love this one. Fine recyclable items around the house or visit your local craft store.
Here’s a link to some really cool creative ideas….visit DIYS.com.
Enjoy creating these with your kids. You can even have a DIY get together with friends for the New Year.
Then, set a goal and see who can save the most money fastest by an agreed upon date.
For even more motivation chip in before the challenge and buy a gift card. The winner of the challenge will receive the prize (gift card) at the end of the deadline.
2. Put Your Money In A Savings Jar
Go old school. Find an empty jar and fill it up with money. Deposit 10% of your monthly income. Need another idea, deposit $5 a week. That comes up to $240 a year.
Any jar will do…wine, jelly jar, etc. Write on the jar the reason for the savings. For example summer vacation, Disney World, Christmas fund, debt rehab or new shoes!
3. Save Your Change
Take all the change in your pockets, car, purse, cushions and stash it away. Put it in a jar, piggy bank or box.
Just imagine how much this can add up to within a year.
4. Save A Dollar A Day For Every Calendar Day
Save $1 for each day in the calendar year. There are 365 days in a calendar year. Start saving by taking $1 on January 1st. Then save $2 on January 2nd. Continue until you reach $31 on January 31th.
When February starts save $32 on February 1st. Then, $33 on February 2nd and so forth. Count by days not by months.
If that’s too much then just save $1 a day (or $7 a week) equaling $365 by the end of the year.
5. Keep All Of Your One Dollar Bills
Take all the $1 bills you have left over from the day and put them somewhere to start a savings fund.
If keeping a box of dollar bills at home temps you to want to go spend then, at the end of the week go deposit the money into your savings account.
Some banks also offer this feature to their customers.
The bank will automatically take a $1 from every purchase made with your debit card for that day and automatically transfer the money from your checking account to your savings account.
Check your local banks to see if any offer this service in your area.
6. Save The Leftover Money From A Sale
When the cashier hands you the receipt after you’ve purchased merchandise on sale, look at the receipt to see the amount you saved.
Take that total on the receipt and put that money into your savings account.
For example, you bought a shirt for $10 and it was 50% off. Take the $5 you saved from the sale and transfer that money into your savings account.
Also, you can make money from a sale every time you shop online by using Ebates. Then, you can take the cash you receive through Ebates and use that towards your savings.
7. Replace A Bill With A Saving Fund
Let’s say every month you pay $65 for a medical bill in collections. You have been making payments to this collection agency for close to a year now.
Your budget has adjusted to the $65 monthly payment.
Once this bill is paid off instead of wasting that $65 on mindless spending, take that amount and now add it towards your savings.
8. Auto Draft Transfer Your Money Into Your Savings Account
That $65 I mentioned above—have it automatically drafted from your checking account and transferred into your savings account. Now it’s guaranteed to be in your account every single month, no excuses.
Don’t have a bill to replace?
That’s ok. Just set up a certain amount to be transferred between accounts every pay day. $25 a week equals $100 a month.
At the end of the year you will have $1200.
9. Open A Savings Account At A Bank Faraway
This is the way this works:
Open a savings account at a small neighborhood bank miles and miles from your side of town (at least 30 minutes to an hour away). Do not accept a bank card, online banking or any other conveniences when opening this account.
Next have a percentage of your payroll check going into this account before it ever hits the account that your paycheck is deposited into. This way you never see that money, eliminating temptation to spend.
For example, let’s say you get paid $825 every week. On Friday $25 will be automatically deposited into the small town bank across town with limited access to you. And the rest of your paycheck will be automatically deposited into your main checking account that you frequently use.
In 6 months you will have $600 saved without even being fully aware of the fact. That gives you a savings of $1200 in 12 months.
10. Use a Savings App
Try one of the following saving apps/websites to easily save more money:
Digit—This app helps you to save money automatically. It actually looks over your spending habits from your checking account. Then, it transfers the money over of what you can safely afford. So, it does all the calculations for you. Free for the first 100 days and only $2.99 thereafter.
Smarty Pig—Free to use, Smarty Pig links to your bank account. Then, you set up a savings goal and track your progress. You can contribute to the pig whenever you want or set up reoccurring deposits.
Stash—Stash claims to make investing simple and accessible. Sign up within 2 months and start investing. This app allows you to start with as little as $5. It’s free for the first month and a $1 a month thereafter.
Qapital—This savings app allows you to save based on your goals. So, if you want to save for a new house or car this is the app designed exactly for that. It has no fees. To begin you’ll have to create a bank account with Qapital.
Bonus Section: Save More Money by Reading One of These Books
All 4 books are free through Kindle! Just Click on each title to View and Sign Up
How to Save Money: 177 Tips to Save Money (Up To 4150 $ / year !)
50 Ways to Save Money: Extreme Survival Guide to Saving Money
Closing
Make this year the year you save more money.
Think of the bigger picture when you feel the urge to splurge and spend your hard earned money. Set a financial goal. Motivate yourself to help state focused and on track.
Let me know in the comments how you plan to save this year.
Jack Bowler SR says
Wow, nice tips and hints. Always good to know how to save money and such, keep up the good work
Elisha. This post may contain affiliate links. says
Thank you
Sharon Lopez says
Very clever ideas worth trying. Since the new year is about to start, I guess we need to start implementing these strategies in order to save more in the coming year.
Elisha. This post may contain affiliate links. says
So true Sharon. I find that after the holidays most people are in debt and thinking about getting their finances together.
Marielle says
Almost all my bills are paid automatically. It helps me to never forget but also to not spend that money on something else!
Elisha. This post may contain affiliate links. says
Same here Marielle.
Ivana says
Number 3 is great, I do it and it really adds up 🙂 Number 6 sounds so interesting, I think I’m going to try it 😀
Elisha. This post may contain affiliate links. says
Yes, it’s amazing how much change you can actually save. Hopefully 6 works out for you too if you decide to try it.
Ivan says
This was actually a helpful blog post! When it comes to be creative and save money I always have a hard time. It’s not like you get taught in school how to save money. Thank you so much for this great post. Especially, I loved the idea of saving 1$ per day! I am for sure going to try this out in 2019! Love it! Or maybe I am going to do right now! Overall, a helpful blog post with great tips! Thanks for sharing 🤩🙌🏼
Elisha. This post may contain affiliate links. says
I’m glad you found the tips helpful and yeah why not start now. Nothing beats starting sooner than later. And so true, we were nevertaught any of this in school.
Olivia says
These are great tips, thank you. I did giggle a little when I saw ‘open a bank faraway’ though. It’s like getting a timer on a cookie jar hehehe
Elisha. This post may contain affiliate links. says
Thank you and you’re welcome. I giggled alittle when l wrote it and thought about changing the title. Lol
Kristy H says
Good advice. I definitely do some of these and have money hidden away when we’re in desperate need.
The only problem I run into with the jars or hiding money around the house is I forget I have it and then stress because I’m broke. Haha
Elisha. This post may contain affiliate links. says
Oh no! Too funny but not really. Maybe if you put a reminder on your phone that you have hidden money will help.
Steph says
Great tips!
I save my $1s and $5s. I put them in my piggy bank (that’s actually a mushroom) with my loose change. I don’t use cash that often so I don’t go through the coins that often, maybe once a year. I’m also in a state where I can return recyclables for a little cash. I plan on taking all of that and putting it in my Stash account for investment when there’s enough to make it worth while.
Also worth noting that Stash is rolling out banking as well as their microinvesting. They claim to have 0 fees, but it hasn’t rolled out completely yet to confirm that or not.
XO Steph
http://www.littlemissshortstuff.wordpress.com
Elisha. This post may contain affiliate links. says
Wow. That’s impressive. It’s great to see someone making so much progress Steph. I hope all your saving and investing success continues.
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