Money-Saving Habits
5 money-saving habits to help you reach your savings goals
Saving money can help you reach specific goals or make big purchases — but what’s the best way to do it? Do you simply sock some money away with each paycheck, or will you have success with a more nuanced savings strategy? Whether you’re saving up for a boat, a vacation, a home renovation, tuition, a car, or an emergency fund, follow these five solid approaches to saving money that will put you on the path toward achieving your goal.
- Budget to save.
Don’t wait until the end of the month to prioritize your savings. Build it into your budget from the beginning to make sure that money doesn’t get spent somewhere else.
- Open a savings account.
It’s easier to spend your savings, accidentally or not, when it’s lumped into your checking account funds. That’s why it’s best to keep your savings in a separate account, like a credit union savings account.
- Set specific, realistic goals.
When you account for your goals in your budget and put your savings in a separate account, it’s easier to see whether you can save up for your goal in a reasonable amount of time. For example, if you make $50,000 a year and want to save $40,000 over the course of the year, you’ll probably end up feeling like a failure. But if you choose instead to save $5,000 over the next year, it’s much more likely you’ll reach that goal and feel successful.
- Make some spending cuts.
When you look closely at your spending, you’re likely to find expenditures or bills you can negotiate down or get rid of. For example, if you’re paying for a gym membership you never use or spend lots of money each week on produce that goes bad in your fridge, remove those expenses and put the money towards savings instead.
- Slowly adopt better habits.
Pick a few money-saving habits you’d like to adopt, like bringing lunch to work or avoiding toll roads, and adopt them one by one over time instead of all at once. If you implement new habits gradually, they’re more likely to stick around for the long term.
Open up a Resource One Credit Union savings account to get started on your path towards savings success today! All of our savings accounts are federally insured up to $250,000, which means your money is always protected. Plus, when you open an account, you earn dividends based on balances and you can deposit, transfer or withdraw funds at any time. We can also help you customize and structure your savings account to put aside money especially for specific financial goals. Open your savings account today!
