Think You Can’t Save Money Right Now? Let’s Prove That Wrong

What is stopping you from saving money? For many people, the answer to that question is the myths they’ve believed about their financial position and prowess. Many people believe that they can’t start saving until they get a raise. Unfortunately, when the raise comes, they often decide they can’t save money until they get another raise. This is the onset of a vicious cycle in which the person spends more as they make more, a trend known as lifestyle inflation.

Others assume that they can’t start saving until they’re out of debt, or that they’re too young to worry about saving money. Ultimately, most of the reasons that people assume they can’t save money are based on the lies that they’ve told themselves about financial management.

If you’re one of the more than 20 million Americans who acknowledge that they have no savings, today is the day to turn things around. We’ve put together a list of money-saving hacks that can help you build a nest egg for yourself while also overcoming the lies that you’ve believed about saving money.

What’s Your Why?

Before we dive into some tips for saving money, there’s an important part of the equation that must be figured out. What is your motivation for wanting to save money? Are you trying to build an emergency fund so every financial issue doesn’t turn into a crisis, or do you want to save a down payment for a new home?

Your motivation for saving money will directly impact how serious you are about changing your spending habits. People who want to save up enough money to have some peace of mind may not need as much money as people who want to spend a month traveling the world.

Your motivation dictates how much money you need to save and how fast you need to save it. While all of these money-saving hacks can work, the ones that you choose to implement and the commitment that you have to the process may vary depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

Track Every Dollar for At Least One Month

One of the primary reasons that people struggle with saving money is that they don’t know where their money is going. If you were asked to fill out a budget sheet that covered where you spent every dollar that left your account last month, you may initially think that it would be pretty easy. You would start with the major bills, like your mortgage or your rent. You would probably include utilities, your vehicle, and other fixed costs.

Once you move beyond those costs that are virtually the same each month, you’ll probably find that you don’t know where your money goes. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, as it’s the case for most people.

It’s never been easier to spend money than it is today. How many apps do you have on your phone that allow you to spend? You can sign up for streaming services, rent movies, order dinner, place a grocery order, and more from your phone. You probably have your credit card information saved, so you can spend with the press of a single button.

By tracking your expenses for 30 days, you can get a clear picture of where your money is going. While you may not have thought much about that $5 streaming service, your $75 Target delivery, and the $22 that you spent on DoorDash when you placed those orders, they add up quickly. When you see where your money is going, you can start making the necessary changes.

Identify Your “Sneaky” Expenses

There are some monthly expenses that you can’t do anything about. If you have electricity, you have to pay for it. Unless you have a natural well on your property, you have to pay for water. Your rent or mortgage payment is going to be there every month. Those expenses aren’t “sneaky.”

Sneaky expenses are those that we talked about a moment ago. Things like dining out, ordering food online, and shopping on your phone are all “sneaky “expenses. Fortunately, limiting them is one of the easiest steps that you can take.

If you find that you’re spending too much on dining out, commit to only eating out once a week. Yes, that includes the food that you have delivered to your front door. For your other meals, cook at home. You’ll quickly find that you can make multiple meals for the cost of a single meal at a restaurant.

Do an audit on your streaming subscriptions. Many people sign up for a 30-day free trial and forget to cancel the subscription, which leads to a monthly cost. Look at every streaming platform that you have a subscription to, and cancel the ones that you don’t use multiple times each week.

Finally, when it comes to non-essential purchases, create a 24-hour rule. Amazon isn’t going to sell out of the box sets of books that you placed in your cart. If you still want them a full 24 hours after you find them, it’s OK to treat yourself if it fits into your budget. When you limit or eliminate sneaky expenses, you’ll have more money to set aside in savings.

Building Your Budget

You may have assumed that creating a budget was the first step in your attempt to start saving money today. However, you’re better off creating your budget after you know how you’re currently spending your money. Your budget is a road map that will help you start going in the right direction with your finances, and the only way to build that map is to determine where you’re going wrong.

One of the most important aspects of creating a budget is making one that’s realistic. If you generally bring home $5,000 per month, your budget shouldn’t start with $8,000 in monthly income. If your mortgage or rent payment is $1,500 per month, make sure that you’re accurately reflecting that with your budget.

A realistic budget helps you determine how to handle your money in a way that’s conducive to saving. Depending on how much you want to save and how fast you want to save it, your budget can help you determine how much of your “extra” money (money that isn’t required for bills) you can put into savings.

Make Saving Automatic

One of the easiest ways to start saving money today is to stop relying on willpower so you can start relying on systems. If we’re being honest, you’ve probably known that you needed to be saving money for a while. However, your willpower hasn’t been enough to overcome your spending habits, and it’s unlikely that it will suddenly become enough. Instead, you need to rely on systems that can help you save money.

One of the most effective methods for putting these systems in place involves changing your psychological approach to money. Instead of viewing saving money as a chore that you don’t want to perform, think of it as paying yourself. When you get paid from your job, much of that money is gone before you ever get to enjoy it. As we’ve already established, the money that you do get to enjoy is often spent haphazardly on things that you don’t really need.

Start viewing your savings account as a reward. When you pay yourself first, you don’t view your deposits into savings as an obligation anymore.

What If You Don’t Make Enough Money?

There are instances in which people don’t make enough money to set up a designated savings account. If you’re among the millions of people who live paycheck to paycheck, you may assume that you can’t save any money, as it takes every dollar that you make to survive.

However, there are still some steps that you can take. For instance, try to find a low-effort side hustle that doesn’t require a huge time investment, but can generate a little extra money that you can put aside. You can also call service providers like your phone company to ask about lowering your monthly bills. Remember, saving even $5 per week is better than not saving anything.

Start Saving Today

No matter where you stand on your financial journey, today is the day to start saving money. Whether it’s for a new home, a dream vacation, or to reduce your own stress, saving money is as simple as taking a few steps to change your spending habits.