3 WAYS TO SAVE MONEY WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE ANY
Trying to save money when you don’t have much wiggle room in the budget can feel like a daunting task.
Between student loans, rent, and credit card bills, saving for emergencies can seem almost impossible. But don’t give up! There are small things that you can do to make a big difference with your money.
Let’s talk about 3 things that you can do to save money when you don’t have any.
Small Things That Make A Big Difference
1. No Amount Is Too Small
Decide that no amount is too small. You don’t have to get a big raise or get another job in order to start saving. It also doesn’t matter how broke you are or how much debt you are in, you can still pay yourself first.
So, how do you start saving? Start small. Save your change. Set aside $5 a week and put it in an interest earning savings account separate from your checking account. Don’t be overwhelmed by how much you “should” be saving and focus instead on what you can save.
A little can go a long way.
2. Put Saving on Autopilot
One of my favorite ways to save is to set up automatic withdrawals. This can be either a direct transfer from your checking account to your savings or with an app like Qapital. Qapital is a great app that allows you to save money based on your own saving rules. Qapital can round your purchases to the next dollar and save your change. Your savings will grow in no time.
3. Create a fun savings challenge
If you want to save more money than make it fun! Here are some of my favorite money challenges:
Save your $1 or $5 bills – Spend only cash for 30-days and save all of your $1 bills or $5 bills. It makes saving really fun and will add up quickly.
Try Bingo Savings – I absolutely love this chart. This is a great way to save $1,000 in one year. The Money Savings Chart has 52 boxes and the goal is to save an amount in one of the boxes each week. No box on the chart is over the amount of $60 and there is one box that is a zero! Use this chart to build up your emergency fund fast.
Start with coins – Don’t forget the piggy bank. I know it seems as though you aren’t making much progress, but don’t give up on saving your coins! If you spend cash and save all of coins you can definitely have an additional couple of hundred dollars for the emergency room by the end of the year.
