5 Money Savings Challenges That Will Change Your Life
Let’s be honest, saving money can be boring and challenging. I am a very competitive person and if I can make a game out of saving money, it makes me work that much harder.
Last month I started the new year off with a bang and 5 Savings Challenges for 2020 including a free 52-Week Savings Challenge Printable and here is another one for you!
For those of you who enjoy videos, here’s my video on 5 Money Savings Challenges That Will Change Your Life.
1. Set Up A New Bank Account With Automated Transfers
Set up automated transfers to a NEW savings account. I recommend using a bank that is NOT where you do your day-to-day banking. This stops you from dipping into savings when a simple inconvenience comes up – or you when you want to go shopping.
Using a high yield savings account like CIT bank is a MUST.
CIT Bank offers competitive interest rates that allow you to earn money as you save.
Set up an AUTOMATED amount to transfer to your account every time you get paid.
It can be $5, $25, or $100, whatever you feel comfortable with.
Treat it as a bill and it will be second nature.
Think of the famous Warren Buffet quote “Do not save what is left after spending; instead spend what is left after saving.”
2. Analyze Your Accounts
If you’re anything like me, you know that you need to call around and search for a better rate… but you’ve put off this task for a LONG time.
We always hear that we can save money by switching to Geico or lower different bills – but that seems like such a headache and a lot of work on top of your already hectic life.
Now there are trusted sites that will do all the leg work for you!
• BILLSHARK: BillShark negotiates lower prices on your monthly bills to save you time, money and hassle. They boast an 85% success rate, negotiating Cable TV, Wireless Phone, Satellite TV, Internet Access, Satellite Radio, and Home Security bills.
• Gabi: Gabi shops for your car and home insurance, saving you $720 on average comparing quotes from over 20 companies to find you the right policy, all in under two minutes. Gabi has insurance brokers licensed in all 50 states.
• Blooom is the ONLY independent robo-advisor that specializes in managing 401ks, 403bs & IRAs. In minutes, Blooom can tell you where you stand on fees, diversification and stock/bond mix for FREE!
3. Save 1 Month Of Expenses
The common advice given is to save a $1,000 emergency fund. This is a great start, but I’m personally moving away from that minimum amount.
$1000 in 1970 isn’t the same as $1000 in 2020.
Saving up one month’s worth of expenses is more realistic in this day and age and will be a big enough safety net when an emergency hits.
4. You CAN save $10,000 in ONE YEAR!
We’ve all seen it floating around Instagram: “If you mindlessly spend $27.40 a day, you’ve blown through $10,000 in ONE year.”
How eye opening is that. $27 a day can be blown by one time through the drive through! Wow!
The SAME works for saving $27.40 a day. 3-5 years ago would NEVER think that I could save $10,000 in a year! After reading that quote, I realized how easy it is to blow through money mindlessly.
We need to shift our mindset that we can also SAVE $10,000 in a year.
Why do we often have the mindset that we can blow through money easier than saving money?
It’s time to kick that saying to the curb and know that you CAN and WILL save $10,000 this year!
You got this!
5. Track EVERY Expense
Tracking every expense is something that I have been recommending people do for YEARS.
It may seem daunting at first, but when you are tracking every single expense, it’s eye opening to see where your money is going, where you are over spending, what your triggers are and ultimately where you can save money to hit your financial goals faster.
I personally track my expenses in EXCEL. Here is the same template that I use.
If you are tracking your expenses every couple of days it only takes 5-10 minutes to login to your accounts, but if you wait until the end of the month it will take you an hour – making it easier to throw your hands up and walk away
Another thing to consider, if you wait until the end of the month you may have already blown your grocery budget and it will be too late.
If you do it half way through then you are aware and can adjust accordingly.
Ways I save money:
Here at Freedom In A Budget, I am all about saving money! Here are some of the EASY ways that I save money:
• Fetch Rewards is a free grocery savings app that rewards you just for snapping pictures of your receipts. That’s it. Really. Free gift cards on groceries on thousands of products every day, no matter where you get your groceries.
Just scan your receipts and get gift cards from retailers like Amazon, Target, Ulta, Applebees. Use code QHKBH to earn 2,000 points ($2)!
• Credit Karma offers Credit Score and Monitoring, Savings Recommendations and Identity Theft Protection. ALL FOR FREE.
• CIT Bank offers CDs to provide a safe, secure way to grow your savings. With the CIT Bank No-Penalty CD, you get the security of an 11 month CD with no withdrawal penalty seven days or later after funds have been received.
• Gabi is a full-service, online advisor who compares all your insurance options to find you the right policy, all in under two minutes.
• M1 Finance is an easy to use brokerage platform that allows you to invest in Fractional Shares and auto reinvest!
• Webull Get 2 Free Stocks on WeBull when you deposit $100 (Valued up to $1400).
What are YOUR favorite savings challenges? Let me know down below in the comments!
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