In today’s economy everyone needs to have a nest egg, if for nothing else, peace of mind. Saving money does not have to be painful. With some frugality and careful planning, you can find painless ways to boost your savings account quickly and easily. Whether you are saving for college, a vacation or an emergency fund, it is important to get into the habit of saving money on a regular basis.
Look into payroll deduction at work. Most financial experts advocate saving at least ten percent of your take home pay. It is hard to miss what you do not see. If you cannot save ten percent, try having a smaller amount automatically deducted into your savings account. Work on increasing the amount every six months or so until you can get it to ten percent.
Inspect your checking account statement for the past three months and total up the cost for fuel, groceries and dining out. Divide each amount by three to set up a monthly budget for each category. Label an envelope for each category and withdraw the amount of cash needed per month for fuel, groceries and dining out. Pay for those purchases only with the cash from the envelopes and endeavor to trim down your costs for each category.
Try to reduce your fuel consumption by combing errands or walking if possible. If your employer pays for public transportation take advantage of that.
Check the weekly flyers for sales and use coupons to bring down your grocery bill. Check to see if your local grocery store doubles coupons and use coupons efficiently by combining them with sales. For example; if your grocery store has brownies on sale for a $1.00 and you have a .35 cent coupon for the brownies which the store will double, the brownies will only cost you .30 plus tax. That is a really sweet deal!
If you have looked at your grocery bill lately, you know that meat is one of the most expensive items on it. Try serving a meatless dinner once or twice a week to save some money. There are many options for meatless dinners such as macaroni and cheese, soup and salad, or toasted cheese sandwiches.
Eating out can take a huge bite out of your budget. Even though the price of groceries has risen sharply in the past year, it is still cheaper to eat at home. Swinging through the drive up for your morning coffee can cost you an average of $7.50 a week. Make coffee at home and skip the drive up. Eating out everyday for lunch really adds up. Try packing a lunch and bringing it to work at least two days a week or more. By skipping the coffee and taking your lunch just two days a week, you can save about $80 a month.
Once the month is done, check all three of your envelopes. Put whatever cash that remains into your savings account. Make it a game to be as frugal as possible so you can have more money to tuck into your savings account. Soon you will see your savings account grow quickly and easily without feeling the pinch.