How can you save more money easily and keep your finances secure?
Once you reach your initial savings goals, you may find yourself surprisingly eager to save even more money. If you’re competitive, this can feel like a game. You’ve unlocked your first achievement. Now what? It isn’t so much about spending the money or even making sure you have a safety net, but just proving to the world that—yes—you can do this whole “responsible adult” thing better than most. So, where do you start?
The following methods will ensure you continue to save without much extra work on your part (though we all know if it did, you could totally handle it):
Save money in a savings account – automatically.
Whether you decide to enroll in a 401k to save for retirement or you’re saving money in the bank, put the process on autopilot. Just like paying the bills, consider your savings contribution money you’re charged each paycheck by your future self. Though this isn’t as exciting as seeing big totals add up overnight, it’s helpful to get into the habit of putting money away. Perhaps the biggest benefit is ditching the “spend it while you got it” attitude that keeps so many people living in the poorhouse.
Save money by shopping smart.
Sites like Groupon present a number of ways to save on both everyday expenses and specialty items. Sometimes these savings are significant. However, you can also amass a list of available freebies and work them into your normal routine. Whether you sign up for retail and restaurant email lists or visit freebie boards looking for deals, you can identify offers that can replace your regular purchases. Joining a restaurant’s e-club generally gives you a coupon for a free item along with regular discounts and birthday giveaways. Signing up for a retailer’s emails often comes with an initial 15 to 30 percent discount, and you can often pair it with online sales.
It’s this kind of savings that can get really fun, but be warned. It can also be addictive. If you tend to be overwhelmed by competition, start with your own spending habits. Pick out the things you know you should cut out of your life, but just can’t quite cut the cord, and then look for freebies targeting just those types of products.
Save money by improving your credit.
One major way of saving is by purposefully boosting your FICO score to become eligible for better loans. This is done a number of ways. Immediately paying off old accounts may come back to bite you. Instead, write your creditors and ask if they’ll remove the negative account from your credit if you pay it off in full. Doing this has a much more significant impact on your score, and it works. You can even offer to pay less on large accounts and still have them removed or marked “paid as agreed.” It never hurts to ask.
Save money by asking for lower interest rates.
It should only take a few months to improve your credit score. Once you’ve raised up several points, it may be of benefit to contact any loan holders or credit card accounts you have to ask for better terms. Lowered interest rates result in immediately savings, and those benefits will last the length of your financing. In some situations, you may be asked to roll over to a new loan. This isn’t always a savings, so be sure to go over terms with a fine-toothed comb. Better yet, you can hire a professional accountant for an hour or so to look over the new deal.
We hope these tips on how to save more money will help you stretch your budget farther than ever before. However, if you aren’t quite at the point where you have enough savings to cover your emergency bills, Title Tree can help. Visit your nearest Title Tree store for fast, easy funding and more tips on how to spend less.