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So far, 2020 hasn’t lived up to its expectations. Due to the worldwide pandemic, many people fear for their financial future. Thus, saving money is more important now than ever.
To help you learn how to save money in 2020, we’ve compiled a list of 10 money saving tips to help you spend less and add some weight to your bank account.
How Will We Save Money In 2020?
When boiled down, saving money is simple. You just need to spend less than you earn. Depending on your savings goals, you can tweak both sides of this equation to maximize your savings. Of course, there are other variables that affect the ease in which this is done, but if you’re tenacious about making financial changes, you’re capable of great savings.
1. Get Clear on Your Savings Motivation
While you don’t have to live in total deprivation to save money, you do need to reduce your spending and follow a budget. This can sound like a drag, but it doesn’t have to be. Plus, it’s a lot easier to do if you’re motivated by a compelling financial goal.
If there is something you really want but aren’t sure if you can afford, look to see if there are any coupons available online, or download the RebateKey chrome extension to see discounts on products you’re interested in quickly.
Here are some potential reasons that might resonate with you. You want to:
- Build up an emergency fund
- Get debt-free
- Save for something special, like a vacation, wedding, or home
- Grow your retirement savings
- Set yourself up for financial freedom
- Stop living paycheck to paycheck
When you’re passionate about what you’re saving for, it’s a lot easier to make sacrifices and reach your goals.
2. Set Your Savings SMART Goal
The best way to achieve any goal is to make sure it’s specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. These traits make up the well-known SMART goal acronym.
When setting your savings goal, and managing your spending habit, figure out exactly how much you want to save within a specific time frame. From there, determine how you can realistically reach this goal. As you make changes to your lifestyle, track your savings progress, and adjust as necessary.
Here are some questions to help you develop your SMART savings strategy:
- How much do I want to save?
- When do I want to reach my goal?
- How much do I need to save per week to reach my goal?
- How can I decrease my spending to make that happen?
- How can I increase my earnings to speed up the process?
Ensuring you have a SMART savings strategy is one of the best ways to save money in 2020.
3. Reduce Non-Essential Spending
We’ve all heard about how you should cut out that daily Starbucks latte if you want to save money. Even if you consider Starbucks an essential part of your lifestyle, you can probably pinpoint some other items to spend less money on.
Here are some ideas:
- Take out meals
- Video streaming services
- Cable TV
- Bottled water
- Costly beauty regimes
- Trendy clothing
- Magazines
- Gym memberships
- Alcohol
- Etc.
Track your spending each month and put all non-essentials in a separate category. You may be surprised at how much money you’re shelling out on these unnecessary items. This money could be better spent tackling your debt or earning interest in a savings account.
4. Prepare Cost-Effective Meals
After housing and transportation expenses, food is the third-largest living expense for Americans. Food is a necessity. However, depending on your grocery shopping habits, your meals could be more cost-effective.
One way to spend less on food is to start meal planning. The average person wastes around 30% to 40% of the food they buy. Meal planning reduces food waste considerably. It also saves you time in the kitchen, simplifies your life, and helps you make healthier choices. To meal plan, follow these steps:
- Find a few recipes for the next week’s worth of meals
- Write a grocery list of the ingredients you’ll need
- Only purchase these items at the store
- Spend one afternoon cooking these meals
- Make enough portions to last throughout the week
- Store each meal in a container, so they’re ready to go when you get hungry
By planning ahead, less of your food purchases will go to waste. You’ll also prevent the temptation to order food delivery since you’ll have healthy options pre-prepared.
More Ways to Save On Food
If meal planning doesn’t appeal to you, there are other ways to cut your food costs, such as:
- Buying in bulk
- Planting a vegetable garden
- Cooking your meals, rather than purchasing convenience food from the store
- Shopping at cheaper grocery stores: Read our article on how to save money at Walmart
These small steps can compound your savings in big ways over time.
5. Wait A While Before Making Purchases
Online shopping is very tempting these days, especially as we spend more time at home. However, this pastime can quickly sabotage your savings goals if you’re not careful. To save yourself from impulse buying, establish a waiting period before making purchases, such as:
24 hours – For smaller purchases, give yourself a full day to determine if you really need that item.
30 days – For larger purchases, give yourself even more time to mull it over. After a month has passed, you might be relieved you didn’t pull the trigger on that home elliptical or fancy toaster oven.
During this waiting period, ask yourself the following questions:
- Can I afford it?
- Do I own something similar?
- Can I borrow this from a friend instead?
- What else could this money be used for?
You’ll be amazed at how time can transform your perspective on many of the items you added to your cart. If you decide to buy the item after the waiting period, you can do so without any buyer’s remorse.
6. Embrace Minimalism
Minimalism is a concept that has gained societal popularity, thanks to Marie Kondo. It challenges the traditional maximalist perspective that “more is better.” Instead, minimalism shows us how little we need to be happy. Letting go of the clutter frees up our time and energy to focus on what truly matters.
After you declutter your home, you’ll have heaps of items to sell online. Think of it as liquidating your assets. These items will find a better home and help you pad your savings with some extra cash.
With a decluttered space, you might even discover that you can downsize your living arrangements. Maybe you don’t need a huge house or that extra bedroom in your apartment. Moving somewhere smaller can drastically reduce your fixed expenses, helping you save faster.
7. Find Creative Ways to Earn Extra Income
You don’t have to limit your total income to the earnings from your full-time job. These days, there is a multitude of ways to bring in more cash on the side. Many of these side-gigs can be done from home.
Here are some ideas:
Sell on Amazon – People have found unbelievable success by creating stores on Amazon. Due to the prevalence of online shopping during this COVID-19 outbreak, Amazon is more popular than ever. Tap into this opportunity and create your Amazon shop today.
Deliver for a food delivery app – You can make your own hours and get paid per delivery as well as receive tips and bonuses. To save money you can even choose to use your bike instead of your car to deliver food.
Become a content creator – Blogging or making Youtube videos is a fun way to earn extra money on the side. Simply create content about topics you’re passionate about. As you grow your following, it can become a lucrative side business.
What Should I Do With Money in 2020?
So what should you do with all the money you’ve saved?
7. Open a High Yield Savings Account
With all the money you’re saving, you need to find a place to store it. A savings account keeps your money safe and allows it to earn interest. However, not all saving accounts are made the same. Most of them have very low-interest rates. Thus, your money won’t grow as fast as it could.
To maximize your savings, transfer your money into a high-yield savings account. Many online banks offer these accounts since they don’t have the level of overhead expenses that brick-and-mortar banks do. Thus, they can afford to offer higher interest rates.
In turn, your savings rate can increase from a measly 0.01% up to around 1.9%!
Schedule Automatic Payments
To simplify your savings process, schedule recurring deposits into your new account. This way, your savings will grow without you even needing to think about it.
9. Tackle Your Debt
To enjoy true financial freedom, you need to get out of debt ASAP. Whether you have student loans or credit card debt, the resulting interest fees can quickly counteract your savings. Thus, tackling high-interest debt should be your top priority.
Many financial experts recommend using the “snowball method” to get out of debt. In this method, you:
- Pay the minimum payment due on all your debt
- Funnel extra money towards your high-interest debt
- Once that’s paid off, pay off your low-interest debt
This way, you’ll end up paying the least possible amount in interest fees over time.
10. Shop Using Cash Back Rebates
Lastly, saving money doesn’t need to take away all the fun. All you have to do is find ways to make your spending habits more affordable.
Cash back rebate services, like RebateKey, let you do just that. As you shop, you’ll receive cash back on your purchases. After a shopping spree, you can expect a check in the mail with all your cash back savings.
Put all this cash in your savings accounts, and you’ll reach your savings goal in no time.
How Can I Save More Money?
If you’re ready to enhance your savings in 2020, sign up for RebateKey today. We offer rebates, coupons, and deals. You’ll get cash back on purchases from a plethora of popular retailers. Rebates are available from online stores, such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and more. You can even save money on car rental or at hotels.
Due to RebateKey’s direct relationship with its retailers, it can offer more substantial discounts. In turn, you’ll get the best deals out there. Join the tens of thousands of RebateKey users today and never pay full price again!
Sources:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm
https://howmuch.net/articles/consumer-spending-in-the-united-states
