5 Tips to Save $1,000 Fast
Hey Money Talkers! Sometimes things pop up in life that require a large chunk of change fast. You might deplete your emergency savings overnight and need to replenish it, you may be saving for a vacation, for your business, to buy a car, or even to buy a home. Whatever the need may be, hell, maybe there is not even a real dire need, everyone would probably just like to know some tricks on how to save money quickly. So I am here today to give you 5 tips to save up $1,000 fast. Stay tuned for so knowledge!
Automate Savings
The first tip to save $1,000 quickly is to automate your savings. If you are paid through direct deposit, set your payment to automatically deposit a certain percentage of each paycheck into a savings account that is not linked directly to your checking account. Automating your savings does three things. The first thing it does is it takes the effort out of saving and therefore, the excuse, out of saving. Automating your savings also means that the money will not be missed because you never see it. It feels less like a sacrifice if you see you got paid $500 this week, than if you saw that you were paid $600 and then you had to turn around and move $100 into your savings account. Finally, automating your savings to deposit into a savings account that is not directly linked to your checking account makes it harder to Indian Give to yourself because these transactions typically take a couple days to process. Once you automate your savings you will be amazed at how quickly your savings can grow. Start at a small percentage and then incrementally increase the percentage every month until you hit your goal.
$5 Challenge
This sounds stupid, but i kid you not, this works. With this challenge all you have to do is save every $5 bill you receive. If you receive a $5 bill do not break it, do not spend it, just deposit it straight into your savings account. This works really well for people paid in cash, who do not get direct deposit payments. I have a girlfriend I used to bartend with who did this, and her first year she saved over $5,000. So she does it every year now. It’s just such a cut and dry rule that there is really no loophole around. You either stick to it or you don’t. But if you do decide to give it a real go, I promise you it works.
Cut Back on Meals Out
If you are like me, then the thing you spend the most money on is eating out...
My budgeted amount to spend on eating out is even kind of high; but that’s how I treat myself. So if you are trying to save money fast, one of the best ways to get there is to literally ground yourself. Make an effort to cook meals at home so you won’t be tempted to eat out every day. I know this tip sounds like it sucks, and it may at first, but the amount of money you will save in just one month could easily exceed $1,000; especially if you don’t really track how much you spend eating and drinking out. Plus, the practice of grounding yourself, even just for a month, will get you into the habit of cooking and making cocktails at home so that may you save even more by creating healthy money savvy habits in the long run.
Cancel Subscriptions
Take a moment to go through all the subscriptions you have. Go through your bank statements and eliminate services you hardly use. It doesn’t make sense to pay for a service you aren’t using. That money would be of better use in your savings account. If you really are in a crunch to save big and fast, then cut them all off for a month or two except for one. For example, If you have hulu, netflix, pandora, disney plus, a gym membership, a boxy charm, etsy, etc. Cancel all of them except Netflix for a month or two and see how much you save. Once, you have saved your goal amount, you may realize you don’t need all of those subscriptions anyways and choose to keep some of them cancelled for the long haul.
Get a Side Hustle
Use your down time to make extra cash. A survey conducted by Bankrate found the average income earned per month from a side hustle is $686. You can Uber, Lyft, Instacart, babysit, wash cars, or clean. You can do something you love, like painting, freelance writing, garage sale furniture flipping, Zumba instructing, or web design. The possibilities are endless. Make it a side hustle for now, until you meet your savings goal, or make it a side hustle for the long term. Hell, you may even turn your side hustle into your new business if all goes well. The point is if you have extra time you can make extra cash.
Long story short, there are many ways that you can save $1,000 quickly, but you have to be willing to put in the work and make the sacrifice. Once you dedicate yourself to your savings plan, you get yourself one step closer to financial freedom. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Until next time Money Talkers!