Quick Tips to Increase Your Savings

Wondering how to give your personal savings a bit of a boost?

It might be that you are saving for something in particular, or just getting together an emergency fund for those unexpected bills that come up.

Nothing feels better than being able to pay a bill as soon as it arrives and knowing you aren’t getting stuck paying extra for a late fee.

Whatever your reason for saving, here are a few easy ways to save a little extra this week.

Small expenses

Sometimes it’s not the larger expenses that get in the way of us reaching our savings goals. Instead, you may discover that the small incidental expenses in your day are adding up, leaving you with less to allocate to savings. Eating out instead of packing a lunch, buying a beverage instead of bringing your own drink bottle, purchasing a coffee from the cafe instead of preparing one at home to bring with you, grabbing a magazine to read on the train.

By being more aware of how all of these small expenses add up in your week, you may find that you can easily save yourself $100+ with a little extra preparation. Deciding on a budget that you feel comfortable with for those little splurges is a great place to start.

Plan for your week

A few hours on a Sunday afternoon spent preparing some meals and snacks for the week in bulk is not only convenient, and generally healthier than takeaway, but can also cost a lot less in total than eating out every day. Plenty of snack foods can be frozen or stored in airtight containers, and then consumed over a couple of weeks. Having a meal plan in addition to ensuring that you are stocked up with the right ingredients at home can help reduce the temptation of ordering in. Also, having frozen meals ready to be re-heated for those nights when meal prep is out of the question can also be useful.

How are you travelling?

Ride your bike. Walk. Carpool. Catch the bus or train. Get on your scooter. All of these methods could help you save money spent on fuel for your car, parking, reduce general wear and tear, plus it could help you feel fitter and healthier. A little planning can also go a long way. Pairing together errands is one strategy that may be useful, as opposed to making separate trips. Negotiating work from home days with your employer is another possibility. 

Making small and sustainable changes is the key. Even saving $20 a week extra works out to be $1040 a year of additional savings. To learn more about setting a budget to reach your savings goal, read here.