A new year means new goals. It gives you a fresh start to reevaluate where you are in life and where you want to be. Why not make it a goal to save more money in the new year?
Having personal financial goals is imperative to owning your money. Without a goal, your money isn’t being used as effectively as it could, or should, be.
Many of us want to save more money in 2017, but aren’t sure where to start. Here are 7 ideas to save more money in the new year.
1) Don’t Make Resolutions
Let me explain. A resolution by definition is the decision to do something. That’s it. It is often very broad, and doesn’t include anything tangible or steps to achieve that resolution. We create resolutions with good intentions but forget to set short-term and achievable goals. This is why our well-intentioned new years resolutions are often abandoned come spring.
Instead, consider setting goals. Goals allow you to be more specific and a process to achieve them already exists.
For example, a common resolution is “I want to save more money this year.” It’s extremely general. A financial goal, however, could be “I want to save $5,000 in my emergency fund this year.” From having a more specific goal, you can then figure out from there how you will save and how much you need to save every month to reach that goal.
Need ideas for specific money-related goals next year? Read our list of 100 goals to focus on for a successful year.
2) Set-up an Automatic Savings Account
The easiest way to save more money is to set money aside before you even see it.
Automatic savings accounts are an excellent tool or anyone struggling to save money. If you find yourself wanting to save money, but spending any money you have in your checking account, it’s time to consider a separate savings account.
I love my separate savings account for a few reasons. The money is accessible if I need it, but it isn’t too available. If I want to transfer money from my separate savings account to my checking account, I can, but it takes a few days. This makes me think twice about dipping into my savings account!
Another huge bonus of having a separate automatic savings account is that you don’t see the money. You can have money deducted from your paycheck every month to go into the automatic savings account. You’re saving money before you even realize it.
We highly recommend the Capital One online savings account. It is simple to set-up and fun (seriously!) to use, plus it earns higher interest rates than traditional banks. Sign up here and when you open an initial account of at least $250, you’ll earn a $25 bonus!
3) Pay Off Debt
You might not feel like you are saving money when you pay off debt. While you are spending money to pay off debt, the more quickly you pay off debt, the more money you save on interest.
Hefty amounts of debt, like student loans, might not be possible to pay off in one year. But by you paying extra on them now, you are saving thousands of dollars in interest.
Prioritize paying extra towards your highest interest loan this year. Even paying an extra $20 a month pays off big time in the long-term.
To save even more money, consider transferring or refinancing your debt to get better interest rates.
4) Re-evaluate Your Budget
How well has your current budget been working for you? The new year is a great time to take another look at your budget to see if there are any changes to be made.
If you’re looking to save more money, see where you can cut back in your budget. Are there any obvious discrepancies, such as you have budged $200 a month for clothing, but only spend $50? Or maybe you do spend $200 on clothing each month. Can you cut that down to $50 a month and save the rest?
If you’re serious about saving money, you’ll need to make some sacrifices in your budget. Your budget should reflect your priorities, so make sure that saving money is high on your list!
Need more savings ideas? Here are 30 ways to save each month.
5) Make More Money
One way to save more money this year is to make more money!
Think about what you could do to earn more money. Could you look for a higher paying job this year? Ask for a raise? Start a side hustle, like blogging?
When you take everything extra you make and put it into savings, it supercharges your efforts. While budgeting certainly helps save money, making more money can allow you to save at a more rapid rate.
Even if you just made an extra $200 a month, if you save that, you’ll have $2,400 by the end of the year. That’s a lot of money!
If you’re not in a position to make more money at your 9-5 job, you definitely should consider starting a side hustle. Whether your side hustle is shoveling snow, baby sitting, or freelance writing, you’ll bring in a significant amount of extra cash. Here’s 50+ side hustle ideas that can be done from the comfort of your home.
6) Get Better Rates
Make a list of every monthly bill you pay for. This includes cable, internet, car loans, insurance, and cellphones.
Whatever you are currently paying, it is likely that you are not getting the best deal. Calling your providers is never a fun chore, but the possible savings makes it worth it.
If your current providers are not willing or able to lower your payments, research other options. Taking the effort to switch can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars every single year.
Even lowering one bill $20 a month means you will have saved $240 in a year. That’s worth it!
7) Try a Savings Challenge
If you want to immediately increase your chance of accomplishing a goal, turn it into a challenge. Here are 3 specific challenges you can try:
- 52 Week Money Challenge –
This challenge consists of making deposits into a savings account once a week for 52 weeks. It starts with $1, then $2, then $3…all the way up to $52. At the end of the challenge you will have saved over $1,000. You can double or triple the deposit amounts if you want to stretch yourself.
Sound interesting? Download a free spreadsheet or printable and get started today!
- No-Spend Challenge –
No-spend challenges are becoming more and more common these days as people realize how much stuff they already have. You can go on a true no-spend challenge where you spend little or nothing for a week or month, or you can tailor it to your lifestyle (i.e. no eating out, no buying groceries, etc.).
If this sounds like something you’d be up for trying read our post on why you should consider a no-spend challenge.
- Side Hustle Challenge –
As mentioned earlier, one of the best ways to save money is to make money. When DC found himself and his wife in $100k of student loan debt he challenged himself to offset their $1,000 a month in student loan payments through side hustles.
Tailor the side hustle challenge to your needs. Would $500 a month in side hustle income help you pay off credit card debt? Or perhaps you want to make a few grand a month so you can eventually transition to full-time freelancing? Whatever the amount might be, set your monthly goal and then go for it!
As you can see there are a lot of different challenges that you can set for yourself when it comes to your finances. The important thing is to pick one and get started – the sooner the better!
_________________________
Saving money isn’t always fun or easy, but it is worth every bit of time and effort. You can resolve to save money in the new year, but it likely won’t become reality unless you set goals, make more money, and fight to find more money in your budget.
It will be a challenge and mistakes will be made, but by pushing yourself to save and making smart decisions every day, you will be saving at a rate like you never have before!
Here are some related posts you may enjoy:
What will you do to save more money next year?
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
I’m with you on resolutions…way too general. That said, I’m a firm believer in setting specific goals.
I’m doing a no-spend month in January to kick start savings for the New Year. I’m excited to see exactly how much I can save!
Can’t wait to read about your no-spend month (I hope you’re writing about it!) Good luck!!
SMART resolutions are the only good resolutions.
I use the new year to look at our budget & see if we should adjust our saving, investing, or charity levels. I also scramble to do any last-minute tax moves (if I remember before January 1st).
Agreed! And good point about tax moves – slips my mind more often than I would like to admit!
For new year and to save more I am going to have a sort of shopping ban and a cash diet!!!
Great goals! Good luck! Can’t wait to hear about your successes!
One of our biggest goals for 2017 is to end the year completely debt-free – the plans have been in motion for a while now, but it’s going to happen in 2017 and I’m pretty excited :D I’m also doing a “reverse” 52-week savings challenge!
Can’t wait to read about how you become debt-free :) Excited for you!
Totally agree with you about New Year’s Resolutions being too general. As you say, it’s way better to come up with very specific goals.
I think it’s great that you mentioned re-evaluating the budget too – things change, and budgets should too! :)
Thanks, Avery! And I completely agree – a budget needs to change with you!
We really like #1 and #7! It’s a great idea to try a saving challenge, maybe possibly against a family member or friend? This would help motivate those people who are competitive and don’t like losing to win a saving challenge!
Happy holidays and a happy new year from the Centsai team!
Thanks! And happy holidays to Centsai, too!