Are you struggling with your finances and living paycheck to paycheck without being able to put aside money for a savings account? Millions of Americans are experiencing this difficulty right now, as inflation has made the cost of living soar for many of us. While inflation has decreased somewhat over the last 12 months, it’s still a major problem.
Being able to save money for a rainy day consistently is a crucial skill. Without an emergency budget, one event could leave you penniless. An ideal target to aim for is saving $1,000 a month.
If that figure sounds like an insurmountable object for you, then don’t worry; being able to save $1,000 a month is a lot more realistic than you may realize. That’s why we’ve put together this guide on how to save money a month at a time, which will allow you to create increased financial stability for yourself. If you implement the advice included below and are willing to make some basic adjustments to your lifestyle, then within a relatively short period of time you’ll be able to save a thousand a month.
Why You Should Save $1,000 a Month
The first reason why you should be putting money away in a savings account every month is to ensure that you have an emergency budget should something go wrong in your life. If you don’t do this, your spending on dealing with emergencies like a vehicle breakdown, medical bills, etc. could be exceptionally high.
In the United States, it’s not unusual for people to go bankrupt due to unforeseen emergencies. Saving money every month helps to prevent this from happening.
By saving $1,000 a month, you will also be working towards creating financial independence for yourself and your family. This in turn will allow you to enjoy greater flexibility in various parts of your life. You’ll be able to work on projects you prefer because of their content rather than just the paycheck, and you can commit to increased spending on things like travel.
If you put money into a savings account, you will also be able to enjoy tax incentives, with a 401K offering particularly attractive incentives. By saving each month, you’ll also significantly reduce any stress you feel due to financial factors. With your budget and spending under control, you’ll be able to breathe much easier.
How to Plan Your Budget to Save $1,000 a Month
The first thing you need to do if you want to plan to save money is to carry out a thorough analysis of your inflows and outflows, current spending, and financial plans. This isn’t as complex as it sounds, and you can start by making a list of all your monthly bills for essential things like your mortgage or rent, your grocery list, utilities, credit cards, etc.
Then you should look at what you’re spending on non-essential bills. A good example includes media subscriptions that you don’t need to survive. This will help you realize what you can immediately put aside for your savings.
The next step is to implement the 50/30/20 budgeting plan, which stipulates that 50% of your monthly income goes to needs like bills, necessities, etc. You can then allocate 30% to things you may want but aren’t essential, like travel, experiences, entertainment media, and other factors.
The remaining 20% can then be allocated to your savings; if you’re earning $5,000 a month, then you can automatically save $1,000 each paycheck. Of course, millions aren’t earning this figure at the moment, so we’re also going to provide you with some tips on how to save as much money as possible on a tighter budget.
Nine Tips You Can Use to Start Saving Today
- Clear Your Credit Card Debt
It might sound strange to start a list of ways you can save money by saying you should commit to spending on your credit card debt, but you should start the saving process by ensuring you have as little debt as possible. This is especially true if you have credit cards with high-interest rates, which will cost you a lot of money over time.
So to make sure you’re able to consistently save money each month make sure your budget is in order by clearing your credit card debt. You can still save money while doing this; just be realistic about how much you can afford to put away while clearing your debt.
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- Cut Unused Subscriptions
More than 50% of American consumers are signed up for subscriptions that they use rarely or not at all, costing them on average $50 a month. To start on your way towards saving $1,000 a month, you should contact your debit or credit card providers and examine how many useless subscriptions you currently have on your account.
After you’ve checked your accounts, you should also re-examine the subscriptions that you know you have, and ask yourself wherever you really need them. It’s up to you to decide what should stay and what should go, but by cutting your spending on things like streaming services and memberships, you’ll save a lot of money.
- Always Make Your Homemade Meals
Going out for food is something most of us enjoy, but when you think about it, it’s a totally unnecessary expense, especially when you can make your own food at home for a fraction of the cost. If you want to make it to that $1,000 a month figure, committing to making all your food at home is a brilliant way to make sure you’re saving as much money as possible.
That might sound a bit extreme, but honestly, cooking all of your own food is not just good for cutting your spending; it’s also a very rewarding experience. Besides that, you’ll also be making another type of long-term investment, as homemade meals are almost always significantly healthier than their takeout counterparts.
- Buy Generic Brand Goods
When you go grocery shopping, you should be as smart as possible about the purchases you make, and you can go a long way towards stretching your budget to the max by only buying generic brand goods. These are the alternative versions of branded goods that most supermarkets will stock, and they can be significantly less expensive than your brand purchases.
Most of us have some sort of brand loyalty, whether that be for a kind of ketchup or maybe a soda drink. That’s totally normal and if you absolutely have to stick with one or two products that’s fine, but try some of the generic brands that supermarkets offer as well. You will likely be surprised by how much you like them, and not just for their lower price
- Reduce Your Utility Usage
Bills for essential utilities like electricity and heating have become more expensive in recent years, and many people are struggling to pay for the power they consume as a result. As such, you should look into ways to reduce your consumption across the board, as this will help you save plenty of money to put into a savings account.
Start with basic steps like making sure the lights are off when unused, changing your lightbulbs for longer-lasting versions, and making sure you unplug all electronic devices when they’re not being used. You could also install a smart heating meter, which allows you to turn your heating off and on remotely and set eco-friendly (and wallet-friendly) custom temperatures.
- Shop Around for a New Cellphone Plan
When was the last time that you checked how much you were spending on your cellphone plan and shopped around for an alternative if it was too expensive? A lot of us get so used to the plan we have that we don’t bother to find another option, but if you take the time to do so, you’ll often discover that there are plenty of more budget-friendly options on offer.
Check out what the competitors to your current plan provider offer. If you switch to them, you’ll often find that they also offer sign-on bonuses in addition to potentially better rates. If you’re not averse to negotiation, you could also take your research to your current provider and negotiate for a better deal; many companies will work hard to keep you as a customer.
- Look for Extra Work
Budgets might be more stretched these days but there’s also never been so many options for generating extra income that you can use to save up $1,000 a month. If you want to hit that figure, then you could consider doing extra work in addition to your many jobs. This is even something you could do from the comfort of your home.
You could turn one of your hobbies, for example, painting, into something that can be monetized by selling your creations. There are also ride-sharing apps like Uber that are always looking for new drivers, and you’d be able to work on your own terms. Freelancing is a good option in many professions too, particularly in the creative fields.
- Understand Your Spending Triggers
Compulsive spending is a common reason why a lot of us struggle to keep within our budgets, and we’ve all given in to impulse buying at some point. The good news is that you can actively work on stopping your brain from giving in to the urge to buy something needlessly, which will save you a lot of money.
Try to analyze what triggers you into wanting to make a compulsive purchase, what goes on in your brain when that happens, what feelings you are experiencing, etc. When the trigger happens, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you don’t really want or need the product in question. In no time at all, you’ll be able to reign in your needless spending.
- Sell Your Belongings via a Rummage Sale or Online
If you look around your house or apartment, you’ll almost certainly find things that you’re no longer using; you might even discover items you don’t even remember purchasing in the first place. If you’re not using something, then there’s not much point in keeping it, so why not set up a rummage sale where you can sell the things you don’t need?
Rummage sales are a great way to get started on saving $1,000 a month, and you’ll also get to interact with your neighbors in the process. If you don’t want to do this in public, you could also sell your items online directly to interested parties using websites like Craigslist. Just make sure you do your research on how much you should charge for your belongings.
Use the PocketGuard App To Help You Save Money
If you’re aiming to save $1,000 a month, then you’re in the right place because the PocketGuard budgeting app is designed to help you do just that. By signing up today, you’ll be taking a major step toward ensuring financial stability that will allow you to consistently put money aside for your savings account. By sticking with our app, you’ll be able to reign in your needless spending, set up customized budget categories based on your specific financial needs, and put money into your pocket as well as in your bank.
If you’re ready to take the big step towards putting money aside each month for your savings, then all you need to do is send us a message via the contact form. One of our customer service agents will get back in touch regarding how to set up an account with us and use the PocketGuard app to its maximum efficacy. You can also find out more by checking out our blog where we regularly post articles about financial management, reigning in needless spending, making intelligent investments, and other ways you can save money.
Imagine yourself in two years with your spending under control, a consistent budget each month, and a health savings account where you can place $1,000 a month with ease. Now that’s something well worth working towards, right? Make that a reality by signing up with PocketGuard today.
