Money-Saving Tips that Really Work

It’s one thing to resolve to save more of your hard-earned money, and another to actually do so. Good Housekeeping Magazine offers five reader-submitted tips that can work wonders to help you stash away cash:

 

Add a dollar to your savings each week – Take the 52 Week Money Challenge and put away a dollar the first week, two dollars the second, three dollars the third, etc. Granted, it gets a little tougher each week, but by the end of the year, you will have $1,378 saved!

Downsize to one car – It may sound impossible, but if one car sits unused in a parking lot most of the day, you may be able to do this. When you calculate what that second car is costing you – including gas, maintenance, insurance, etc. – you may decide the sacrifice is worth taking a bus or train to work. You may even drop a few pounds by doing more walking – and you will be saving hundreds of dollars each month.

Stash away a few singles – Whenever you think about it, take a few singles out of your wallet and stash them away in an envelope. Chances are, you won’t even miss them. It will give you some available cash on hand in case of an unexpected expense. More than that, it will still build up, and you could pile up a couple hundred bucks each year. (More if, every once in a while, you stash away a fiver!)

Name your savings – Online-only banks will let you name multiple accounts (think Mama’s Spa Weekend or Hawaii, Here We Come.) When you see the names pop up on your statements, it makes savings seem like fun – and if you decline the ATM card, it takes days to get the money so you may avoid impulse spending.

Sort through your grocery cart – Before you head to the check stand, sort through your cart and eliminate items you don’t really need. If you can do without that candy or the bag of chips, put them back. It may seem like more trouble than it’s worth, but it’s good exercise and if you stash the cash you would have spent on those items, the savings will soon mount up.

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