[Emily]

Hi! I am needing to save roughly $5,000 by mid September. I’ve never set a goal to save money or anything.

What are some tips you could give me or apps that have helped you save?

I get paid weekly, but some weeks my checks are already eaten by bills.

Thanks!

[Shannon]

For me the easiest way is to have an account that’s out of sight and mind – so PayPal savings or if I do a side thing I have it deposited into a prepaid card account that’s separate from my regular earnings/spending

[Jane]

I’ve been able to save a lot by writing out everything I spent by hand, on a note that was on the front of the fridge.

Every time I went in or near the fridge my expenses were right there.

It took a few seconds to write the date and the amount on it when coming home from shopping, for example.

I’m not sure about apps, perhaps it would simply calculations but you’d need to remember to interact with it and to make sure to update it manually

[Mary]

be sure to pay bills on time so you avoid penalty fees or interest charges !!! september – so that’s abt 1000 $$ per month !!! can you even do that?

at the first of the month or whenever payday is – immediately put the money you are saving into a savings account and don’t dip into it !!!!

check and see if your bank / credit union has a money market savings account.

usually, the money market savings account pays higher interest than the regular savings account.

[Annette]

Unfortunately, there are only two ways, increase income or decrease spending. Get very honest with yourself about what you *need*. Or find another way to make money.

I had 2/3 jobs most of my life.

Those have a more interesting name now -side hustle.

[Allison]

Whatever you need that $5000 for. What is it more important than compared to that which you’re currently spending money on?

Cut everything out that is less important.

[Johnson]

Where is your written budget
You can use an app or a spreadsheet but I like to write mine
You need to save 1k to 1200 a month to get to that

250+ a week
Do you make that kind of money

Or do you need a side hustle to bring in an extra K to save?

[Donna]

Break it down into weekly of how much you need to save. Once you know that, you can set down to make a budget.

You can see if you have to become more frugal and what you need to do to save that money.

If you look at this huge amount, you will be overwhelmed.

[Shirley]

Every penny counts. Do not buy anything that is not 100% needed. Cook simple, healthy food at home. Unless you are an athlete you only need meat a few times a week and only the size of a deck of cards.

You don’t need soda or energy drinks if you use them.

Make your own coffee. I use the Flipp app to get good deals on food.

It also tells you sales on anything else. If you HAVE to have this money you can look into selling plasma.

[August]

Anytime I need to save extra money, I look at my expenses from the last month and write them all down (or use an app like Rocket to separate them into categories)

I like to separate purchases/spending into Needs/Bills, things I wanted a lot, and things I could do without

I start by gutting my things I could do without and see how much money that saves me.

Then I move to the things I really wanted (typically for me it’s like concert tickets and similar things) and take what I can from there.

Along with this I think everyone should regularly check internet usage and stuff to see if they’re overpaying at all and if they can switch plans to something less expensive

[Ella]

Stay home, no unnecessary driving.
Grocery minimal only.
No, none, nada giftgiving.

[Callie]

Cancel all subscriptions, go a lower internet tier, stop eating out, eat from scratch rather than a box (lots of beans and rice, no meat or low meat), do a no-spend month where you purchase nothing except for vital groceries, no more clothes, books, movie rentals, nights out, strop drinking beer and/or soda, etc.

And maybe get a second job if you can find it.

[Cassie]

Cut out any unnecessary bills. Add up the bills you have left. Divide that total by how often you’re paid per month. That’s the amount you need to set aside for your bills.

Do not touch that money unless you are paying a bill.

After you know how much of your pay check is set aside then determine how much you can afford to put in savings.

Put that in savings and don’t touch it no matter what.

Consider it money that’s already spent. Whatever is left is your spending money until your next payday.

[Sandy]

Any money you have left over at the end of the week, transfer into your savings account.

Save your coins.

[Marsha]

Put a freeze on all spending you don’t have to do: clothes, stuff you don’t need, eating out; cook from scratch and inventory your recipes. If the ingredients are more costly, find meals that are cheap.

I limit meat meals, eating instead bean soups that are veggie with no meat.

Eat oatmeal or some hot cereal for breakfast rather than boxed cold cereals.

Don’t run your air conditioner any more than you have to this summer, and if you use it, keep it hotter, like 78 or so.

Good luck!

[Jet]

Drop your television cable/subscription. Lower your cell phone service. Use fans instead of air conditioning. Drop internet, you can use the public library’s computers and wifi.

Eat soups, they are low cost so are noodles, rice, and potatoes. Use smaller portions of meat.

If your local hospital’s cafeteria is open to the public, they often are less expensive than making a meal yourself.

[Tahlia]

Go through your bank statements, and bills etc work out where your money is going e.g. you know the electric is $500 a quarter so divide it by 12 weeks and put $42 a week aside, so no pay check is ever eaten by bills.

When the bill comes in you already have the money, and then whatever is left you work out whether you can afford to have as spending money or savings.

Decide what you can or are willing to cut out e.g. eating out, hair, nails etc

[Annie]

Roughly $1000 per month for 5 months. Reduce spending, increase income. Pick up an extra shift – all of that goes directly into the jar/account.

Whatever is left after you pay the bills goes directly into the jar.

Pause or cancel subscriptions, no new clothes, pare down the grocery list.

You can do it, you just have to have the goal at the forefront of your mind when temptation arises!

[Crystal]

I downloaded Qapital app which you can set the amount you’d like to “round up” on each purchase you make. You can do nearest dollar or more.

You’d be amazed how fast money adds up.

My sister told me about it, and it’s been awesome. They have great customer service too.

Just an idea?

[Wilma]

Have a meatless day once a week have a leftover day and use food from pantry and freezer reduce your utility bills and if u can plant a garden or use containers to grow fresh produce

[Leslie]

I would pay all your bills and see what you could cut back on. Then whatever money is left over put it in a savings account right away where you can’t see it everytime you look at your bank account.

[Author]

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