HNE Staff One of the things that people lost during the pandemic is their sense of financial security. You can feel more financially secure by boosting your savings with these creative tricks to save money.
1. Save on car insurance.
Reduce your car insurance costs by driving less. Most insurance companies provide discounts to car owners who drive fewer miles, saving you as much as 30%. This is only fitting during the pandemic. You’re mostly at home instead of driving to the office or anywhere else.
Make sure to drive as safely as you can since the fewer accidents and traffic tickets you have on record, the more money you can shave off your premium in the years to come.
The type of vehicle you also drive matters since more affordable and generally safe cars such as small SUVs and minivans have lower premiums than the flashy, expensive ones. It also helps to build a good credit score to get better insurance rates.
Given how the pandemic has forced people to stay at home, you might also want to consider getting usage-based car insurance or a pay-per-mile program. This usually involves installing a transmitter in your car that sends the data about your vehicle’s movement to the insurer.
2. Make full use of your bank’s features.
One of the most effective tricks to save money is to automate it. Save first, then spend the rest. Schedule automatic transfers for a portion of your pay to your savings account when the funds are credited.
You can also designate sub-accounts and label them using whatever significant spending you are saving up for. It could be your child’s college plan, a trip to Greece, or a new car.
3. Join a savings challenge.
This should make saving money more fun. There are several savings challenges you can try, starting with the 52-week Savings Challenge. Each week, you have to set aside a certain amount. You could start with $1 on Week 1, $2 on Week 2, and so on, or it could be the reverse. Others also challenge themselves further by doubling or tripling the amount saved each week.
There is also the 12-Week Travel Savings Challenge. The goal could be your next destination once it’s safe to travel again. Even if it might not be after 12 weeks, at least you’ll have the funds prepared for when the pandemic has been handled.
You may also be interested in the No-Spend Challenge. It could be a no-spending month, week, or certain days in a week. While you can’t do away with bills, the challenge is to avoid unnecessary spending. Some people even cut down on groceries.
Others have also tried the Impulse Saving challenge. If you happen to think of purchasing something that you don’t need and have successfully stopped yourself from doing it, the funds intended for that impulse spending should go into your savings.
4. Reduce your living expenses.
It helps to find a side hustle to boost your income, but you should also focus on reducing your living costs. Start cutting down on unnecessary expenses. As discussed earlier, you can find tricks to save money on your auto insurance. The following ways also help:
- Give up on costly vices and habits. Stop smoking or indulging in pricey 30-rack beers. Try making your coffee, packing your lunch and snacks, and organizing a DIY spa day at home.
- Write a shopping list before hitting the grocery store and follow it.
- Sign up for exclusive deals and coupon sites.
- Shop on a full tummy to avoid giving on to hunger pangs and cravings.
- Pick seasonal fruits and veggies, then look for appropriate recipes later.
- Buy items in bulk, then keep track of your pantry inventory before shopping.
- Drink more water instead of indulging in juice, soda, coffee, or alcohol.
- Cook multiple meals at once, then freeze the rest to save on time and money by not relying on take-out food.
- Monitor your food’s expiry dates and arrange them in your pantry and refrigerator by putting those that will expire first in the front.
- Carpool more with other parents and co-workers.
- Use more public transportation instead of driving yourself to and from work.
- Cancel cable and use cheaper streaming services instead.
- Reduce your time in front of your TV to save on energy and lessen ad exposure that might lead to excessive spending.
- Maintain your appliances to prevent expensive repairs or major damage that might render irreparable.
- Invest in energy-efficient appliances.
- Take cold showers or shorter ones to save on energy.
- Layer up, sip a hot drink, or cover yourself with thick blankets at home instead of raising the heat. Do the same to stay cold instead of continually using your AC during the hot season.
5. Learn better budgeting.
Find banks with more perks and lower interest rates. Choose ones that don’t charge ATM fees or overdraft fees. You might also want to use a budget-tracking app that will help you stay on track with your financial goals, such as paying off credit card debt, reaching a savings goal, and more. Plan your ATM withdrawals to reduce your fees. Divide your cash into labeled envelopes to control your spending and use the cash more instead of credit cards.
6. Pamper yourself.
Reward yourself with lots of self-control, such as buying yourself a few luxuries. It could be a new book, dress, nail polish, or beauty product. Doing this might help stop you from a shopping binge later.
7. Entertain yourself wisely.
Given the restrictions due to the pandemic, it’s the perfect time to start money-saving practices for your social life. Eat at home, prepare homemade gifts, and create a more enjoyable home theater. You can also exchange books and music with friends and colleagues, even if most of them work from home. Cut off subscriptions that you don’t use.
8. Take better care of your clothes.
Organize your closets better so you can use those hardly-worn clothes instead of thinking to shop for more. Follow the instructions on clothes labels on how to wash or maintain them. Take good care of your existing wardrobe, such as patching torn jeans, sewing on lost buttons, and washing only well-used clothes to make them last longer. Hang your clothes to dry to reduce damage to them caused by dryers.
9. Be a practical shopper.
Hit the malls after the holidays when stores are more willing to sell seasonal items at reduced prices. Wait for big sales at the end of the season to make major purchases. There’s no shame in couponing, too. Be keen on registering for rewards cards from your local grocery stores or drug stores. To be safe, delete your credit card numbers from your online shopping accounts to make it harder for you to add items to your cart. Give yourself around 30 days to decide whether to purchase something, especially if it is expensive, before buying it.
10. Keep writing that check.
As a reward for paying that last monthly installment for your loan, write another check but put it into savings. Continue to do so each month, and your savings account will grow.
These are simple yet effective tricks to help you save money and feel more financially secure amidst the pandemic. Apply these tips starting today, and may the rest of the year be more fruitful for your savings account and yourself.
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