Saving money can be hard. But especially during times of economic and personal uncertainty, it’s often the money that you’ve saved that allows you to have a safety net in the event that things get a little unstable for you. However, getting money into your savings account isn’t always what people wish they could do with their money.
Because of this, it’s wise to try to make savings as easy as possible for you. To help you see how this can be done, here are three ways to simplify your savings plan.
Know What You’re Spending
Before you can really start putting money toward savings, you first have to know how much money you’re spending out of the funds that you’re able to bring home each month.
For some, creating a good, old-fashioned budget that they can keep track of manually is the best way to accomplish the tracking of their spending. However, for people who may want to streamline this process, Courtney Jespersen, a contributor to NerdWallet.com, suggests that you find a budgeting app that can take care of this for you. With many of these apps, you can link your bank accounts to the app and have everything tracked for you automatically and in real time. With this information, you can see where your money is going and then find ways to get more savings from areas that you can afford to be spending less.
Make Savings Automatic
When you’re saving money, it can be hard to see money from your paycheck move into an account that you’re essentially not using while another portion of your money is set aside for bills or other spending.
Because manually moving this money into savings can be difficult for many people to remember or to stomach, Joshua Kennon, a contributor to The Balance, suggests that you make your savings automatic rather than doing it yourself every month. By having a certain amount withdrawn into your savings account on its own, you can set it and forget it without really realizing that that money is moved.
Work Toward Investing
Having your money just sit in a savings account is a step in the right direction, but the money you’re committing to save can grow even more if you invest it so that it makes dividends or interest.
To do this simply, Melanie Weir, a contributor to Business Insider, recommends that you find an investing app that will help you take small amounts of money that you’re willing to set aside and then invest that money into a vehicle that will grow it for you. Even if it’s just a small amount, it will all start to add up soon.
If you’re looking to find ways to make saving easier for you, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you achieve this goal.
