How To Meet Your Savings Goals More Quickly
Saving up for a vacation, a wedding or a new car? Your savings goal may seem a long way off, but there could be small ways to help you reach it more quickly. The faster you are able to save up that money, the easier it will be to stay motivated. Here are just several ways to meet your savings goals more quickly.
Shop around for the right savings account
Putting your money into the right savings account could allow you to earn more interest. This could allow you to accumulate funds faster.
Some of the highest interest accounts may come with conditions such as a minimum monthly contribution and possibly variable interest rates after the first year. Research into these conditions so that you know what you’re getting into. On top of brick and mortar banks, don’t forget to consider online banks (these banks can sometimes have some of the highest interest savers).
Schedule your payments
Aim to pay a specific amount on a regular basis – either on the same date every month or the same day each week. Rather manually moving this money, consider setting up a direct debit. If your savings account doesn’t allow you to do this, consider setting alerts on your phone to remind you (using mobile banking will help).
Put surprise earnings into your savings
Got a bonus at work? Been given money in a card for your birthday? Got a tax refund? You should put all these surprise earnings straight into savings. It’s extra money that you won’t miss and could be useful for helping you reach your savings goal more quickly.
Tempted to dip in? Consider limiting access
It may be possible to limit access to your account if you’re often tempted to dip into your savings. Some savings accounts restrict the amounts of withdrawals you can make or won’t pay interest for a month if you withdraw money. This could stop you taking out money from your savings and prolonging your goals. You could even consider asking someone else you trust to take out a savings account for you and then contributing the money into this account – only they will be able to withdraw the money, which could prevent you from dipping into it (just make sure that you trust them to not dip into it).
Make healthy temporary cutbacks
Making cutbacks could give you more disposable income to throw at your savings. Many people struggle with cutting back as it means making sacrifices to your lifestyle. Consider sacrifices that will save you money while also improving your health. This could include giving up smoking, limiting alcohol, limiting fast food or cutting out short car journeys in order to walk more. These types of cutbacks are easier to motivate yourself to do because of the financial and physical benefits.
Earn more to save more
Of course, the best way to save up more money more quickly is to earn more money more quickly. The more you’re earning, the more you can afford to save. Consider taking up side hustles or working overtime more regularly. Your hard work will pay off.