10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money
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6. Save Your Rewards
If you use a credit card that gives you cash back rewards, you can transfer your cashback straight to your savings account. Just make sure that you pay off your balance on time every month, in full, to avoid interest.
Don’t trust yourself enough to have a credit card? That’s ok, you can still make good of cashback. Next time you shop online, use Ebates and you can make as much as 25% back on every purchase.
7. Divert It
Here’s another good tip: every time you pay back a debt or cancel a subscription, divert the payment into your savings account. You already know that you can live without the money because you have been doing so for a while. One example would be to swap your Cable TV for online streaming services and save the difference. The average American household has a cable TV bill of $103 per month, but Netflix or Amazon Prime Video will cost you just 10% of that. That’s some serious saving.
8. Bank Your Windfalls
Windfalls are any extra money that comes your way, like rebates, bonuses and tax refunds. Consider saving a large portion of any windfalls you get. Try using 10% of the money for yourself, and stash the rest safely into your savings account. This is a win/win situation, as you’ll feel the benefit of having the extra money and still contribute to your savings.
9. Make It a Game
You can make saving fun by deciding to save or collect particular notes. Some people choose to save every $5 or $10 that is still in their wallets at the end of the day. $1 bills can work too. It’s as easy as stashing all the notes into a spare cash jar. Then every month count it up and pay it into your savings account.
10. Save Your Raise
Got a raise this year? Or maybe you’ve got a Christmas bonus coming up? You can use this extra money to contribute to your savings or retirement accounts. It’s a great idea to send a 3% raise straight to your 401(k) or IRA. Instead of treating yourself in the present, your future self will be happy that you made the decision to pad out your retirement fund.
