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If you’re like most people, then you probably struggle with saving money.
Like the rest of the world, you get up every morning and punch your alarm clock (that’s my specialty!)and go to work with the sole mission of paying off your debts at the end of the month.
But if you are motivated enough to reduce your spending habits, you can build a financial nest for your future.
In fact, even with the average annual salary, you can save between 5000-10000 dollars per year.
You just have to make a few life changes along the way.
In this article, you’ll read 10 steps that will help you save between $5,000 and $10,000.
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Shall we begin?
Option 1 – Set a $10,000 Goal
Setting an annual goal of saving $10,000 is not as far-fetched as it seems.
Doing some quick math, that would mean you should set aside approx $209 per week. At first glance, this sounds like a lot, but hear me out.
Bi-weekly earners will have to set aside twice as much every fortnight, or they can just do it save $834 every month for the next 12 months until the target is reached.
Although there are many tricks, side hustles and ways to get that money, you won’t be able to save that much. If so, aim lower.
Related article: How to Define Your Goals for Starting Your Blog Again – 7 Questions to Ask Yourself
Option 2 – Try to Target $5,000
If saving $10,000 a year is unrealistic in your current financial situation, then a $5,000 annual savings goal may be more appropriate.
Before we get into how you can save this amount in a year, let’s do a quick math on this:
An employee will be needed set aside $105 per weekor about $210 for biweekly earners. In total, you should save about $417 per month over 12 months.
It’s time to start looking for unnecessary expenses in your budget, like the family gym membership or your daily eating habits that no one is using. But there’s more to it than cutting back on meals or giving up a gym membership.
Related article: 9 Reasons Why You Can’t Save Every Month
Get into the Right Mindset
It’s easier to save $5,000-$10,000 a year when it’s an epic reward after 12 months. That reward could come in the form of a down payment on a television, a new car, or an incredible trip to Europe.
It’s important to have something that motivates you to make some sacrifices over the course of a year to make it not worth eating at McDonald’s every week.
While motivation is essential to saving money, determination and consistency are the keys to success.
On that note, let’s explore how tightening your food budget can help you save more money than you can imagine.
Cut back on eating out and ordering takeout
If you don’t keep track of your monthly habits, eating out and ordering food can be very expensive.
Believe it or not, all those burgers and Starbucks orders really add up.
I understood. Who doesn’t love ordering pizza after a long day at work? But there are other affordable ways to eat takeout during the week without relying on UberEats, Deliveroo or Postmates.
The easiest adjustment you can make right now is to start buying frozen dinners at the store, especially when they’re on sale. They are very easy to cook. Just pop them in the oven or microwave and voila!
Cooking on the weekend can save you more money. Spend a few hours on Sunday planning your meals for the week. Freeze them and you’ll be able to make those dollars stretch even further!
Cooking can be a great family activity that you can involve your family in. Involving your children in what they will eat during the week will show them that food is not taken for granted and they will appreciate it more.
If you feel that you are struggling to create a menu, you can go for the $5 Meal Plan. The $5 Dining Plan is a weekly meal planning service that can make your meal planning as simple as possible. For just $5 a month, they’ll send you a delicious meal plan where each meal costs about $2 per person, and in most cases, less. This will save you money, time and stress.
you can try Here’s a 14-day trial of the $5 meal plan.
Here’s how much you can save by tightening your grocery budget.
Let’s crunch some numbers!
- Let’s say you like to indulge in a Quarter Pounder at McDonald’s every week. Approximately $7.00 for the combo, you’ll be spending $28.00 a month and big $336 per year (only for one person, right?)
- If you’re like most households, you probably order out twice a week. If you order a large pizza at Domino’s and some Chinese food at Uber Eats, you’ll probably spend about $50 each week. It’s $200 a month and $2,400 per year.
- Meanwhile, a frozen meal at the supermarket can easily cost around $4.00. If you replace that biweekly meal order with 2 frozen meals, you’ll spend about $384 a year on food instead of $2,400. Subtract that from the $2,400 and you can save real money 2016 dollars a year by changing just one habit.
A person can save about $2,016 per year reduces eating out and takeout on average.
As you can see, there is a lot of room to save on food.
Related article: 43 tricks to save on groceries
Do not buy bottled water
Drink tap water is fine in most citiesand best of all, it’s free (except for the water bill, of course!)
Most people fear that tap water may contain toxins, so they resort to buying bottled water. If so, then buy it water filter for your water nozzle.
This alternative is much cheaper than spending money on bottled water, which is a budget-buster.
A pack of 24 bottles of purified drinking water is enough for a person for a week. They usually retail $4 per pack. that’s it $192 per year. It doesn’t sound like much, but it all adds up in the end.
Related article: 5 Smart Home Gadgets That Will Save You $2,117.50 Every Year
Limit Your Streaming Subscriptions
Almost everyone has a subscription to a streaming service like Spotify, HBO, Disney+ or Netflix.
Some people even have multiple streaming subscriptions. But nip it in the bud right away and consider canceling all your subscriptions within a year.
Netflix’s premium subscription costs $15.99 per month. If you get rid of your subscription, you’ll save immediately $192 per year.
You can get a family member or friend to watch YouTube without spending a dime or just watch it and then use the free streaming services.
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Get a Part Time Job
When a regular salary doesn’t cut it, the only other way to save money is to find a part-time job.
There are many things you can do to earn extra money.
Earn money bartending
Bartending is a great way to earn money on the weekends.
You can also work in a department store and deliver food Uber Eatsor sign up for a temp agency.
Freelance online
However, if starting a part-time gig is not possible, you can try freelancing.
There are many people who make money writing content, data entry, voice recording, editing or copying documents.
some of the most popular online platforms like Fiverr, Freelancerand Good job – if this last one is my favorite as I get websites to make extra money for businesses.
Teach English to Chinese children
If you are a native English speaker and have a bachelor’s degree, you can teach English to Chinese children on some platforms. SayABC, QKidsand VipKid $15-$22 an hour.
If you work 10 hours a week as an online tutor for $22 an hour, then you will earn extra pay. $7,200 per year.
If you work 10 hours a week for $15 an hour, you will be impressive $10,560 per year.
Start Your Own Money Making Blog
Did you know that earn money blogging?
Of course you can, you can also do it part-time – that’s actually what i do.
This is a blog it makes us enough money pay off most of the household expenses (including the mortgage), which means we can save more each month.
If you are interested in creating your own blog, you can sign up for my free email course below.
Get a roommate or rent a spare room
The easiest way to automatically cut your bills in half is to get a roommate.
Let’s say the rent is about $1,200 a month. That’s $14,400 a year. You can save money if you live with a roommate and share the rent $7,200 per year.
But let’s say you already have a roommate. Then consider ending your current lease and getting a third roommate.
If a 3-bedroom apartment is about $1,700 a month, you’d be spending $20,400 a year all together. But your share will be only 6800 dollars. It’s a far cry from the $14,400 you spend a year living alone. This means you can save money by getting a third roommate $7,600 a year.
If you have a spare bedroom, consider renting it on Airbnb. But if you’re planning to go on vacation for a few weeks or can afford to crash on a family member’s couch, then you can easily make around $50 a day on the platform by renting out your entire apartment.
So let’s say you rent out your apartment for just 20 days a year for $50 a day. That’s $1,000 in extra income (minus the platform fee!)
Related article: How to make passive income with Airbnb
Reduce the bills
Sometimes the best way to save extra money each month is to look at your monthly expenses and cut out any services you don’t need.
Negotiating with cell phone service providers for a more affordable monthly plan is also not out of the question.
There would be another option discuss insurance for your canyou’ll be able to save hundreds by adjusting your mileage.
Many people pay for extra services like phone insurance when they don’t need it. Instead of paying the minimum personal injury coverage, they may end up paying too much for a car they don’t use enough.
If you can get rid of your car and switch to cycling, you can save thousands and improve your overall health in one fell swoop.
One of the best ways to keep your bills down is to create your own budget. By doing this, you will be able to see how much you actually have to spend on invoices.
Be competent
Look for things you can sell to make extra money when you have free time.
Organize and minimize your closet. Nobody needs 20 different pairs of jeans, right?
If you no longer use rollerblades, sell them on Amazon.
Turn all that junk into an online side hustle and use it Facebook’s Marketplace or try Etsy, Poshmark, Ebay and Amazon and get rid of things that have been sitting in your house for years.
I hope you’ve found some helpful ways to help you save more money over the next 12 months.
Remember, it’s a numbers game, every little bit adds up!
What is your next savings goal? Are you planning to save $5,000 or maybe go for $10,000? If you’ve already started, how far are you from your goal?
