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If 2016 wasn’t so nice to your bank account, look at 2017 as achance to redeem yourself. A new year means new expenses, but it doesn’t mean the old (and bad) spending and budgeting habits have to be carried over. Check out these 10 strategies that’ll help you save more money in 2017.
- Set savings goals
This fresh start to the year is an opportunity to leave the past behind and have a clean slate. Before starting any project, task or challenge, outlining what the end goal is, is the key to keeping you focused and on the path to completing what you set out to do. Take a look at what you do have financially, decide where’d you like to see yourself at by the end of the year and write down milestones, like how much you’d like to have saved on certain dates—it’ll help to accumulate your savings all throughout the year.
- Shop as needed
Ever walk into the grocery store without any sort of purchase in mind and come out hundreds of dollars deep? This is the fast track to draining your bank account. Instead of going grocery shopping without goals, ask yourself what you actually need to go there for. If it’s just some pasta sauce or dish detergent, avoid going down any aisles that have nothing to do with those two items. The bright lights and colorful signs may lure you in, but practicing self-control goes a long way—it could save you from getting distracted in the meat and cheese aisle that’s lined with wine bottles, catering to your worst impulse-shopping demons.
- Use mobile apps to manage your budget
You’re already on your iPhone 24/7, why not use it to your best financial interests and download a money management app. There are numerous mobile applications out there that are geared towards spenders on all parts of the spectrum. For those who want to categorize their transactions, LearnVest collects this data for you and projects a visual overview to help you understand where you need to cut. Then there’s apps like Level Money for spenders that work better with seeing exactly how much they have to spend. Level is set up to show you what portion of your bank account is actually “spendable” by setting aside the budget for essentials like rent and bills—the end mission is to find the financial balance between spending and saving.
- B.Y.O.L. (Bring Your Own Lunch)
If you’re new year’s resolution was to slim down, you may be already trying to bring your own lunch to work more often. This strategy can simultaneously help you save a serious amount of cash a week. Think about it, when you go out on your lunch break, you can easily spend $10 to $20 dollars—and that’s just for one meal! Multiply that by five and well, it could be money that could have gone in the piggy bank. Making and packing your own lunch indirectly cuts the cost of food service and preparation, not to mention, you can control what’s going into your diet for your best health benefits.
- Boost your 401K savings
Currently putting in 3% of each pay check towards your 401K savings? Why not up it this year? If your company matches up to a certain percentage, be sure to take advantage of this benefit and at least set your savings allocation to their max match. You won’t feel the difference but your future will reap the positive impact from taking these small steps. Additionally, if you are straddling between a lower income bracket and a medium income bracket, allocating more of your paycheck towards your 401K could help set you in a lower income so that you can get a better tax return.
- Only bring cash when you go outto a bar
Scenario: you’re at the bar, with all your friends, you aimlessly start pulling out your credit card to buy rounds upon rounds of shots—the next morning you check your credit card activity to confirm just how reckless you were. We’ve all been there. To prevent these binge-spending fiascos, try only bringing cash when you go out for the night. It’ll limit your spending and give you a concept of the actual money you do have to have fun.
- Get a side job
Having some additional income on top of your full-time job can help relieve a lot of financial stress. Try picking up a side gig that can be easily done on your own time. For example, Amway is a company that lets you directly sell health, nutrition and beauty products to a customer base you build with the help of their support.
- Make your savings automatic
It’s time to put the auto-saving in the on position. Each paycheck you get, set up your bank account so that it automatically transfers a certain amount to your savings account. Choose an amount that works with your budget where you won’t feel the impact but will be happy you did it once you see the savings build bit by bit.
- Give up cable
Do you really still have cable? Get with 2017 and get yourself a media-streaming device. AppleTV, Roku, Google Chromecast—these all hold the cablenetwork and video-streaming apps like Showtime Anytime, HBO GO, Netflix, Hulu and YouTube all in one place for a significant fraction of the cost that you’d be paying for pricey cable.
- Sign up for a customer rewards programs
Rewards programs of all types provide great perks to consumers. If you’re already investing your money when you pay for essentials, shop, dine or travel, why not sign up for a customer rewards program that fits your lifestyle. You’ll rack up points or cash and ultimately save in the long term.
These strategies for saving money in 2017 will help set the path for a prosperous new year. Be sure to take a few notes, try some out and let the money pile up.
This is a guest post by Jennifer Thayer.
