10 Ways to Start Saving Money
One of the most important aspects of financial wellness is learning how to start saving money.
While learning how to start saving probably seems simple at the surface level, the concept is challenging for many: As of late 2023, 49% of Americans had $1,000 or less in their savings accounts. If you’re in the same boat or just don’t have as much saved as you’d like, this guide may be helpful.
With money-saving tips to follow, building up your savings becomes much more manageable. At Intuit, we’re here to guide you through your journey toward financial literacy.
Keep reading below to get started.
1. Set a goal
Once you decide to fully adopt money-saving practices, set your savings goals. Whether saving for retirement, paying off a debt, or building a college fund, a clear objective gives you direction and motivation.
Start by determining how much you need to save and when you need to save it. Then, set a series of milestones.
The more tangible your target, the better. For example, if you plan to start saving money for a house, you’d decide on the down payment you want to make and a deadline.
For the sake of example, let’s say you want to put 20% down on a $300,000 home in five years. Your savings goal would be $60,000, meaning you’d need to save $1,000 a month over 60 months. This gives you a tangible number to work with, helping you track your progress more effectively.
A well-defined goal also encourages smart financial habits by making it clear whether you’re spending too much in a given month. And don’t forget to treat yourself to small rewards for achieving larger savings objectives.
2. Pay off your debt
Debt tends to lead to more debt. The more debt you have to repay, the higher the interest, which diminishes your ability to save money. Servicing a debt each month can quickly consume a significant portion of your earnings.
But how do you go about paying off your debts? Prioritizing debts with the highest interest rates first is a viable long-term strategy to increase your savings. Many call this the avalanche method.
If you prefer to focus on the short term instead, prioritize smaller debts first—regardless of their interest rates. Once you pay off a debt, the idea is that you capitalize on the momentum and use the freed-up money to tackle the next smallest debt. And you keep going from there. This approach is called the snowball method. It’s great for boosting self-motivation as you watch smaller debts disappear quickly.
If paying off debt outright isn’t feasible, you could instead focus on reducing your loan interest rates. For example, you could explore whether better mortgage or auto interest rates are available in the current market. Refinancing your loans at reduced interest rates can lead to substantial savings.
3. Put a spending limit on your credit card—or use cash
Spending responsibly is perhaps the most fundamental savings tip you’ll hear, yet it remains the most effective. Credit cards make it easy to indulge in instant gratification by buying goods and services immediately. Without the need to part with cash, it’s easy to give in to impulsive spending and exceeding our means.
Using cash instead can help you become more aware of your spending. Cash is tangible and psychologically harder to part with, helping prevent overspending.
Setting a spending limit on your credit card instead is another prudent way to stay within your means. By capping your credit card expenditures each month, you establish a limit you cannot exceed. Both these methods are great for achieving better financial discipline in the long run.
4. Keep separate accounts
Even for the most disciplined among us, it’s hard not to borrow some money from savings occasionally. Checking accounts are used for everyday transactions, such as purchasing groceries or paying bills, while savings accounts generally offer interest, helping your money grow passively.
They are also less readily accessible, often limiting the number of withdrawals you can make in a given month. Keeping separate checking and savings accounts can help reduce the temptation to dip into your savings for nonessential expenses.
5. Set aside money for savings in your budget
Many financial institutions offer the option to automatically transfer money from checking accounts to savings accounts each month. This will help in your saving efforts. But first, decide on a personal savings rate. Simply put, this rate defines how much money you save from your net income after taxes.
By setting up automatic monthly transfers from your checking account to your savings account, you’ll accumulate money over time without any additional work.
To give you an idea of how much money other people save on an average basis: In May 2024, the US monthly personal savings rate was approximately 3.9%. But depending upon your income, expenses, and long- and short-term goals, you may have to move that number up or down. Saving is important, but you should still be able to meet your basic needs first.
6. Cut unnecessary spending
The best way to start saving money depends on your financial habits and priorities, but here are some ideas for cutting unnecessary spending:
- Budgeting for groceries: By making a grocery budget, you ensure you fulfill your essential needs while avoiding unnecessary spending.
- Switching cable or phone services to a cheaper plan: While you may have been loyal to your cable or phone service providers for a long time, there might be cheaper options available on the market.
- Unsubscribing from unnecessary monthly subscriptions: With so many streaming services, food companies, and technology solutions now available on an automatic monthly payment model, chances are you’re paying for unnecessary subscriptions. Audit your subscriptions and cut the ones you’re not using enough to justify keeping.
- Minimizing energy/electric usage: Reducing your energy usage is not only environmentally friendly, but it helps you save on your monthly bills.
- Reducing eating out/bringing lunch to work: Even the cheapest takeout options can add up in the long run—especially if you make it a habit. To reduce this expense, consider making most of your meals at home.
7. Use financial tools and calculators
Budget apps are useful tools for learning how to start budgeting and saving money. Since these apps are built to optimize expenses like your rent budget and discretionary spending, they can help you understand how to budget to achieve your saving goals.
For example, you can try Credit Karma to assist in managing your budget. You’ll receive curated recommendations on how to start budgeting and saving money. It’ll also help you pinpoint where to change your spending habits.
8. Open an interest-bearing account
After you start building your savings, look into opening an interest-bearing account. High-yield savings accounts typically offer higher interest rates than standard savings accounts. However, they may require higher minimum balances and come with more restrictions on accessing your money.
Also consider certificates of deposit (CDs). They require you to deposit a certain amount of money for a fixed period of time to earn a specified interest rate, offering a stable and predictable return.
Brokerage accounts are another popular investment option. With investing, you aim to grow your wealth by putting your money into assets such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Another common type of investment is purchasing real estate, which you can hold on to as it grows in value. Or you could rent it out and use the resulting revenue as a second income stream.
Investing can deliver significant returns over time. But it also carries the risk of losing your funds based on how the market performs.
9. Earn additional income
If cutting expenses isn’t enough, you can always try to earn more. Today, there are many alternative ways to supplement your monthly income beyond your normal job. Popular side hustles include taking on extra gigs on freelancing platforms, selling unused items like clothes and appliances on online marketplaces, or dealing in low-budget antiques through auctions.
You can also try negotiating a pay increase at your current job. While it may not be easy, you can’t succeed if you don’t try.
10. Monitor your savings and watch it grow
Learning how to start saving money may seem daunting at first. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all these changes.
But once you know what to do, tracking your monthly progress toward your savings goal will be rewarding and exciting. Watch your savings account balance grow, and enjoy the rewards of your hard work.
Want to learn about more saving strategies?
Intuit for Education helps students and learners of all ages gain confidence in their financial skills. From saving and budgeting to investing and paying taxes, Intuit for Education can help you learn about financial best practices. Learn more today.