How to Increase Your Savings

Holiday season is slowly creeping up, which means there will be plenty of spending going around. If you’re not careful, you may end up spending much more than you planned to. Know how to get more bang for your buck with these smart and efficient ways to save your money.

Start Couponing

Get into the habit of searching for the latest coupons at your nearest grocery or retail store. Don’t pay full price for items that can be valued for much less. Search for coupons on essentials and your everyday items. Seeing how much you’ve saved at the end of your trip will make the time and effort put into your savings so worth it.

Join Loyalty/Rewards Programs

Retail stores will offer rewards programs to earn credit points toward future purchases. Alternatively, joining an incentive plan like a loyalty program may give you special coupons or free merchandise for just being a “loyal” customer. Essentially, this is another way to hear about the latest deals, and earn extra coupons.

Save your Spare Change

A penny a day goes a long way. Challenge yourself to add all your loose change into a piggy bank and once it’s full, send it off to a coin counting machine. In return, you’ll receive a paper voucher to redeem for actual cash. You’ll see that it really begins to add up now that every cent counts.

Create a Grocery List in Advance

According to a study done by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the average American family throws away approximately $2,200 worth of food each year. Overspending can be a problem especially when it comes to grocery shopping because everything may sound like a necessity. If there is no solid list to go by, you can risk overspending OR overbuying food items that you don’t need.

Plan your Monthly Spending Calendar

A little known secret to increase your savings: know how to accurately manage your appointed spending. Marking down the days that you know bills or payments are due will prevent you from spending any money that you don’t have. There are plenty of spending manager apps that will help you keep track of your spending and/or alert you when you’re beginning to reach your expense limit.

Spending is highly individual. Think twice before going on a convulsive spending spree. Plan smart and keep track of every penny!