Got big plans for this year? Want to save some money to make them happen? Well, from experience I can tell you that the hardest part of saving money is just getting started. But once you see the savings start to grow, you get excited about making it grow faster.
Here are 3 ways you can kick-start your savings right now!
Sell Your Stuff
De-clutter your house AND put some cash in your pocket by selling things you don’t need. It’s easier than ever to find someone who may want/need something you are willing to part with. When I was a kid we did this by having a yard/garage sale and it was a big to-do that the whole family got involved in. Today, it’s as simple as taking a picture of the item with your phone and posting it on social media or one of the popular sell-your-stuff apps.
If you’re willing to ship your items, then Ebay is still one of the go-to sites. You can also sell on main page
Take A Handout
No, I’m not suggesting you go around asking for money. Why do that when big banks are willing to give you a few hundred dollars for opening an account? The catch? Some banks may require you carry a minimum balance and that you keep the account open for six months. But others, like Chase Bank here in the northeast, simply ask you set up direct deposit and will give you your money up front once that first direct deposit is made. That is instant money!
Then you keep the account open for 6 months and after that you can close it if you don’t want it anymore. If direct deposit is a requirement to avoid fees at your current bank, you can split your direct deposit between the bank accounts, or look to see if other forms of bank transfers like Paypal payments count as direct deposit. There are web forums where people share what works with which banks.
Save Your Change
You are probably already doing this. The grown-up piggy bank is usually some type of jar that you use to collect coins. Every now and then we take ours to a bank or grocery store to count it all up. The most I think we ever had was a few hundred dollars. But since we use cash less and less these days, it’s a bit harder to save a substantial amount quickly.
Enter the Qapital savings account. I set up one of these free accounts last year and saved over $1100 by the end of the year. The account is free (they may even give you $5 to start your account if you use this link), and you can automate saving digital “change”. I used a simple rule that rounded up all of our purchases to the nearest even dollar amount. The difference was then deposited in my Qapital account. Easy Peasy. You can set almost any kind of savings rule you like. You can even set it up to automate the 52-week savings challenge.
So what are you waiting for? Go find some stuff you can sell. Take that money and open a bank account to get the free money they’ll give you, and then start saving all that loose change and digital change on top of it!
Got other ideas on how to kick-start your savings? We’d love to hear them. Share them with us and other readers by putting it in comments!