5 Strategies for Growing Your Savings
Regardless of your life stage, looking for strategies to help grow your savings is always a good idea. Growing your savings can help you become more financially stable and give you the peace of mind that you have a solid financial safety net.
Whether you’re just starting to build up your savings or looking for ways to grow your nest egg, continue reading below as we highlight some of the best ways to start today, including tools like an IRA or certificate of deposit.
Create a Budget
A detailed budget is an essential tool that can help you stay on track and make wise spending decisions so you can contribute to your savings. Start by totaling your typical monthly income, then lay out your predictable monthly costs like rent, car payments, utilities, subscriptions, and more.
What’s left after you subtract your regular monthly expenses from your income is the discretionary income that you have to spend on everything else. Using your budget, you can limit how much you can spend on discretionary items each month and set a clear amount aside for your savings. For instance, if you see that your monthly discretionary income is $800, you may put away at least $250 of that in your savings and only use $550 on discretionary spending.
Automate Savings
A foolproof way to boost your savings is to set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account with each deposit. This way, you will be left with a lower amount in your checking account to spend each month. But you can adjust your habits to help yourself save for the future.
You may need to make some adjustments in how much you direct to savings to ensure you have enough money to cover the essentials each month. However, this strategy can help you focus on your savings goals and remove some of the temptations of spending the extra money you have each month rather than putting it away in your savings. Waldo State Bank can help you set up automatic transfers, internal or external to save.
Reduce Unnecessary Expenses
Cutting your spending can help you put more money away in your savings account. Look at your monthly expenses to categorize them into needs vs. wants to see what’s necessary and what’s unnecessary. Needs might include expenses like rent and utilities, car payments, etc. Wants may consist of streaming subscriptions, eating out at restaurants, unused memberships, and more.
You don’t need to cut out everything at once. But you can start by getting rid of one unnecessary expense each month to free up some extra cash that you can direct to your savings.
Invest Wisely
Taking advantage of interest by investing your savings is one of the best ways to grow your money. You can put your money in reliable financial instruments like a certificate of deposit to earn a guaranteed return with no risk. WSB’s add-on CD’s allow you to earn a higher interest rate and make additional deposits throughout the term. Or you can save for retirement by investing with a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA account, which also comes with certain tax advantages.
Wherever you decide to invest your money, make sure you’re doing proper due diligence and are aware of the risks. There are many factors to consider as you’re making an investment decision, like the timeline you’re working with, how risk-averse you are, what you plan on doing with the invested funds, and other important considerations that can help you make a wise choice.
Increase Income
Lastly, it’s easier to put away more in your savings when more money comes in each month. There are several ways to increase your monthly income. For instance, you may be able to pick up shifts or overtime at your existing job.
Additionally, you can pick up a second job that you can do in the evenings or on the weekends. Consider starting a side hustle to bring in some extra cash each month. You don’t need to double your income fully. But, bringing in an extra few hundred dollars each month that you direct straight to your savings can add up over time.
Grow Your Savings with Waldo State Bank
When you’re ready to grow your savings, turn to our Waldo State Bank (WSB) team. We offer helpful financial products and account features like the ones listed above to help you reach your savings goals.
Our certificate of deposit rates are favorable for steadily growing your savings, and we can also help you open up a Traditional IRA or Roth IRA for retirement planning, among other financial tools.
This year, WSB is celebrating 110 years of banking excellence. Since 1913, we have taken pride in our local roots and are still invested in helping you with all your personal savings needs. Visit us in downtown Waldo or online today to get started with Waldo State Bank. Already have accounts with WSB? Review our products and enhance your future savings.
