The Wall Street Journal recently published a special section with 35 “simple and effective” ways to build your savings.
Here are a couple of their excellent post-2020 post-Covid-shutdown-year savings building ideas:
“Take the things that you now realize you used to spend money on that did not give you much joy and don’t go back to those things.” If you can estimate about how much you spent on them, divide the amount by 52 and arrange for an automatic sweep weekly to a savings account. Plenty of people were spending $400 a month on activities they know they’re not going back to. A weekly sweep of $100 will put more than $5000 in your savings in one year.
“Save all your $10 bills” Then go to the bank monthly and deposit them in your savings account. Or set a few “Transfer $10 to savings” weekly phone alarms. It’s not about the money growing quickly – it’s about getting into the habit of saving regularly. Start small and increase the amount as you go. Make it a game!
“If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA), build it up” If you can pay for regular out-of-pocket medical expenses with other money, a fully-funded HSA is a “forced savings” account growing tax-free that will be there for you to cover medical expenses in the future.
“Stop outsourcing” If 2020 got you accustomed to doing chores you used to outsource (cleaning, cooking, mowing the lawn), take those amounts and auto-sweep them into your savings for a year or two. $200 a week for 2 years would give you a savings balance of more than $20,000!
If you don’t have a savings account … Come see us at Canton Co-operative Bank – right next to the Post Office – and we’ll set you up with one. Having a separate savings account is a time-tested way to build your savings more easily. Or call 781-828-8811 x5.