Budget Tips

Are you trying to save money fast? Saving a $1,000 for your emergency fund is a good goal to shoot for. Whether you are able to make big changes or small, here are some of our top tips to help you spend less and save $1,000 in 30 days:

Start by looking at your budget

Before you can reach any of your money goals, its important to make sure you look at your budget. Don’t have a budget? Then your goal is to set one. Budgets may seem scary if you aren’t use to having one, but they are a really great tool to help you maximize how you use your money.

Not Sure How to Budget? Start With These Four Simple Steps

Once you have your budget set up, look at where you might be able to cut back spending. Are there any unnecessary expenses that are either eating away at your savings or preventing you from putting money into savings? If so, determine how much you are willing to cut back on those expenses and total those up. Put that amount towards your $1,000 goal.

Once you have cut back on those unnecessary expenses, look for other categories you may be able to spend less in by making some simple changes in your daily routine. You may be surprised at how many of these small changes add up.

For example: If you spend any money on food that you don’t make at home, this could be an area where you could save quite a bit if you are willing to give it a try. Instead of dining in at restaurants or ordering takeout, consider making meals at home and packing leftovers when you can. You don’t have to be the world’s greatest chef to make this work for you – stick with simple recipes and add the money you save to your emergency fund. And who knows, you may find that that this is a habit that sticks.

Cancel the memberships you never use and rethink the ones you do

Every few months, our family takes a look at what memberships we have – especially our streaming memberships – and cut whichever ones we aren’t using as much as we used to. If you are looking to save $1,000 in 30 days, this might be something worth doing if you haven’t considered doing so or haven’t done in awhile. Other examples of memberships to reevaluate include:

• Gym memberships. If you have a gym membership and haven’t gone in awhile, cancel it.
• Magazine subscriptions. Cancel magazine subscriptions and other publications that aren’t essential to your life.
• If you haven’t cut cable yet, now might be a great time to do that. Switch over to streaming and you’ll save whether you choose a free streaming platform or one with a monthly subscription. Just remember, to keep it in budget.
• Subscription boxes. Whether you cancel or delay your subscription box, this could be another way to save money if you are currently receiving these on a regular basis.
• Cell phones and Internet. Do you really need the plan you have or can you shop around for a better price? This may be a way to save a little extra money each month.
• Insurance policies. When is the last time you shopped around for insurance? Sometimes when you shop around, you can find better prices without sacrificing on coverage. If its been awhile since you’ve done this, this might be a great time to start asking around.

Don’t buy more groceries than you need; eat out less and have meals you can make quickly and cheaply at home.

It’s easy to get carried away when you’re shopping for groceries. You may find yourself picking up extra items, thinking you’ll use them later in the week or month. But if you don’t actually use those items, they’ll just go bad and end up costing money!

It’s better to plan your meals ahead of time and only buy what you need for those meals–no more, no less. If there are certain ingredients that would be useful in other recipes but aren’t needed right now (such as garlic or spices), add those things onto a separate list so that you remember to buy them later on down the road when needed again by another meal you are planning to make.

Be smart about shopping for groceries and essentials like toilet paper, paper towels and detergent.

If you’re like most people, your grocery bills can add up quickly. The good news is there are plenty of ways to save money on groceries:

• Make a list and stick to it. This is an incredibly helpful way to stay in budget when shopping for grocery and household essentials.
• Use cash back apps on your phone. We have a whole list of apps that we use to save money when grocery shopping. Many of them allow us to cash out through our PayPal account while others let us cash out for gift cards we can use for later purchases. Either way, this can be a helpful way to put more money aside for your emergency fund.

Consider what assets you can let go of

Saving is great, but sometimes its still not enough to kick start your emergency fund – especially if you don’t have much wiggle room in your budget to begin with. If this is you, it may be time to consider letting go of some of your personal belongings that you are comfortable parting with. Can you sell them on Facebook marketplace or host a garage sale? Selling items that are still in relatively good condition can be a great way to jumpstart your emergency fund.

Start a side hustle or consider whether its time to ask for a raise

Another way to bring more money into your account on a regular basis is to either start a side hustle or consider whether its time to ask for a raise. Both options can potentially bring in more money on a regular basis to your account and you can set this aside towards your emergency fund. Side hustles are great if you just need a short term infusion of cash – like if you’re trying to quickly put aside an extra $1,000 in 30 days. Asking for a raise may result in more money coming in on a more consistent basis and if you haven’t asked for one in awhile, maybe now is the time.

You can save money fast by making small changes

You can save money fast by making small changes to your spending habits. For example, canceling the membership you never use or adding cash back apps on your phone are easy ways to make more room in your budget for funds you can put towards your emergency fund. Don’t have a lot of margin to begin with? Consider selling some of your personal items you are comfortable letting go of or starting a side hustle that works with your schedule. Any of these steps can help you work towards putting money aside for something unexpected.

Conclusion

You don’t have to be an expert to save money fast. Identify ways you can reduce what you spend and reallocate that money to your emergency fund. If that’s not enough to reach $1,000 in 30 days, you may need to look at ways to bring more money in. This could include picking up a side hustle or selling some of your personal items you are ready to say goodbye to. Either way, these steps can help you reach your goal of saving $1,000 in 30 days, and have a better idea of how much money comes in and goes out each month–which means you can start saving even more!