On a tight timeline to save money? Good news. You can definitely save money fast if you are willing to take a little effort, change your spending behaviours and forego a few luxuries. Willing to try? These tips will show you have to save money fast.
Cut Back on Luxury Expenses
The first thing to look at is where are you spending on “luxuries” not necessities. Pick two or three things you can eliminate and bank the savings. This doesn’t mean you will eliminate these expenses forever. Once you reach your savings goal, re-assess and see if there is anything you want to bring back into your life.
Potential Luxury eliminations
- Cancel your cable: save at least $100 per month and entertain yourself through with YouTube channels, free podcasts, streaming sites like Netflix or Hulu that significantly lower in cost. If you are an Amazon Prime member, Prime Video is complimentary. Or if you want to ditch the tube altogether, get a library card and start reading for free!
- Cancel your Gym Membership: YouTube is full of fitness vloggers using their own body weight to get fit. Or better yet, use the great outdoors as your fitness trainer
- Stop eating out: Yes going to restaurants is a luxury. This is a behavioural expense that is going to take some effort and preparation to change. Eating at home is a third of the cost of eating out and also can get you healthy while you save. If you really want to go the extra mile, consider becoming a vegetarian or eat less meat. Eliminating the high cost of meat will definitely bring some money to your pockets.
- Stop travelling, for now: Travelling is a big expense. If you are looking to save, travelling is out of the question. Be a tourist in your own town. Get to know the sites and relish in the beauty of your own city.
Create a new income source
One way to save money is to make money. Look into getting a part-time job, contract work or a side business. Options for part time work:
- Sports coach
- Uber Driver
- Afterschool tutor
- Fast food worker
- Pizza delivery driver
- Waiter
- Bartender
- Freelance writer
There are so many ways to make money if you are willing to work hard and be creative. Another great income source is to make money online where you can work from home and set your own hours.
Whatever you choose to do as a side hustle, ensure that money goes to your savings. Don’t waste all of your hard work, effort and sacrifice!
Sell everything you don’t use
You may be sitting on a gold mine and don’t even know it. Most people don’t realize that their stuff can be worth money.
Do a big clean up and see what items you have that could be sold. Do your research and find out what those itemscould be worth.
You can sell your stuff a number of different ways:
- Garage sale
- Consignment stores
- Ebay
- Amazon
- Flea markets
- Swap meets
- Craigslist
It’s worth taking a shot. You may make $50 or you may make $1000. Whatever you make that can go right to your savings.
Reassess your big living expenses
Here, we are talking about where you live and how you get around. Reducing these costs would make a huge difference with how much you can save. However, in many instances, this is a last case resort. These changes will be harder for families but for a single person or young couple, the transition will be far easier.
Shelter
First, look at where you are living. Are you living beyond your means?
If you are renting, is there an area in town that offers better rent with a similar quality of living? Can you downsize? If you are living on your own, could you get a roommate? Or if you are in a tight pinch, is there an opportunity for you to move back to your parents temporarily to save quickly?
For example: You are renting a place close to town for $1300 per month. Closer to the suburbs, rent goes for $1000. In one year, you can save $3600. Better yet, if you take on a roommate and split the $1300 rent, you could have $7800.
If you own your own home, selling is definitely a harder choice. But, ask yourself, is your quality of life suffering because of your mortgage? Is there an opportunity to sell and downsize?
These are obviously not easy choices to make, but if you are truly looking to save money fast, changing where you live might be the only solution.
Transport
Another big ticket item is transportation.
Car insurance and gas can cost a lot, not to mention car maintenance. Consider cancelling your insurance and getting a public transit pass. You will still have your car and can re-insure once you have met your savings goal.
If you are in a bit more of a pinch, you could sell your car, save the cash and use public transit. If you have car payments each month, it might be time to sell the car, pay off the loan and buy a more affordable used car instead.
