Cha-Ching Goes Your Savings!

Despite my best attempts to save some cash, I always wonder where all my money goes at the end of the month. Do you ever wonder the best way to keep track of your money so you can actually save? I know I did, and that is why I did some research on best ways to save money. There are tons of great ideas out there, but I am going to start by sharing one saving tip with you: pinching money from yourself to save in small amounts frequently.

You know that great feeling of finding some forgotten cash in an old pair of jeans? My friend Jennifer has been in the habit of pinching money from herself for a while and it really works for her. She takes the ones and fives that she collects from change at the mall, grocery store, etc. out of her wallet and places them in an envelope in a safe place. The last time she checked she had about $120 dollars stashed away by the end of 2 months! It might not seem like at a lot of money when you are putting it away, but small dollar amounts and change from everyday transactions really add up!

Some of you might be saying to yourselves; “but I prefer to use my debit card, so I do not carry cash.” Well, the good news is that most banks have a service that can help you pinch your money. My bank offers a program called “Keep the Change” where they round up on all the purchases made on my debit card, take the difference and place that amount in my savings account. The funny thing is that I totally forgot that I had signed up to use this program with my bank, so guess who was shocked to find $40 extra dollars in her account at the end of the month? Me! The cool thing about my bank is that after the first three months, they matched the money from the program by 100%, and every year will keep matching the program money by 5%. Check the local branch of your bank and see what programs they have available to you.

What other ways can you think of to help you pinch money from yourself?

Read more about how to save in Cha-Ching! Your Savings Keep on Ringing!