With the holidays in rearview mirror, and a brand new year on the horizon, resolutions and goals are at the forefront of our minds. If your goal is to save more money this year, the question is: How successful have you been at saving money in the past?
If you’re an expert saver, you rock. If not, don’t feel bad and never give up. Here are four ways to set yourself up to meet your savings goals in 2017.
[See: 10 Financial New Year’s Resolutions.]
Connect with money-conscious buddies. To save money, you need to spend less than you earn. The concept sounds simple, but it’s much harder to be focused on money if you surround yourself with people who don’t take saving seriously.
Here’s the solution. Find like-minded people to keep you motivated and hold you accountable. If you can’t find this group of buddies at home, turn to the internet.
There are many frugal living and personal finance-related private and public online communities where real people connect and share money experiences and tips. Here are a few:
— The Busy Budgeters Facebook Group (for readers of The Busy Budgeter blog): This group is primarily for women discussing ways to spend less and save more.
— The Get Rich Slowly Forum: The Get Rich Slowly Forum includes conversation topics about being frugal, saving, investing and personal development.
— Dream Catchers: Live Richer: This busy, private Facebook group provides free financial resources, support and encouragement to its members. (The author runs this forum).
— Reddit Personal Finance: Reddit is home to a bevy of discussion topics, including personal finance. You can find personal stories and advice on money issues like repaying debt and how to overcome the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.
— Saving Advice Forum: Saving Advice Forum members discuss ways to coupon, earn more money and more.
— BiggerPockets Forum: The BiggerPockets Forum covers many of the same topics as the communities listed above, plus more advanced issues, such as real estate investing, credit, bankruptcy and retirement.
[See: 12 Ways to Be a More Mindful Spender.]
Switch your budgeting method. Personal finance is personal. If you repeatedly fall short of your savings goals, it could be because you’re using a budgeting method and savings strategy that are not the right fit for you. What are some budget options?
If you pay caregivers, run a home business or own a rental property, a multifaceted accounting system like Quickbooks may fit the bill. Quickbooks isn’t free but it can simplify expense tracking, paying invoices, managing tax payments and more for households with complex personal finance situations. If your household budget is less complex, there are a plethora of other free digital options you can try as well.
For example, Mvelopes and Mint let you sync your financial accounts to one budget management dashboard. With both apps, you can assign monthly spending limits to categories like rent/mortgage payments, gas, insurance, groceries and more. Next you can categorize each of your bank account and credit card transactions to keep track of money spent in each area of your budget.
The Level app is another alternative that helps you monitor spending on a micro level. This app can help if small, daily miscellaneous spending is what impacts your ability to save. Level lets you set a savings target and then tells you exactly how much “spendable” money you have available each day based on your income and expenses.
Other tried-and-true budgeting methods are using simple pen and paper or an Excel spreadsheet to track spending. The point here is that you shouldn’t be afraid to switch things up and try something new.
Move your savings to a safer place. Put money somewhere that is beyond reach if you’re unable to meet savings goals because you make too many withdrawals. Try opening a high-yield savings account that’s not connected to your checking account to limit temptation.
If you do open a new savings account, make sure that it’s FDIC-insured. The account should also have no annual fee and, ideally, no minimum account balance requirement.
[See: 10 Money Leaks to Shut Down Now.]
Schedule regular savings deposits. Finally, there’s a good chance that you won’t meet your savings goal if you trust yourself to make occasional savings deposits throughout the year. The urge to spend is too real.
In the past, you may have felt pressure to consume or keep up with the Joneses on your block. Now with social media, many of us come into contact with hundreds of Joneses, plus advertisements touting the latest technology, clothing trend or vacation spot. Couple these outside influences with how easy it is to make online purchases, and you may get distracted from your savings goal.
Set up regularly scheduled transfers from your checking account to your savings account that happen weekly or monthly. This way, the pressure is off of you to remember when to save money. And your money will automatically go to a safe place before you’re able to spend it on unnecessary things.
More from U.S. News
10 Ways to Save More in the New Year
Your Month-to-Month Guide to Savings
How to Set Savings Resolutions for 2017 — and Make Them Happen originally appeared on usnews.com
