One of the best (and easiest) ways to save money is by making it happen automatically. Remove the human from the process and things happen a lot smoother.
If you’ve ever struggled with saving money, these tips for automating your savings should help.
1. Set rules for different income streams
Setting rules for where each income stream will flow to can be helpful when you’ve got more than one savings goal.
For example, overtime or bonuses go towards retirement savings while side hustles or paid survey income goes towards a holiday savings fund.
A vacation fund could be fully financed by selling unused items in your home, especially if you do your vacation on a budget.
I find this technique helpful, especially when I’m doing lots of extra jobs and side hustles to bring in income.
2. Set an automated bank transfer to align with your pay cycle
Talk to your bank about setting up an automatic transfer to a savings account as soon as your paycheck hits the account. This technique is one of our top frugal living tips.
Do this for long enough and you won’t even notice it gone – but you sure will appreciate the growing savings balance.
3. Use a cashback credit card for everything
Cashback credit cards are a great tool if you are disciplined with credit.
Most banks will deposit the cash back automatically on to your card each month so you get an extra deposit.
I often stack my savings, using cashback sites like Ibotta to get double the cash back.
4. Set your bills to be paid automatically
I like to use a credit card to automate my bill payments, but you can also organize recurrent transfers from your bank.
Either way, automating bill payments will help you save as you won’t be hit with late payment penalties.
Putting savings on autopilot is often the first step we make towards better managing our finances.
It helps to build discipline around money and is super handy when it comes time to invest in the stock market or real estate where you need to invest and wait.
Do you automate your savings?
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