7 Ways I Doubled My Savings Last Year

The last few years, I have really been focusing on building up my savings account. I’m always looking for ways to reach my financial goals, and throughout the past year I have reached quite a few. It has a lot to do with putting these tips into practice.

1. Set up Auto Draft.

I set up an automatic transfer into my savings account every 2 weeks with the designated amount I wanted to save. It could be $50 or $500, but was a consistent amount. Setting up an auto-draft keeps it out-of-sight, helping you live on the remaining amount. Since it was automatic transfer, there was no additional effort on my part.  I made a decision that I wouldn’t touch it no matter what and stuck to it. This was very helpful in helping to reach my goals of doubling my savings account.

You can set it and forget it, and watch it build up.

2. Meal Plan.

Meal Planning makes a BIG difference in how much I spend on food with 3 boys. The weeks I plan my meals are dramatically different than the weeks I don’t. Meal Planning helps me to be very intentional with my grocery store trips. I have a specific list of items. I find that I only get what I need for the week, rather than figuring it out as I browse the isles. I stick to that list…and that’s it.

There’s other benefits to meal planning in addition to saving money. Less eating out, and eating healthier, to name a few. They are all great benefits.

I also wrote an article on how to SAVE BIG on your grocery bill: HERE!

3. Find a side hustle.

Extra income is always a game-changer toward building your savings account. When I started this blog it was a side- hustle and consistently brought in a few hundred extra each month. It just happened to become more than I ever expected, and a full-time income source.

Initially, I was bringing in an extra few hundred dollars a month, and that could go right to savings. It gave me an extra boost to meet our saving goals.

There are so many side jobs you can do. Mystery shopping, teaching online courses, marketing jobs, babysitting, etsy shops, and taking surveys to name a few. Find a way to bring in a little extra selling something on the side, working nights or whatever you have to do to get that income up for a period of time. It doesn’t have to be forever, but it can help you build up your fund.

4. Every Dollar Budget.

Every dollar is such a helpful website. You can easily create a budget to designate a place for every single dollar coming into your home.

This make a big difference in saving more money each month.

I create a budget every single month. This is not just for bills, but for clothing, medical bills, eating-out, and so on. After budgeting out every dollar, my total is zero. Therefore, every dollar coming in has a designated place. This helps me stay focused, and have more control over our spending. Nothing is a random purchase, but was part of the budget.

5. Cut The Extras.

For years, my family lived without cable television to save more money. I just did the local TV package or Netflix with internet. My kids would watch sports on their phone or tablet, and was just fine. Having that money in my account was what I needed to build my savings was worth it.

Also, we used pre-paid wireless phone companies like Boost and Cricket to dramatically slash our cell phone bills. There were definitely some sacrifices with this approach. We sometimes would have issues with internet, but overall it was fine. It was worth it to keep more cash in our pockets, and build our savings.

When I reached more of my financial goals for my savings account, I added back cable, and a better wireless phone plan. Just keep in mind, you can cut these things for period of time to get ahead, it doesn’t have to be forever.

Reaching financial goals will often bring extra freedom. However, cutting these types of things was an easy and practical way to take charge of our financial goals.

6. Sell your stuff.

There are many websites where you can sell household items you don’t use anymore. I regularly clean out my closet to sell clothing online or to consignment shops. There are also websites like ThredUp or Poshmark that make it even easier to sell! We have so much extra stuff I can sell to someone who wants it, bringing in extra cash.

7. Buy Generic.

Last year, almost everything I bought was store brand. My groceries, paper towels, and other household needs. Store brand many times was close to the same, and such a savings.

This really saved us a lot of money, and store brands have dramatically improved in quality now. Many are just as good for a fraction of the cost.

In the past year, I was able to double my savings account with using these 7 impactful tips. I hope these encourage you to meet your financial goals, and find some extra cash in your budget to increase your savings also.