Trust the Process: How to Save $10000 in a Year

If you can save $1,000 monthly, then for you to save $10000 in a year shouldn’t be a problem. However, staying committed to a savings goal is challenging throughout an entire year. This is especially true because you might not know what life will throw at you. If you want to know how to save $10000 in a year (or more), here’s what you can do:

Budget like a billionaire

Saving consistently over time means setting a budget that works for you. Multi-millionaire Dave Ramsey preaches that you should maximize your budget every month. This means keeping every penny accounted for. This ensures that every last bit of your income is working for you.

Identify your savings goals

Financial goals can provide several benefits to anyone trying to build wealth. They provide motivation and milestones to ensure you’re on the right track. Without a clearly-defined goal, you won’t be as motivated to save more money.

Use your credit card (wisely)

If you’ve got a credit card, it’s not doing any good if it’s just sitting in your wallet. Instead of paying with cash or with your CashApp, consider paying using your credit card. That way, you’ll earn points for all kinds of freebies.

Tip: you should only use your credit card to purchase something if you can pay for it with cash. That’s how you stay out of credit card debt!

Switch to high-yield savings accounts to save $10000 in a year

The average interest rate for savings accounts in the US is about 0.20% per year. This is a low number, and this low yield will only get eaten by inflation. You’ll lose money by keeping it in bank accounts with such low-interest rates.

Instead, you can switch to high-yield savings accounts, which usually come from digital banks like Ally. With these accounts, you can earn more money by parking the unused funds in your savings.

Note that accounts from traditional banks are still useful, even if they yield low-interest rates. You never know when you need to cash out at an ATM!

Record your expenses

Monitoring your spending is a fundamental money practice. You can determine where your money is going the most by tracking how much your outgoing funds are. This information can inform any lifestyle changes that you want to make. This is important if you want to know how to save $10000 in a year.

Use an app to save $10000 in a year

Tracking your finances is much easier if you use an intuitive app to help you out. That way, you don’t need to take the time to make your own spreadsheet. The best part? Many of them allow you to use their core features for free!

Review your expenses

If you don’t bother looking at your expenses every once in a while, you might as well not even track them. Reviewing your expenses is important to minimizing your spending and maximizing your savings. It allows you to identify any unnecessary spending and bad habits and how to remove them.

Get a better-paying job

If you want to save more, the solution may be to earn more. There are many high-paying jobs available that you can get if you’re willing to put in the work. Alternatively, you could…

Start a side-hustle

If you think an idea can be turned into money, why not give it a shot? Starting a side hustle can be a great way to turn your free time into money. It might even be successful enough to turn into a small business.

Declutter your space

Is your wardrobe looking a bit crowded? Or maybe your shelves have a few too many knick-knacks collecting dust? It might be time to declutter your space. By decluttering, I mean selling whatever you don’t need to earn a quick buck. Online platforms like eBay and Facebook Marketplace make this incredibly easy!

Save money on groceries

There are several ways you can cut down your grocery fund. For example, you can substitute brand-name cleaning products with DIY household products. You might have these items already in your pantry!

You can also buy certain items, like toilet paper, in bulk. Doing this costs more upfront but will save you more money over time. This is because you get more products per dollar when you buy bulk packages and bundles!

Choose a single streaming service

Remember when Netflix had everything you ever wanted to watch? Now to get all the popular shows, you need Netflix, HBO, Disney+, Prime Video, Hulu, and the list goes on.

To reduce spending on all of these services, you can instead choose a single service every month to subscribe to. Then, binge whatever show that streaming service has and move to the next one. You can watch all the popular shows without breaking the bank by putting your streaming services on rotation.

Automate your finances

Want to take the guesswork and time out of managing your money? Automating your finances will help quite a bit! By setting up auto-deposits and bill payments, you’ll give yourself back some valuable time and energy.

If you need a guide on automating your finances, I’ve covered you with my article.

Coupons

Why pay full price when a quick Google search can save you quite a bit of money? Promotional codes, discount vouchers, and gift cards can help you save a bit of extra money. Here’s my list of coupon code sites you should try!

Eat at home

Eating out frequently is an easy way to dig a deep hole in your wallet. You can save more money by cooking your meals at home. Not only that, but cooking is a valuable life skill and incredibly fun and easy to do. There are dozens of cheap and easy recipes that you can try making yourself.

Pack lunch

You may be tempted to grab lunch at a nearby food joint when you head to work. If you’re trying to learn how to save $10,000 in a year, you should try to eliminate unnecessary spending. Packing lunch and preserving leftovers is a great way to save money while eating good food.

Need a vacation? Try a staycation!

Treating yourself doesn’t always mean an expensive trip to the beach. You can have a wonderful self-care day by lighting candles, ordering from your favorite restaurant, and sipping wine! Here are a few more ideas for your next staycation.

Drink more water

Not only is this a money tip, but also a health tip. Flavored drinks can be made at home for a fraction of your price. $4 for a restaurant to put lemonade powder in your water and mix it is highway robbery! Meanwhile, water is always on the house and the healthiest drink.

Join the money squad

Even if you know how to save $10,000 in a year, you shouldn’t stop just there. Just like how you should never stop learning–which is why you should join my money squad! It only takes a few seconds, and as a member, you’ll receive potentially life-changing financial tips every week. Sign up today!