3 Amazingly Simple Habits That Help Me Save Money

Few of us are born with an innate ability to resist temptation and save money. Small indulgences make life more comfortable, but sometimes these comforts keep us from important things, like budgeting and saving. Introduction of good judgment and habits into your everyday life doesn’t have to be daunting. Here are three tips that help me save and I hope you can find useful.

Audit your monthly bank statements

If you are aware of your spending, making cuts won’t take much effort. You can streamline your budget without drastically changing your behavior. I typically take ten minutes each month to go over where my money went. Maybe I am paying for a magazine or TV subscription that I don’t use, or dining out more often than eating at home. It may not have felt like I spent enormously on non-essentials, but the bank statement reveals the impact of impulse purchases. It can also point to where saving can be made with relative ease. For instance….

Think twice about that coffee

While your coffee shop loves your addiction to your favorite beverage, your bank balance shrinks steadily from this habit. While coffee and avocado toasts got into a bit of controversy recently, the math is still striking when I do it for myself. If I decrease my trips to the coffee shop, I can save more than $13,000 over 10 years! Seems unlikely? Saving $3 per day is ~$1,100 a year (don’t even get me started on $14 coffees). With a 2% annual compound interest that $3 adds up to a considerable sum over time. An at-home brew in a travel mug is the financially sound option (even if a bit dorky). This way, I don’t have to give up my daily caffeine hit, and at the end of the day (or year) my bank balance is that much heftier.

Move your money into a high-yield savings account

It’s easy to be discouraged by low interest rates, but earning even 1% on your savings is better than having your money earn nothing. We just saw how 2% compound interest can turn $3 daily savings into $13,000 over ten years. Moving your nest egg to a high-reward account nets you interest without any effort. Don’t wait until you think you have enough money to begin a savings account — saving even small amounts accumulates into much larger sums over time.

Little changes have a way of snowballing into bigger gains or losses. That daily indulgence might not seem like it makes much of a difference, but in the long-term it can pay dividends if invested wisely. Learning to make every penny count can ensure that habits put you in the black, not the red.