I like to be lazy and I like to save money so I have discovered a few easy lazy ways to increase savings rates.
- Use direct deposits – One of the foundational lazy ways to increase savings is only deposit what you require to meet your needs into your regular bank account. This will help to prevent you from spending more than you have budgeted. It will also prevent lifestyle creep (the tendency to spend more as you make more) because you will not see your raises when you get them, you won’t spend them.
- Automate your savings – I use Capital One 360 because it lets you have virtual envelope savings accounts. I deposit money into my main acco
- Automate your investing – For this I use Betterment, money is again automatically transferred every paycheck into long term investment accounts. I can’t forget to do it. I would have to make an active decision to stop investing. It helps keep you goals on track, and you don’t even have to think about it.
- Sign up for your 401(k) – Seriously, if you are not taking advantage of your 401(k) and any match your company may give you, start yesterday. Any money your employer matches is a guaranteed gain. Why would you turn that down?
- Consider a bi-weekly mortgage – If you may half of your mortgage payment every two weeks you will end up making 13 payments a year. This small change can save you tens of thousands in interest over the course of a mortgage. it will pay off your 30 year note in 25 years. Some banks don’t accept partial payments, however, so you need to check with them.
- Coin jar – If you use cash at all at the end of the day drop your change in to a jar of some sort, or one of these nifty Coin Sorting Banks
Just a few lazy ways to increase savings. These methods will improve the rate you are saving money with only a little up front work on your end. They pay remarkable dividends down the line.