Saving money is easier said than done for most people. By implementing a few of these tips in your everyday budget, you can build discipline, confidence and, best of all, save money.
Starting strong, if your checking account would become negative after buying two of the same thing, you can’t afford it. Of course, this doesn’t apply to major or essential purchases like a house, major appliance, vehicles or regular groceries. But it does apply to small, extra purchases like clothing, video games, subscription services or takeout. If buying two of the same shirt would destroy your budget, then hold off on buying that shirt.
If you struggle with budgeting there are apps to help, such as Dave, an all-in-one banking app. You can use budgeting features within the app, and it can even anticipate recurring purchases such as upcoming subscription services.
There’s the obvious tip of creating a list and sticking to it, but there are other lesser-known tips. The first is eating before shopping so you’re not hungry when browsing the food. Otherwise, your hunger might tempt you into grabbing that extra bag of chips or that pre-made smoothie at checkout.
The other tip is to make a meal plan based on what’s on sale. To help with meal planning, you can have an AI generate quick meal ideas based on the sale items. You can also ask the AI to give you price estimates of your whole shopping list so you can budget accordingly.
An extremely common complaint I see in the threads and reviews of big banks is customers trying to get rid of overdraft fees on their checking accounts. Not only are the fees expensive, but overdrafting is also a double-whammy. If you overdraft, you don’t have enough money for the transaction, and you’re getting charged more for the transaction you couldn’t afford. On top of that, frequently overdrafted accounts — left unresolved — can be at risk of being closed by the bank.
To avoid pricey overdraft fees and account issues, get a bank account with no overdraft fees at all. The Dave Spending account has no overdraft fees because you can’t overdraft on the account. If you attempt a transaction that would overdraft the account, Dave simply declines it.
No one is immune from impulse shopping, especially when it can just be a tap away. To help mitigate impulse purchases, implement a waiting period for non-essential items, such as 24 or 48 hours.
During the waiting period, ask yourself questions such as:
These questions may seem silly at first, but they can help you decide whether you need the item and can afford it.
This tip is similar to putting your change in a jar whenever you break a dollar. There are a few modern bank apps with features called “round-up,” which automatically saves your change with each debit card purchase. In most cases, the feature rounds up your purchase to the nearest dollar and deposits the rounded-up amount into your savings. Dave offers this feature, aptly named Round Up, that you can pause and resume any time within the app.
Round-up features are automatic and simple, and the amounts are small enough that they shouldn’t harm your overall budget too much. Also, keep saving your change in a jar — that can also add up.
Some people prefer visual budgeting, and the envelope budgeting system is great if you’re one of those people. It’s also great for newbie budgeters and those who prefer using cash.
The original envelope budgeting system involves using physical cash and real envelopes. Label the envelopes with names like rent, groceries, gas, savings and so on, then place the money you intend to spend within that envelope, usually every month. Over the month, simply pull the cash out of the envelopes as needed. At the end of the month, you can move any leftover money from the envelopes into the “savings” envelope or simply let the cash sit so you have some extra wiggle room for the next month. This method can keep your cash organized and limit splurging.
However, I wouldn’t recommend keeping all your savings in cash — it can lose value over time due to inflation. Instead, consider putting your savings in a high-yield savings account, such as Dave’s Goals account, which earns 4.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY). And if cash budgeting isn’t for you, remember that Dave also has virtual budgeting features.
There are so many money-saving tips out there that it can almost be overwhelming. One of the better, more common ones to end with is to automate your savings. You can set up automatic transfers from your checking to your savings when you get paid so you can save efficiently, effortlessly and on a set schedule. And if you want your savings to grow even faster, consider a high-yield savings account that earns interest without you lifting a finger.
And for many of these money tips, Dave can offer some assistance. From virtual budgeting and no overdraft fees to high-yield checking and savings and savings with round-ups, Dave can help for a small monthly membership fee.
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