How to save at least half of your income

What if you could save at least half of your income?  What would that do for you?

 

We all have dreams.  Goals.  Things we want.  Many of those types of things take money.  If you could save at least half of your income then you could achieve those things more easily.

You could pay down debt.

You could travel.

You could save up for that big ticket item (an ATV, perhaps? ;))

You could add to your retirement fund.

There are so many things you could do with a little extra money.  Saving half of your income may feel impossible right now, but there are ways to do it.

They (okay, I don’t really know who “they” are, but I’m pretty sure they are super smart experts) say you should save at least 20% of our income.  For some that’s a huge stretch.  Maybe you aren’t even saving 5% of your income.

If that’s you, please don’t get discouraged.  You are not alone.  But there are changes you can make to bump that percentage up.

It really comes down to three options.  You need to either save more, or make more money, or do a combination of the two.  Saving may or may not be enough depending on your situation.

If there are two of you in your household and you live off of two incomes, one way to save half of your income is to learn to live off of one of your incomes and save the other.

This is especially helpful if one of you loses your job at some point.  If you aren’t relying on the two incomes it will be easier to get by.

However, I realize that cost of living and where you reside all play a role in how much income you need for your basic living expenses.  Saving half of your income might require some big changes.

But it doesn’t need to be an all or nothing kind of thing.  Even if you can’t save half of your income, aiming to save a quarter of it is better than nothing.  After you’ve done that for awhile you may be able to work towards saving half.

If you have some big dreams you want to achieve, if you want to save money to reach those dreams, then keep reading to get a list of ideas on how to do that.

WAYS TO SAVE MORE MONEY SO YOU CAN SAVE AT LEAST HALF OF YOUR INCOME

Make your coffee at home.  It’s time to cut those trips to the fancy coffee shops.  While you are at it, be sure to make your lunch at home as well.  You will be amazed at how much you can save by doing this if you are a regular drive thru participant.

Get rid of cable/satellite.  Cable and satellite can be costly.  Cutting those expenses from your budget will help you save money.  If you must have access to some TV (and no one would blame you 🙂 ) consider an online streaming service like Netflix or Hulu that are more affordable.

Let the cell phone data go.  We haven’t had data on our phones EVER.  It’s never been a problem.  You can pick up wifi in so many places now, it isn’t really an inconvenience.  We do pay $5 to have a data block on our phone, but that’s a lot cheaper than if we were to pay for data.  Data is super costly and if you have multiple phones in your home it adds up quickly.

Save on your grocery bill.  Shop at budget stores.  Shop the sales.  Make a meal plan.  Use coupon cash-back apps like Checkout51 to help you save on groceries every time you go shopping.

Downsize your car.  If you drive a big, gas guzzling vehicle with large car payments, consider downsizing to a smaller one with smaller, or even no car payments. If you have two vehicles maybe you can do away with one for awhile.  This will depend on your circumstances, where you live and how everyone in your house gets to work, but we lived with only one vehicle for 16 years – it wasn’t until this year that we finally became a 2 vehicle family.  It saved us a ton of money.

Move to somewhere smaller.  One of the most effective ways you can save half of your income is to move into a smaller home.  Not only will your mortgage payments be smaller, so will your heating and electricity bills.  It isn’t easy to relocate to a new home, but it can be worth it for sure.

Find cheap or free entertainment.  Saving money doesn’t have to be a drag.  You can still have fun, but you will want to find entertainment that is free or cheap.  Go for a trail walk, take in free community events or visit your local library (not only do they have books but often free programs).  There are so many things to do for fun that don’t have to cost a lot.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  There are so many other ways to save money so you can save more of your income.  For even more frugal ideas, be sure to check out 80 ways to live a frugal life.  The more you adopt frugal ways to live, the more room you’ll have in your budget to save money for the things you love.

Now, as we talked about above, aside from saving money, you may need to make more money to save half of your income.

WAYS TO MAKE MORE MONEY SO YOU CAN SAVE AT LEAST HALF OF YOUR INCOME

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much we save, there just isn’t enough money to make a significant difference.  That means the only thing left to do is find a side hustle.

Side hustles can be great because you can often fit them into your already busy life (because who of us is NOT busy these days?).  Whether you already work outside the home, or are a stay at home mom, there are many side hustles that can work with your lifestyle, no matter what that looks like.

So, what kind of side hustles are out there?  Here are some great ways to make extra money:

Blogging.  I have to start with blogging because it’s my favorite. 🙂  It’s obviously my personal favorite because it’s what I did to increase our income.  Blogging can be an amazing way to make extra money while working in your pajamas!  You can work anywhere which makes it flexible for travel and basically any lifestyle!  Check out how to affordably start a blog in this post.

Babysitting.  Make some extra money by caring for children.  You can do it just a few hours a week, or everyday at full-time hours.  Whatever the case babysitting is a great way to make some extra cash.

Surveys. Surveys can bring in a few hundred extra dollars each month if you diligently work at them.  Surveys are great if you are looking for something flexible.  It’s also a great way for moms to make some extra cash because they can do it during nap time.  For some great survey options try Swagbucks, VIP Voice Panel, PineCone Research, or Survey Junkie.

Deliver newspapers.  I’m telling ya, not the most glamorous job in the world, but sometimes you do what you have to do.  And this is one job I did do for awhile years ago.  I was on a rural route so I was able to bundle up my kids, put on a DVD in the van, and drive around to deliver papers.

Create something to sell.  Make soap, or printables, or Jewelry.  Sell at craft shows or on Etsy.

OTHER TIPS ON HOW TO SAVE AT LEAST HALF OF YOUR INCOME

Budget. 

Budgeting is not a dirty word.  A budget can help you live within your means.  When you budget you can see where your money is going and how much is coming in and going out.

Always open bills.

This may seem like a funny piece of advice, but when people get overwhelmed with their financial situation, and especially their debt, they start ignoring the bills.  It’s too stressful to see that large number glaring back at them of what they owe that they just stop opening them when they come.

I know it’s hard, and I know it can be discouraging, but one of the worst things you could do is ignore them.  The problem will not go away.  It will only get better when you face it head on.  You can’t lower your expenses to save more money if you are refusing to be realistic about what those expenses are.

Keep like-minded company.

They say we become most like the 5 people we hang out with the most.  Now, I’m not going to tell you to stop hanging out with your friends who spend money more than you are able because I think we could miss out on some amazing friendships that way.  what I will say is on top of the friendships you already have, make some “frugal” friends – those who have the same goals as you.

Having like-minded people who are frugal allow you to swap money saving ideas with each other.  Frugal friends find entertainment that’s affordable to do together – like having coffee at each other’s homes instead of going out to eat.  And frugal friends share with eachother all the best coupons. 🙂

THE BOTTOM LINE IS THERE NEEDS TO BE CHANGE

Change is not easy.  When it comes to our finances it usually requires hard work to make the changes we need.  However, those steps you take will pay off…literally.

Remember your WHY.  Why are you doing this in the first place?  Keep that goal and dream somewhere you can see often.  On the hard days when you question whether it’s worth it, you will be reminded that it is as you inch closer to your goal.

Think how amazing it will feel to pay off that debt.  Or go on that life-changing trip.  Or buy that ATV you always wanted. 🙂  Whatever reason you have for saving half of your income, keep that at the forefront of your mind when the going gets tough.