The secret to boosting your savings account isn’t actually a secret at all. It’s the most obvious thing you can think of: make more money!
While technically accurate, that’s not exactly a helpful suggestion.
Barring that, here are four ways to increase your savings without picking up a side hustle, putting in extra hours, or demanding a massive pay raise—work with what you’ve already got, and you’ll quickly see more roll in.
Set Up Automatic Savings Transfers
The easiest way to increase your cash in the bank is to set, then forget—in this case, we’re talking about automatic savings deductions.
Soon enough, you’ll find a ton of money in your savings account that you hardly even knew existed (like a gift from your past self). There are two ways to set up automatic transfers depending on your personal savings goals:
- Rounding up – Bank of America’s Keep the Change savings program rounds up every purchase you make to the nearest dollar then promptly sets that additional money aside as part of your savings account. Over time, these small sums add up, and you won’t miss that extra ¢74 in the slightest.
- Percentage of paycheck – Through financial apps like Chime, Digit, and Qapital you can allocate a percentage of every paycheck to go directly into your savings account. With Qapital, you can also save in more unique ways by setting a savings goal ($2,000 for a vacation, let’s say) and personalized rules that trigger a savings transfer ($20 every time you order takeout, $50 for every online grocery order, and $100 from every direct deposit, just to name a few)
Use A High-Yield Savings Account
The name pretty much says it all: this kind of account will yield high savings.
Every bank account has an annual percentage yield (APY) that comes to you in the form of interest. The national average is 0.05% APY, but some bank accounts offer up to 20 times that amount with 1.0% APY—why settle for mystery meat when there’s caviar just one table over?
Open a high-yield savings account and start collecting up to 20 times more with only a few clicks and very little additional effort.
Apply for Tax Debt Relief
Massive tax debt and troubles with the IRS are certainly not the way to improve your financial security. Instead, utilize the Fresh Start Initiative to get back on track by paying off your debt in smaller, more manageable chunks and avoiding hefty penalty fees.
The Fresh Start Initiative has two unique debt settlement solutions:
- You’ll work together with the IRS to mutually arrive at an installment agreement with reasonable monthly payments. With more manageable monthly expenses, you’ll be able to pay off your debt in full, over a prescribed period of time.
- In the face of insurmountable tax debt, you may be eligible for an Offer in Compromise (OIC) agreement. With this, you’ll settle your tax debt for a number lower than what you’d otherwise owe, which essentially reduces your total repayment.
Start Investing Wisely
Investing is one of the ultimate “work smarter, not harder” hacks. With sound investments, you’ll multiply what’s already in your savings account by doing little to no additional work.
With simple, user-friendly stock-trading apps like Robinhood, you’ll be able to boost your investment portfolio—and, more importantly, your savings account—in no time. Pay attention to these common rookie investing mistakes and you’ll graduate from Robinhood to the trading room floor long before your stocks reach maturity.
Anticipate A Big Time Boost
The concept of saving money seems like an incredibly daunting mountain to climb. The actual act of saving money, however, is easier than tying your shoes before heading out on an adventure.
The apps, forms, and assistance you need are literally at your fingertips—no more excuses when it’s this easy to set your savings account up for success.
Girl Holding Piggy Bank -DepositPhotos
