11 Easy Steps to Save 10000 in a Year!

December 12, 2022December 12, 2022 Yvette BrownMoney Saving

A $10,000 savings goal is a significant turning point in any financial journey, regardless of whether you are saving for a rainy day fund, a down payment on a home, a used car, or pretty much anything else. But you’re going to need a good plan if you want to save $10,000 in a year.

You might be surprised if you take these eleven steps.

Table of Contents

Break It Down

You need to understand what it entails and how it appears when it comes to saving $10,000 in a year. More than a fancy affirmation on a whiteboard, hard numbers will encourage you to save. Either you are or you are not saving a number when you look at it.

Saving money is similar to dieting. The data won’t lie to you. Saving $10,000 in a year would amount to $833.33 per month for 12 months. Let’s simplify it to something smaller than someone’s rent payment because that might seem overwhelming to many people, including myself.

You might feel more capable of saving money in smaller amounts rather than trying to find almost $1,000 per month. If you get paid every two weeks, saving $10,000 equates to setting aside $384.62 from each check. It would require finding $190.30 to stash if you were attempting to determine what it would be each week. You Might Also Like: The Importance Of Saving Money: 4 Tips Help Save More Money

Review Your Budget

Knowing where your money is going will help you figure out where to save. Analyze the last year’s worth of bank and credit card statements to find out what you’ve been spending money on.

Have a general idea of what you spend each month in the major categories. You don’t need to account for every dollar; this is meant to be manageable, after all. Consider the following: housing, utilities, food, entertainment, clothing, transportation, and loan payments. Have a category called “miscellaneous” — this is usually one of the first places you can cut back.

Try to determine if there are any areas where you can completely cut costs as you review your spending. then look for ones you can reduce. You could limit your clothing purchases or shop at more affordable stores, for instance.

Save on Bills

Sit down and carefully review your monthly expenses to find $833 in savings. This is the simplest way to do it. Although some people may not have much to cut, twice as many have expenses that are simple to reduce.

Call your service providers right away to discuss your options. Is there a service on your cell phone bill that you don’t use? Are you overinsured on a vehicle that is regarded as being in poor condition? Examine what can be cut, and only pay for what you require.

Rent is typically the largest outlay on a person’s budget, but consider whether you might be better off finding a roommate or moving to a different rental property entirely.

Cut Back on Eating Out

To save $10,000 in a year quickly, just eat more meals at home. Americans enjoy dining out, and the average household spends thousands of dollars annually doing so. Even if you don’t eat out frequently, buying coffee and lunch through the drive-through adds up.

If saving money wasn’t enough of an incentive for you to start bringing lunch more frequently, consider the calories you’d be saving by cutting back on eating out. Start bringing a salad, and prepare tasty meals at home more frequently.

Start a Side Hustle

You have two options if your monthly income is insufficient to cover an $833.34 savings goal. You can either increase your income to reach your savings goal or change your savings goal to fit your income. The good news is, there is an abundance of opportunities out there to make extra cash. Just have the courage to go after them.

At BeTheBudget, our focus is on discovering ethical ways to generate additional income each month. Therefore, go after what you are passionate about if you can earn some extra money doing it.

If you have the energy to work a second job at night in order to better your financial situation, get after it! You’re one dollar closer to saving $10,000 in a year with every additional dollar you earn on the side.

Avoid Burnout

The constant budgeting, expense-cutting, and side hustling can eventually result in a severe case of burnout if you aren’t careful. So make sure to have some fun along the way to prevent that. Do not forget that balance is necessary for all aspects of life. And if you never get to enjoy any of your earnings, what good is it to work hard for money?

Make sure to budget some money each month for fun and entertainment in order to prevent burnout as you work toward saving $10,000 in a year. In other words, it’s acceptable to take your significant other out on a date occasionally.

Furthermore, you are not required to feel guilty about purchasing the $60 pair of shoes you have been saving up for for the past three months. Oh, and you don’t have to eat ramen and apple sauce for every meal. Bacon is what it’s called, and it’s expensive because it tastes so good!

Find Easy Ways to Automate Your Savings

Automating my savings has helped me reach my financial objectives, such as paying for an unexpected veterinary bill or saving for a study abroad program. For instance, every time I use my debit card, my bank lets me transfer $1 to my savings account.

I am happily surprised to see a few hundred dollars in my savings account by the end of the year because I am not aware that small sums are being transferred here and there. You Might Also Like: Which Savings Account Will Earn You The Most Money?

You can automate a transfer like this or even a modest but effective sum per paycheck, then gradually increase it as you go. Saving $10,000 a year without much effort is possible by automating your savings!

Don’t Pay Interest on Your Credit Cards

You’re paying extra each month to cover that gas tank you’ve already used and that forgotten dinner if you have a balance on your credit cards. Then stop using your credit cards after paying them off.

When you reach for a credit card, ask yourself, “Would I borrow money from the bank to make this purchase?” If the answer is “no,” which it usually is, don’t use your credit card for it either, since that’s effectively what you are doing. Use your debit card instead if you have the funds in your checking account and budget. If not, think long and hard about whether you really need to make the purchase.

If you have any credit cards with annual fees, you might want to cancel them. There are so many fee-free credit cards with rewards programs and additional perks that there is really no justification for paying an annual fee.

Examine Your Fixed Expenses

Don’t forget about recurring monthly costs that you might overlook, like utilities. When you use less energy or, if you still use cable, switch to a less expensive cable package, you can occasionally reduce your monthly bills.

Make sure to shop around for the best price because gas is eating up more and more of everyone’s budget these days. Anywhere you are, even close to your house, you can use a gas app to find the best price.

It is helpful to compare prices because your neighborhood gas station might not always have the best deal. And make an effort to combine trips so that you drive less and consume less gas.

Save Your Leftover Money

I know earlier in this post we talked about saving before you spend, but if you really want to fuel your savings, you should throw all your leftover money each month into savings as well.

Your savings goal will be burned from both ends if you start and end each month by setting aside money, which will accelerate the process. You could save $10,000 a lot quicker than you anticipated if you put a lot of effort into saving the money you have left over.

Celebrate Your Milestones

Over the course of 12 months, it’s easy to get a little bored. You should therefore pre-define a few milestones to celebrate along the way, much like you should break your goal into smaller pieces.

This can be as easy as raising a glass of champagne to yourself every time you save $1,000. You could also treat yourself to a nice dinner out to mark the $5K milestone. Whatever you decide to do, remembering and celebrating your victories will help you stay motivated and focused on reaching your $10,000 goal.

Final Thoughts: Congratulations!

A fun and exciting goal to work towards is saving $10,000 in a year. And there’s no reason you can’t accomplish it if you break it down and take it to step by step.

In fact, $10,000 per year might not even be a lofty enough objective. In a year, you might have $10,000 in mind for the next six months or $50,000 annually in your sights. You can reach any savings goal you set if you use these suggestions.

Make sure you’re committed to the changes you want to make because no one is promising that they will be simple. Keep a handy reminder of the reasons you need to spend less if you are saving for a specific objective.