4 easy tricks to become better at saving money

Here’s some good news: It’s easier than you might think! A few minor changes in habit can make saving money part of your routine instead of an afterthought. That way you’re putting more money away for all the exciting financial milestones you’re working toward.

Here are four simple money-saving tips to help you take an active approach to saving:

This might seem daunting at first but allow us to explain!

Right now, you might be saving random amounts from each paycheck. Maybe $50 one pay period, $122 the next. Want to make things a bit more official? Come up with a savings target that you try to hit every month.

How do you do this?

• Start by calculating your monthly income — after taxes and any pre-tax contributions — to know how much you have each month for bills, saving, and spending.
• Next, take that amount and subtract all of your monthly bill payments, such as rent/mortgage, student loan payment(s), car payment, car insurance, utility and electric bill, gym membership, and so on.
• Then, figure out how much you spend each month on recurring expenses — grocery shopping, gas, entertainment, subscriptions, streaming services and anything else. Subtract that amount from your remaining budget. You can also set aside a small amount for a rainy day or emergency fund for the future.
• The amount that remains is your savings potential. In theory, this dollar amount is how much you could be saving each month.

Now, whether you end up saving that entire savings potential each month is up to you. Perhaps you want to save more and decide to cut back on some of your entertainment expenses. Or maybe you're concerned about overextending yourself, so you decide to save a little less.

Regardless, your savings potential can be used as a guide to decide on your monthly savings goal. And it’ll help you better assess your savings skills each month.

Here’s an easy way to put saving before spending. Literally.

When your paycheck gets directly deposited into your account, make saving your first order of business … before you make any purchases. Log onto your bank’s mobile app that morning, make your transfer(s), and boom — you’re done!

Too often, we spend our paychecks and save whatever’s left over at the end. However, by putting saving first, you’ll rest easy for the remainder of your pay period knowing that your savings are taken care of. Plus, you’ll have a much better idea of what money is OK to spend on nonessentials — concert tickets, dinner dates, and more.

Now, let’s take the effort out of saving!

Set up automatic transfers so that every payday, the appropriate amount of money gets automatically deposited into your bank account(s) without you having to so much as lift a finger. Automatic transfers take all the thinking and stress out of saving money. It’s taken care of for you. How nice is that?

Bonus tip: Set up goal-specific savings accounts, or use Citizens Savings Tracker™¹, and make separate automatic transfers into each account regularly. You can then monitor your progress toward each of your goals, whether it’s a new car, Caribbean vacation, down payment on a home, retirement savings or kitchen renovation you’ve been dreaming of for years.

Looking for an alternative? Set up direct deposit from your paycheck to your savings account or a money market account so those funds never touch your checking account.

Getting a raise is a pretty awesome feeling. Now, let’s make sure you’re doing your best to maximize that new income!

Sometimes, we get so caught up in our new salaries — from a promotion or yearly bonus — that we use too much of the extra income on nonessentials and impulse purchases. Maybe we splurge on a new car when our current one is perfectly fine. Or we feel our higher salary justifies a new lifestyle of spending way more on clothing or dining out.

Instead, allocate as much of your extra salary to savings as you can. It wasn’t too long ago that you got by on a lesser salary. So, in theory, you could put all that extra money towards savings.

Now, expecting yourself to save all that extra salary would be unrealistic. After all, life expenses naturally change over time. The point is this: Try not to use a higher salary as an excuse to add unnecessary expenses to your life, while leaving your savings as is. Do your best to keep your expenses as close to your pre-raise life as you can to pocket a lot of that extra cash coming in vs overspending.

Wherever you are in your financial journey, Citizens is here to help – with banking that stands with you and grows with you. With automatic transfers from your checking to your savings account, you can set money aside and watch your savings add up.

Start saving