Do you wish your savings account looked a little meatier than it does right now? Saving money and leaving it alone can be tough – let alone saving up a fully fledged emergency fund designed to protect you should you take a pay cut or lose your job. It’s times like these we all realize just how important it is to save money and protect ourselves and future interests. Many experts recommend that the average person has a minimum of 3-6 months living expenses tucked away, but it’s rare people have even $1000 saved in a separate account. 

If you know you need to focus on building up your savings, the 12 methods here will help you to amp them up. Take a look and in no time, you could have a great emergency fund and piece of mind: 

Change Your Money Mindset

Your mindset around money is the first thing you need to change, as this can either hold you back or propel you forward. You can want to change so badly, and even take steps to change, but if your money mindset stays in the same place, you’ll likely end up back where you started. This is why so many people who win the lottery end up blowing it all in a short space of time! 

In order to change your money mindset, you need to get a little bit introspective. For example, what beliefs are you carrying with you that are holding you back? If you’re not sure of that yet, write down your earliest memories of money. What do you remember your parents saying about money? What beliefs have they likely passed on to you? You may have to dig deep, but eventually, you’ll likely uncover some beliefs you’ve been carrying with you that have been holding you back. 

Aim To Become Financially Literate 

Financial literacy is rarely taught in schools, and even if it is, it’s not to the extent that it should be. You need to take control of your own financial education. Read up on as many books as you can, watch YouTube videos, and get into podcasts that talk about money. Even if you consume one piece of valuable content each month, at the end of the year, you’ll have so much more knowledge that you can put to good use to help grow your savings. 

Start Now, No Matter How Small

Don’t wait any longer! It’s never too late to start growing your savings, even if you can only allocate a small amount each week or month. You can steadily increase the amount as you reduce your living expenses, for example. 

Automate Your Savings 

Automating your savings means ‘setting it and forgetting it’ – this is a great method, as you won’t even have to think about moving the money over and you’ll be less tempted to put it towards something else. You can always add more to your savings if you want to, but having a set amount automated means you can simply include it in your monthly bills. 

Save Money In A Physical Envelope 

Some people struggle to save money as seeing it in their bank accounts entices them to spend it. Saving money in a physical envelope could be the key to this. People are actually less likely to spend physical money, as handing over the cash forces them to really think about what they are doing. Taking the money out of your bank account and putting it in an envelope could help you to quickly save much more money. Watching it grow will be exciting too!

If you reach the amount you were aiming for, you could always seal up the envelope and leave it somewhere safe until you really need it. You could also put the entire sum into a high interest savings account where you can’t touch it for a while. 

Track Everything You Spend

Tracking everything you spend is essential for a budget that works. Track every little thing, no matter how insignificant you think it is. You can then come up with amounts to allocate for things like food shopping, entertainment, and toiletries. When you track everything, you’ll see where you can cut back and improve and have an idea of how much you really need to spend on these things. 

Use Coupons And Discounts 

You’re never too wealthy to use coupons and discounts! Using sites like NetVoucherCodes.co.uk when you need a code could help you to save a lot of money over a period of time. Always look for a coupon or discount code, and the savings will add up. 

Utilize Cashback Sites 

Cashback sites give you a small percentage back of purchases you make online. These amounts may seem insignificant, but if you leave them alone, they can quickly add up. 

Have Both Long/Short Term Goals That You Can Relate To Emotionally 

It’s not always enough to have goals. You need to set goals that you relate to on an emotional level. This is why your goals need to be personal to you! What do you really want now and in the future? 

Don’t Neglect To Invest 

Savings are great, but don’t neglect to invest some money either. You can get started with an app that will invest your spare change, and as you learn more you can invest more. The earlier you start, the better! 

Find A High Interest Savings Account

Put some savings into a high interest savings account to really maximize how much you save. Don’t just leave it in an account that barely generates any interest! 

Plan In Advance

You should always plan in advance for things you have coming up. Birthday gifts, trips, and any other events in your life will all need to be accounted for. This is why having money meetings with yourself/your family is so beneficial – you can discuss things coming up and remind one another of what you may need money for. 

There are so many other methods you can try to increase your earnings and therefore your savings – how about a side hustle, or passive income streams? Leave your own ideas below!