Want to save $5000 this year? Why not try a money-saving printable chart to not just make it easy, but fun!
It’s time to take control of your money and finally prioritize saving money. Whether you want to build out your emergency fund, buy a house, need a new car, or finally take that vacation you’ve been dreaming of– you don’t have to go into debt, you just need to set a goal and come up with a plan.
Below you will find a free money saving printable chart to break up your goal of saving $5000 into smaller more manageable goals.
One of the best perks of this money saving challenge is that you don’t have to start at the beginning of the year– you can start today and just keep moving forward through the next 12 months– and before you know it, you’ll have an extra $5000 in your savings account!
Saving money can be difficult, especially if you are on a tight budget.
Below you’ll find some tips on how to find more money to save $5000 in a year.
This post may have affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Please see my full disclosure policy for details.
The most Effective saving strategy
Before you get started working your way through your printable chart, let’s talk about one of the most effective saving strategies to give you your best chance of success over the next 12 months.
One of the biggest struggles with saving money is making sure that you don’t pull out the money before your goal is complete.
Picture this: it’s payday, you transfer the money into savings. Fast forward 2 weeks and your bank balance is running low.
Instead of tightening your best and getting intentional with the rest of your spending to get you through till next payday, you see your savings account sitting there with an available balance.
It’s a simple matter of setting up a transfer to your checking account. Right?!
Having your savings account attached to the checking account you use for your every day checking can be detrimental in maintaining your savings and meeting your savings goals.
Instead, consider setting up a high yield savings account ( earn up to 10X the national average of your standard savings account), like the one at CIT bank.
Put your money to work for you! If you are going to be socking away cash anyway, why not maximize your return without a ton of risk?
Plus, who doesn’t want free money (thank you interest)?!
How Can I Save $5000 in a Year?
Now that you’ve set your goal (savings $5000 in a year) and you know the best place to put your savings to make it work for you (a high yield savings account), let’s talk about some easy ways to save more money in your budget each month.
01 | BUDGET REEVALUATION
When was the last time you sat down with your budget and did more than just pay bills? If you aren’t consistently checking in with your expenses I encourage you to jump in.
One of the best ways to move quickly through a budget evaluation is to run down your list of expenses and assign them a category: keep it, cut it, lower it.
Once you have made that list, cut/cancel the things marked ‘cut’ and then contact those companies marked ‘lower it’ and see what you can do about lowering your bill.
If the company isn’t able to work with you, check around with their competition.
Working and refining your budget should be a perpetual process.
Your budget is a living document that you look at and reevaluate often.
02 | BEST CASH SAVING APP
It is an absolute fact that you will spending money over the next year. But just because you are spending money doesn’t mean you can’t save (and almost passively) some while you’re at it.
Here are some super simple ways to find extra cash to shovel into your savings account.
RAKUTEN
Rakuten is one of the easiest ways to make a little extra cash. Rakuten has thousands of stores and sites and when you make a purchase through their app, they reward you with cash back.
How does it work?
You sign up for an account (at the time of this post) and when you make a purchase of $30 or more you get $30 free. And you keep earning with every purchase you make through their site or app.
Super simple.
To date I’ve made a little over $700!!
03 | CUT OUT SUBSCRIPTIONS
AVERAGE SAVINGS: $250 PER YEAR
Sure, you cut cable, but with the prevalence of streaming services now, you can find yourself up to your eyeballs in subscription services before you can blink.
Go through your subscription services and see what really makes the cut and trim the rest. It can be surprising just how much small monthly expenses can add up.
04 | BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch) to Work
AVERAGE SAVINGS: $2500 PER YEAR (PER PERSON)
Yeah, I know that you’ve probably heard this a million times, but sometimes seeing a number makes it feel real.
If you buy lunch everyday at just $10 a day for the year, tha’ts about $2500 a year you’re spending on eating lunch out.
If you just cut this habit out, you’d already be half way to your goal of $5000.
Consider investing in some great meal prep containers and lunch box and get to work!
These are hands down my favorites. They are are BPS free and leakproof!
05 | SWITCH TO PREPAID CELL SERVICE
AVERAGE SAVINGS: $800 PER YEAR
It’s time to stop spending hundreds of dollars every month on cell service. If you haven’t taken a look around in awhile (or at all) there are some fabulous pre paid service carriers available now for C-H-E-A-P!
We switched from a big name carrier to Cricket not too long ago and it’s saving us about $1,200 a year.
Know what you NEED, what you can AFFORD, and what’s available!
06 | BILL LOWERING SERVICES
BILL SHARK
BILLSHARK will negotiate savings on your monthly bills, for a fee. If they can’t negotiate any savings for you, you don’t pay.
They claim to have an 85% success rate.
If you struggle with negotiating your own bills down, this service could provide useful in increasing your savings and finding more money to put towards your financial goal.
07 | Earn Extra Cash with Survey Sites
While you won’t get rich on it, surveys are a super simple way to make some extra money. The best part is you can do it while you’re watching TV, waiting in line at the grocery store– anywhere you have a spare 10-15 minutes.
Some of the most popular survey sites are:
- SWAGBUCKS: Grab 300 Swagbucks for free when you sign up!
