Do you despise the fact that your bank account is always bone dry? Would you want to boost your bank account in a fun and engaging way?
The act of saving money can test one’s patience, but it’s an essential habit to do. Having adequate savings in your bank account helps you achieve your long-term financial goals and can be a good safety net for financial emergencies.
That said, if you need a motivational push, it doesn’t hurt to employ a little bit of creativity to keep you interested in saving up money. From trying out different food items to reusing old items, these six creative tips will help boost that figure in your bank account in no time.
Let’s jump straight into it!
1. Create Periodic Challenges
Motivation can only take you so far when it comes to saving money. If the motivation is weak, it can falter in the face of some sneaky temptations.
A good way to stay motivated and committed to your saving goals is to make challenges for yourself. Consider creating some personal “game rules” at the start of every period and stick by them—whether it’s a month or a week long.
For instance, you can turn every Tuesday into “no-spend Tuesdays”, preventing you from going out to shopping malls, restaurants, and the like on that particular day.
You can go the extra mile and make challenges a month-long process, like cutting out coffee to-go orders or online shopping for an entire month.
You can make as many challenges as you want to help motivate you in your savings journey. In doing so, you’re not only racking up more money in your bank account, but you’re also going to get the personal satisfaction of achieving your goals—which can be motivating in itself.
2. Motivate Yourself With a Budget Tracker
There’s no better way to encourage yourself to save than by having a savings plan and sticking to it. And going this route can be both a right-brain and left-brain task.
To start, create short-term and long-term goals for yourself. For instance, your short-term goal could be to reach a minimum saving threshold, while your long-term goal could be to save up for a house in five years.
One effective way of tracking your goals is by making a budget tracker.
A budget tracker essentially involves tracking your income, expenses, and net worth in a single visual spreadsheet. It’s a good way to immediately know how much you’re spending or saving per period—giving you quantifiable information to inform better financial decisions.
You can make a budget tracker through a spreadsheet or use an app to track your money. There are some editable features in either option as well, giving you a chance to customise your budget as you see fit.
Learn more about how to create an effective savings plan here.
3. Find a Saving Buddy
Staying committed to your saving goals can be a tough ask, especially if you’re doing it alone. But what if you and your friends work in tandem to save up?
Just like how studying with buddies can hold you accountable to your task, having a partner or group with you to save up can be an effective way of motivating you to save.
This partner can be anyone who is in full support of your savings goals (and those who need an accountability buddy of their own). Whether it’s your brother, your classmate, or your entire friend group, it’s up to you!
You can outline financial goals with these friends or loved ones and outline a weekly savings goal to make it more digestible. Then, if you feel like you’re being led astray by a temptation to spend, then you can seek your friend’s help for support.
You can even consider combining the social and competitive aspects of saving up into one activity. You can, for instance, make a game amongst yourselves and enter a friendly competition to see who can save more money in a certain period.
In any case, a saving buddy can help you stay anchored to your long-term financial goals. It strengthens your bond and allows more money to stay in your bank account—a definite win-win for you both.
4. Switch to Inexpensive Pleasures
How you spend your time can drastically influence your spending habits. If you constantly hit the pub with your buddies every weekend, your expenses will reflect that—and we don’t have to go into detail on how that would affect your bank account.
Having said that, consider switching out your social and solo hobbies into something more affordable for you and your crew. If you like going out, consider hitting up free museums or gardens instead of exploring expensive cafes and bars.
Enjoy casual photography and getting creative outdoors? Instead of buying a new lens, consider investing in a pen and sketchpad and simply sketching your surroundings. You can even mix this in with hiking, camping, or trekking along your area—which is relatively inexpensive for the most part.
There are other free hobbies that you can partake in. You can go out on a run, play free video games, read books from the library, or simply window shop around your city. Doing these things can be stimulating, fun, and best of all, healthy for your bank account.
5. Practice Cooking Budget Meals
If saving money is your top priority, consider cooking meals made from affordable, in-season ingredients.
Instead of opting for expensive meat products, consider using cheap ingredients more creatively. It’s very possible to concoct a nutritious and delicious meal for you and your family without having to spend a fortune on it.
For instance, you can cook spaghetti with tomato sauce or pulled chicken with black beans—both being healthy and delicious mealtime options. Moreover, you can use a pressure cooker to cook things in bulk, allowing you to save time and money.
There are a tonne of ways you can get creative in making budget meals in bulk. Be sure to browse recipes online and look at what online communities have to say regarding recipes you’re interested in trying.
As you increase your repertoire of cooking knowledge, you can vary your meals enough to make mealtime feel luxurious and appetising, even if you’re using low-cost ingredients.
Opting to eat at home, over a course of a year or more, can save you thousands of dollars. This, in turn, can free up funds to be allocated to more immediate financial needs.
6. Get Crafty With Old Items
Do you have a bunch of old items that are not seeing the light of day? Are you in need of things to spruce up or improve the house?
If so, the answer is clear as two plus two: consider using your old belongings as new decoration for your home.
You don’t have to display these items as is, especially if they’re old and shabby-looking. You can harness your creativity and look for ways to turn these junk items into something more usable and pleasing to the eye.
For example, if you have old T-shirts, you can consider turning them into rags or tote bags. Have jars or cans? Then consider painting them and making them storage containers for things around the kitchen or garden.
Refurbishing old stuff is a rewarding, fun, and cost-effective way to make the most out of items you own. It also promotes a sustainable lifestyle, which is definitely beneficial in this day and age.
Don’t miss out on future posts like this – receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address here and hitting subscribe. You can also follow me on Twitter or BlogLovin and I’d love to see you over on my Facebook page and on Instagram. If you’re interested, you can find out more about me here and while I’ve got your attention, if you’re wondering why some of my posts lately are a little bit less frugal then have a read of this post. 😉
Do your future self a favour – Pin this post for later.
