Millennials are quickly aging into the middle years of the nation’s demographic makeup. Yet, the majority of us have less than $5,000 put away in savings. Millennials are past or fast approaching homeownership and business casual in the office. Saving is tough for everyone, but this age group appears to be struggling as college debt, and rising rent and mortgage prices have many feeling as if they are barely treading water. But there are ways to kick your savings into high gear, and they start with the simple things.
Start saving now.
The first and most important way to start saving money is to just do it, little by little. A commitment of something small like $20 per week quickly adds up. Before you know it that twenty bucks balloons into $400. Your wallet will thank you as these small contributions to your future start to add up. The difference between someone who saves and someone who doesn’t is simpler than it seems. Set up an automatic transfer every week if you are prone to forgetting.
Organize grocery spending habits.
Groceries eat into a budget like no other regular spending category. Frugal buyers typically still spend 9% or more of their monthly budget on food, not to mention other household necessities like dish soap and toilet paper, at the supermarket. Maintaining a shopping list and planning out your weekly meals will help you stay focused when you enter the store so you only add the things you intended to your shopping cart. Keeping to a list will help mitigate surprises and runaway spending when you arrive at the checkout.
Invest in yourself.
Investing in yourself comes in many forms. This includes adding business casual clothes for women to your professional wardrobe, spending the time, money, and energy to go back to school to improve your skills, and even taking an hour to sit outside and decompress after a long day behind a desk.
Make sure you take care of yourself both mentally and physically in order to always be your best self. Wear clothes that make you feel on top of your game, whether that’s trousers and a blouse or a blazer and pencil skirt. You should also make time for your mental health in order to focus on the things that affect your wallet during the day. Always feeling your best will help you to perform at the office and during the time spent on your passion or side hustle that you hope will eventually blossom into a second full stream of income to supplement your bills and savings plans.
Take advantage of coupons.
Discounts on everything you typically buy are available if you are willing to do some searching. Utilizing an ABT Electronics promo code or other coupons for your gadgets and groceries, or first responder or teacher discounts to save on other merchandise goes a long way towards improving the health of your overall budget. Rome wasn’t built in a day and every penny saved on the purchases you make on a regular basis helps build up your cash reserves.
Minimize rent obligations.
Rent makes up the other major monthly expense on the average millennial budget. Rooming with friends or seeking out smaller apartments in order to minimize this expense can make a huge difference when it comes to boosting other aspects of your life. This can happen by either pouring the difference straight into your savings account or using the additional funds to continue building a business wardrobe or saving for a car or home purchase. Cutting rent payments goes a long way to improving other aspects of your wallet’s needs.
Saving for your future involves a lot of planning, but each aspect of your financial life is easy to manage if taken as a separate piece. Start taking control of your financial future now.
