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Whether by choice or necessity, many people have spent less money over the past year and a half on things like entertainment, clothing, and furniture. For some, that meant keeping more of their income. If you’ve been able to save money, you’ve prepared yourself for future financial crises, especially if you can keep saving.
Keep increasing your bank balance with these four pandemic saving habits.
1. REASSESS EXPENDITURE
Consider whether any of the purchases you may have spent months without are necessary in the future. Or think back to how often you want to do them compared to before. For example, if you started working from home, you might have saved money by cooking your lunch instead of eating out. If you go back to the office, you can continue to save by bringing your lunch from home at least a few times a week.
“Since we were all stuck at home, I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to shop or dine out. So I saved money, â€says Vida DeOliver, jewelry designer and owner of Vidart & Life Boutique, an online store based in Union, New Jersey. “I saved more during the pandemic than before. “
DeOliver says that these days she has more opportunities to spend in person, but she keeps in the habit of saving. “When I shop, I wonder if a purchase is really necessary, or if I could keep the money and save it for something I really want later,†she says.
2. DELAY LARGE TICKET PURCHASES
Make yourself wait before you engage in expensive purchases. At the start of the pandemic, inventory and out-of-stock supply issues meant some people had no choice but to wait to order expensive items such as kitchen appliances, furniture and appliances. electronic. But learning to wait before spending money can be a smart move anytime, helping you avoid the kind of push that savings plans can mess up.
“I always try to delay shopping for a few days to see if I really want something before I buy, but the pandemic shortages have really helped me understand what I need and what can wait,” explains Eric Chow, podcaster and public relations professional. in Union City, California. Today, he makes a point of waiting a few days before pressing the “buy†button on items large and small, from electronics to wallets. Then? “If I really want it, I’ll know it’s worth the wait, and if I don’t, I can just forget about it and move on,†he says.
3. SAVE EASILY THANKS TO AUTOMATION
If you were able to save at the start of the pandemic, maybe one reason is that it didn’t take a lot of effort. You stayed at home. Voila – savings. You can continue to save effortlessly by using direct deposit to transfer money to a savings account at regular intervals.
“Set up an automatic transfer so that your savings are transferred to a separate account each pay period. This way, your savings are automatically the priority. And it gets you used to just counting on the remaining amount, â€says Regan Ervin, investment advisor and founder of Capital E Advisors in Leawood, Kansas.
4. SET CLEAR EMERGENCY-SAVING OBJECTIVES
The pandemic has turned emergency savings from a hypothetical good into a must. If you haven’t already, take a moment to seriously assess your essential expenses and set a clear goal for emergency funds. Get in the habit of reviewing your essentials regularly to see if you need to adjust your savings goal.
A common guideline is to save three to six months of expenses in an emergency. If that sounds intimidating to you, start with a smaller goal, say $ 500. Hit this goal as best you can, even if it’s $ 5 increments.
YOU CAN EARN YOUR MONEY IN A HIGH RETURN SAVINGS ACCOUNT
You can grow your money with no extra effort if you put it in a high yield savings account. The annual percentage return on these accounts can be more than eight times the national average of just 0.06% for savings accounts. At the low national rate, a $ 10,000 deposit only earns $ 6 interest after one year. But in a high yield savings account that has an APY rate of 0.50%, a deposit of $ 10,000 would increase by more than $ 50 over the same period.
If you are lucky enough to save money, adopting these habits can help you conserve your funds and save even more, preparing you for whatever the future holds.
– Nerd wallet
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