by Susan Paige
Are you trying to save up money for a car?
Finding it difficult to raise enough money?
Having a car can improve your life in many ways, but it’s not always so easy to save up the money to get one. Saving money is a difficult task for many people, and it can be easy to get impatient and frustrated if you’re trying to gather up enough to buy a car.
Luckily, there are ways to save up for a car without even realizing it, as long as you adopt a few simple habits. Below, we’ll tell you how to save up for a car without realizing it.
1. Open a Savings Account
One of the best ways to save money is to open a savings account and start using it immediately. While you may think that having a single checking account is enough, putting your money into a different account can help a lot when saving money.
By opening a savings account and adding to it regularly, you’ll be able to mentally recognize that your spending for each week can only come from the money in your checking account. You’ll be less tempted to spend money that is more officially in an account that is meant for saving only.
Additionally, you’ll be getting a small interest on the money that you deposit into the account as well.
2. Try Saving Automatically Through Your Bank
Once you have a savings account, find out whether the bank has a system that enables you to automate your savings. Most banks now offer this feature.
By automatically saving money with your bank, you’ll be able to save up money over time without even realizing that it’s happening.
3. Use Smartphone Apps For Budgeting
While you may normally find it hard to stay within your budget every month, it can become a lot easier with the right app. Smartphone budgeting apps are a great way to track your spending and stay within your budget, and as a result, can also help make it easier to save money.
You’ll be able to check and see if you’re spending too much on any type of purchase or if there’s anything in your budget you should change.
4. Save Up Loose Change
Some of the simplest money-saving tips are also some of the best. If you’re trying to save up for a car, you may want to do it the old-fashioned way. Get into the habit of putting any loose change you have into a jar as soon as you get home each day.
This is a great way to save up money without realizing it because you’ll barely miss any quarters or dimes you save up. If you always end up with a little bit of change when you come home each day, the money can really add up after several months.
Additionally, once you have a car you may want to keep this habit going as well. This can also be a great way to save up money for car insurance each month. By the way, you may also want to look at this information so you can make sure to find the best car insurance policy for you.
5. Start With the Paycheck
Another great idea is to automatically have money withheld from your paycheck each month or week.
Many employers offer direct deposit options and many of those will let your deposit your paycheck into multiple accounts. Having part of your earnings deposited directly into a savings account makes savings easier.
In addition to direct deposit options, there may be additional options for you to create an automatic savings plan with your paycheck as well. You may want to check with your employer to see what kind of saving options are available to you.
6. Focus On Percentages
A great thing you can do when trying to save money is to start thinking in terms of percentages. It can be much easier to save up money when you try to save up a percentage of what you earn each week rather than thinking about the full amount you need to save up each week.
Setting up a certain percentage of each paycheck, for example, can be much simpler than saying you need to keep $100 dollars each week. While it may seem like a simple change, thinking about saving in terms of percentages can make it easier for you to save up money and will make the difficulty of saving up a bit less noticeable.
7. Break Up Your Goal Into Smaller Sections
A great mindset shift you can use when saving money is to break your savings goal up into smaller pieces. Focus on the small goals and milestones instead.
It can be daunting to have a large sum in mind for buying a car and it can be discouraging to think about how far you have to go. Instead, think about how much you need to save per week or per month. Focus on one milestone at a time, such as each $100 or $500 you save up.
By focusing your saving efforts on these smaller milestones instead, the overall saving process will be much easier to manage in the end.
8. Make Small Lifestyle Changes
If you want to save money without realizing it, you may not want to change your lifestyle too much. However, even if you don’t make big, sweeping life changes, making some small tweaks can help a lot.
If you’re used to eating at fancy restaurants every week, for example, you don’t necessarily have to immediately switch to eating at home. However, reducing your spending by just 25% can make saving money for a car a lot easier.
The truth is that if you’re used to living extravagantly even if you can’t really afford it, you may be to blame for your financial troubles. If you’re serious about saving money, just start with making some small, unnoticeable lifestyle changes.
Understanding How to Save Up For a Car Easily
While there are many more ways on how to save up for a car besides those mentioned above, these are some of the best ways you can do it without causing too much strain in your everyday life.
Looking for more financial tips? Learn about the top money mistakes to avoid.
So, what do you think ?