Want to Save 20 Percent of Your Monthly Income? It’s Not Impossible!

Financial experts have oftentimes advised us to save around 10 percent of our earnings, but in this case, the adage ‘the more, the merrier’ is true. If you are even savvier, you should be setting aside 20 percent of your monthly income.

Although it sounds hard, it’s not impossible at all. There are ways to increase your income savings to up to or more than 20 percent, here’s how:

Check Subscription Services

How many times have you signed up for a free trial and forgot to cancel? Most of us are guilty of this, however, it is one of the fees that is constantly eating up our money without our knowledge.

Ollyy/Shutterstock Subscription services may be eating your savings

Keep track of all the things you’ve subscribed to and note which ones you don’t need anymore. A 2019 survey found that on average, Americans spend a little over $237 on subscriptions per month.

While automatic payments are a blessing, it can also be a curse. Because you’re inattentive of what’s deducted, the fees could rack up. When the bills arrive, you’ll be surprised to see that it has ballooned into a big amount that you have to pay.

Keep a Percentage of Bonuses or Unexpected Cash

We all have different ways to spend bonuses, but most people would probably buy the next generation iPhone, thinking that they will be using their ‘extra money.’ Instead of using this unexpected cash for an impulsive purchase, plan – that is, think of how you will use it before it arrives.

Daniel Jedzura/Shutterstock Splurging on unnecessary things when you have extra cash can affect your saving habits

For instance, you can save half of the extra money that will come your way. If you keep up with your goal, you can easily surpass that 20 percent.

Set Goals

Anyone can get easily derailed when they don’t know what they want to achieve. The same goes for saving – it is always best to have a goal in mind to help motivate you.

Think of whatever works for you. For instance, you want to save $10,000 this year — then you can anchor how you’re going to save every month in order to reach that goal.

Pile Your Savings

The bigger the savings, the more the expenses. This is because when we see that we have already saved a huge sum and thought that we have covered our goals, we tend to be complacent and spend carelessly.

Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock Lifestyle creep can happen if you don’t watch your spending habits

However, meeting your vision isn’t a green light to spend lavishly. Before you know it, you are on the red. This is a financial phenomenon known as ‘lifestyle creep.’

Slowly introduce the habit of increasing your savings. Begin by adding an amount to your savings and doubling this in the following month.