Simple ways to increase your savings.

Here are simple ways to help you increase your savings.

Part 1: Four simple ways to increase your savings.

It's been well documented in many places that Americans do not save enough money. At Everyday Wisdom, LLC, we'd like to do our part in changing that. We believe that in most situations, the simple way is the best way. Why? Because there is a far better chance you will take action if it is something simple you can do. You see, it's not just what you know, it's what you do.

If you are not saving now, today is a good day to begin. We recommend you read our article titled "Resist the Temptation To Spend All You Earn When Spending Your Money." before you read this article. It will start you on the road to saving your hard earned money.

You probably know two people, one who saves their money and the other who doesn't. Take a moment and look into their future. What do you see? You'll see two entirely different outcomes. The one who does not save will have to continue working past retirement age, while the other person, the one who saved, may even be able to retire early. Which road will you take?

Some people say they can't save. Not true. Yes, they may have to start with very small amounts, but over time they can learn to increase their savings amount. As Jim Rohn's mentor told him, "It's not the amount that counts, it's the plan that counts."

If you put some of the ideas you read here into practice, you will find simple ways to increase your savings which means a better life for you as time goes by.

Ok, enough of an introduction. Let's get started on the simple ways for you to save:

Pay yourself back, with interest. If you have to tap your savings, aim to pay yourself back with interest. For instance, say you need to withdraw $250 of your savings and you figure it will take you two months to pay it back. At the end of two months, throw into your savings another $40 or so.
Moonlight for money to increase your savings: Figure out what you could do in your spare time to bring in some extra cash. Then take some or all of that found money and save it toward an important financial goal. Here are five moonlighting jobs and what they typically pay: kid's party clown ($75 an hour and up); house-painter ($13 an hour); word processor ($8.45 an hour); pet or house-sitter ($5.50 an hour); and baby sitter ($5.25 an hour).
Earn a higher return on your savings: The higher the interest rate on your savings, the less you have to salt away each month to meet your goals. One way to earn more interest on your savings is to put your money in a CD or bond with a longer term than you had originally planned. Another idea: Make your annual IRA contribution every January instead of at the start of the following year. That way your savings will earn an extra 12 months' interest tax-deferred.
Depositing your stash where you can't easily get at it will increase your savings. The biggest enemy of savers may very well be the automated teller machine, or ATM. Sure it's convenient and easy to use. But that's just the problem. Your ATM lets you have instant access to your money any time of the day or night, and the more you withdraw, the less you have left in your savings. So try to limit your ATM visits to one a week. If you are saving for a short-term goal and like the idea of keeping your money at a federally insured institution, consider CDs, which carry penalties of up to six months' interest on early withdrawals.

Those lock-up penalties will help you increase your savings. They serve you as a useful deterrent against unnecessary savings withdrawals. If you are saving for a longer-term goal, take advantage of a tax-deferred savings plan. It will also discourage you from pulling money out by slapping you with a 10% penalty for withdrawals before age 59 1/2; in some cases you won't be able to withdraw cash at all unless you can prove financial hardship.

Now that you have read this article, become like the squirrel who doesn't eat all the nuts when it finds them. Instead some are saved for winter when nuts are hard to find. You must do the same for your future. Start now increasing your savings.

Perhaps you're wondering where you can get a high rate of interest on your savings to help them grow. Using compounding interest to increase your savings is smart. Here's a place we've found you might consider:

There are more tips on how to increase your savings in Part 2.