Whether you need money for an emergency fund, extra cash for a holiday or are working towards a bigger goal, trying to boost your savings can feel daunting when finances are stretched.
If you have less than $1,000 in savings then you are not alone – data shows than as many as one-third of people in the US and UK have less than this in the bank. Were an emergency to arise, they would not be able to cover it from savings.
One of the things I learned when I decided to take control of my budget was that having a safety net was crucial. This meant that if the unexpected were to arise, I could cover the costs without going into debt.
If you would like to boost your savings by $1k in just 30 days, these tips can help. There’s also a free printable savings challenge to help you!
Tips for saving $1000 in 30 days
Set a budget
You won’t be able to succeed through guesswork unless you are a very high earner and spending below your means already.
The best place to start is with your budget, and identifying your monthly essential expenses.
To set a budget, do this:
- Write down all income
- Note down your monthly essential expenses – this is everything including rent or mortgage, food, energy bills, car costs, insurance payments
- Write down other monthly commitments – including clubs your kids attend, subscriptions and gym membership
- Work out how much you spend on extras – this may include meals out, takeaways and clothes
- Add up how much your essentials are and what you are spending on extras. If this accounts for all of your income, or even more of it, you need to find savings.
- Start by finding savings in your extras spending – you could cut back from one takeaway a week to one per month
- Move on to your essentials – you may be able to negotiate better deals on your monthly costs such as your smartphone bill, broadband and insurance (I’ve saved as much as 60% on my phone bill by negotiating a better deal)
- Figure out how much you can afford to save – set automated payments into a savings account so you cannot spend the money on anything else
Now you can move on to other tips on how to continue to free up income and make extra cash to hit this goal.
Break it down
Break it down into small steps, so in order to make $1,000 in a month you’ll need to save $34 every day.
Have that number in your mind whenever you are tempted to impulse buy anything or when you’re considering what to spend on food this week. It can really help to know that’s how much you need to set aside daily.
Adopt the 30-day rule
If you struggle to control your spending then adopting a 30-day rule can be a big help.
It involves not pausing a decision to purchase something new for 30 days. During that time you consider whether this is something you actually need or if it’s something you just want. It also gives you a chance to shop around for better prices or cheaper brands making the same product.
For example something you need might be a new winter coat if your old one is faulty and something you want would be a new pair of boots to add to your shoe collection.
Delete your card details from your phone
Having your payment details saved on your phone makes it much easier for you to make quick impulse purchases when browsing online.
Delete your saved card information from your phone to help force you to pause and think before you spend.
Cut your grocery spending
If you want to find some extra cash in your budget to set aside for savings then look to cut your weekly spend. One of the biggest areas – for me anyway – is food.
I’ve saved money on food in recent years by switching supermarkets, choosing in season veg and cheaper cuts of meat, ditching branded goods, shopping for yellow label discounted products and bulking out meals with beans and pulses.
Meal planning is the single most powerful thing you can do to cut back on your food shopping to ensure you waste less. Plan for cheaper meals – where you are using the same ingredients to make multiple meals.
There are lots of tips for cutting your food shopping bill here.
Check to see what benefits you are owed
You could be missing out on hundreds of pounds worth of payments a year if you aren’t claiming benefits which you are entitled to.
If you’re on a low income you could be eligible to claim universal credit – this is a means-tested payment so double check you’re getting everything you can claim.
Cut the costs of your TV and streaming services
You could save hundreds of pounds a year on your regular TV and streaming bills by taking stock of which ones you need and cutting back on your package deal.
First of all if you have Sky TV or similar you could haggle down the cost of your bill. Do some research on what other providers are offering and then call your provider and tell them you’ve seen you could get a better deal elsewhere.
You could also look to trim down your package from Sky, for example do you need Sports and Movies or will a basic package do?
Then take a look at what other streaming services you have – Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime etc – and consider whether you could cancel any of these. With Netflix you could downgrade your package to save a few pounds a month – a premium package is £13.99 while a basic is £5.99.
Don’t want to give them up? Rotate your streaming services, so you switch between them regularly and are never paying for more than one at a time.
Cut back on takeaways
Eating out is pricey and I’ve saved a lot by switching Dominos pizza for homemade.
Ditching some or all of your regular takeaways can free up as much as $100 a month in your budget to put into savings.
Check out my list of cheap and delicious family meal ideas here.
Ditch beauty treatments
Cutting back on regular facials, manicures and hair cuts is a great way to boost your savings.
When I switched from getting my hair highlighted in a salon to using at home hair dye I saved hundreds a year.
Start a side hustle
A side hustle is something that you do alongside your regular job to bring in a little extra cash.
It can be absolutely anything that you can squeeze into your spare time. Some good examples including working as a delivery driver for companies such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Amazon, and selling your own products such as jewellery.
My favourite side hustle is blogging, which now makes me a full-time income. Find out more about starting a blog here.
You can also try survey sites to make extra cash.
You may also like: Frugal living tips
Sell your stuff
Free up space and make money by having a thorough clear out. Decluttering and selling on your stuff is a great way to make money quickly.
Sell your stuff through online auctions on Facebook Marketplace, where you won’t have to pay any fees for listing your items, or Vinted.
Challenge yourself to a no spend month
If you want to hit your $1k savings goal in just 30 days then a no spend challenge for the month can really help.
This means that you cut back to only the essential expenses. You forego things like meals out, takeaways, coffees on the go and shopping.
Keep a record
Track your savings progress alongside your spending to keep yourself on target (use my free printable).
Monitor your spending every week to keep an eye on places where you could cut back and top up your savings fund.
You can make it much easier with my savings challenges – one of these is to save $1k in 30 days and the other is a 90 day challenge, which you may find more manageable.
Download the savings challenges with dollars here:
And you can find them with pounds here:
You can also check out these savings challenges for more ideas.
