Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2018. Long Game, the prize-linked savings app described in tip 6, was acquired in 2021 and appears to have shut down, so its link and description are probably obsolete.
We’ve already shared a whole series of tips for saving more money in everyday life, as well as some ways to lead a more frugal lifestyle (living more cheaply). This time we’re going to look at how to save money more creatively. If you follow these tips, your cash will grow almost without you noticing.
And yes… we’ve considered the possibility that you might have no money at all to save, so in that case the first piece of advice is that you’ll need to earn more money.
Here are 7 creative ways to save more
1. Empty out all your loose change every night
It may sound silly, but if you get into the habit of emptying all those 10, 20 or 50-cent coins out of your wallet into a jar or a drawer every night, you’d be surprised how much money you could build up by the end of the year. As long as you make a habit of never touching that loose change, of course; otherwise the whole idea is pointless.
And if you prefer to play harder and you’re up for the challenge I suggested some time ago, systematically saving five-euro notes, you could save more than €20,000 in 10 years if you take the game seriously.
2. Pay off your debts, but when you’re done, keep making the payment
Say you’re paying €250 a month on a car loan. Every month you pay it, perhaps with money very tight, but you pay it. When you finish paying off that car, at first you feel better off financially, but in the end you spend the money you no longer have to pay.
See also: The first money mistake young people should avoid when they start earning
If you want to increase the money you save, when you finish paying off any loan or instalment plan, keep making that same payment. But now, pay it to yourself. In other words, put the money that used to go to the debt into savings. If you could do it before, why can’t you do it now? Remember that we end up adjusting our spending to our income, and that is a danger for our long-term personal finances. The advice is simple: every time you finish paying off a loan or instalment, put the amount you used to pay into savings. And yes, you can.
3. Save at least 70% of any unexpected money you receive
An extra pay cheque, a bonus, a tax refund or any sum of money you weren’t expecting: don’t celebrate in style or start thinking about how to spend it. Think about saving at least 70% of it. Try to make this a habit. Build an emergency fund if you don’t have one yet, or move the money straight into your savings or investment account.
If you have a loan or debt, put that extra money towards paying it off. See: Why pay off debt instead of investing when extra money comes in?
4. Automate your savings
It isn’t a creative way to save, but it has been shown to work, because it means we don’t have to rely on willpower. All you have to do is go to the bank and open an interest-bearing savings account with them, or you could set aside a small amount of money every month to invest in a low-cost index fund.
See also: 5 maths tricks for financial literacy
5. Turn saving into a game
This game can be a fun and educational way to teach a child to save, but the truth is that for an adult it can also be fun, tempting and rewarding.
Put 1 cent in a jar today (yes, that little coin that looks like a shirt button). Tomorrow put in 5 cents. On the third day, 10 cents. 20 cents the next day, and so on. If you keep this up all year, not even at the end of the year will you have to save more than €20 in a single day, but you’ll have saved more than €3,000 over the year with hardly any effort.
In the United States, a teacher managed to build up more than $40,000 in 13 years, although she did it with the systematic five-note savings method.
6. If you like games, save while you play
Although we recommend not wasting time on video games, if you like playing them or you just do it to escape, there are apps such as Long Game where you can win real rewards. The money you win is real, but your own money is never at risk.
In short, it works like other apps, but it lets you play online games for cash using credits that you earn according to the money you’ve deposited. The higher your balance, the more credits you receive.
7. Cut recurring expenses you don’t need
There’s no better way to save than to cut some expenses that aren’t necessary. Above all, certain insurance policies that the bank made you take out at the time in order to get a loan. They might be just €3 or €10 a month, which doesn’t seem like much, but over a year it’s another small amount of money that there’s no reason to waste.
See also: Some ideas for saving money by making a few changes to your daily routine
Magazine subscriptions you hardly read, and even the fee for the gym you go to only twice a month to do exercises you could do at home.
