Want to give your savings an extra boost? Strive to save just 10 percent more. At this point, you’ve probably set up automatic transfers to set aside money for retirement, build your emergency fund, or work toward other financial goals. What’s stopping you from saving just a bit more?
The next time you look at your checking account, determine whether you can transfer 10 percent of your take-home pay to savings, even once you’ve already put money toward your other savings goals, debt payments, and fixed expenses. If your next paycheck is for $941.50, for example, could you transfer $94.15 to savings? What would you have to adjust in your budget to make it work? You may not be able to do this every time you get paid, but looking for opportunities to transfer 10 percent can help you build up a savings cushion that can be quite meaningful over a short time.
This strategy works just as well. Maybe you make an extra $60 per week teaching piano lessons. Can you put $6 into savings before you allocate that money to any other parts of your budget? Don’t worry if the amount feels too small to make a difference. The important part is that you scan your budget and bank account every few weeks to look for opportunities to save even more.