7 Ways You Should Be Saving in 2024

If you’re feeling like your hard earned money is slipping through your fingers and you’re going to work Monday through Friday wondering where your money went – these 7 powerful strategies are going to help you get your money back inside your hands and take control of your finances. 

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Saving should be non-negotiable when it comes to planning for your financial future and setting yourself up with a solid foundation on which to build your wealth. Investments are essential, increasing your income is essential, paying off your debt is essential, but saving is a non-negotiable. Let’s break down the 7 powerful strategies that are going to help you take control of your finances.

Transition to a high yield savings account

You shouldn’t have your funds sitting in a traditional savings account that’s giving you .05% or .33% when a high yield savings account can give you anywhere from 3% to 8%. Switching to a HYSA will maximize the interest earned on your savings – making your money make money for you while it collects in your savings account. 

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No matter what you’re saving for a car, going back to school, or an emergency, you need a savings account that allows your money to make money through interest. SoFi is a great example of a HYSA, they have a 4.60% interest rate and you can watch your money grow, instead of it sitting in a traditional savings account only making .05% interest. 

Optimize your electricity consumption 

It’s so incredibly important to be mindful of how you’re using your electricity. I’m not saying that you have to be strict with it, but simple things like turning off your lights when you’re not using them and investing in energy efficient appliances can lead to substantial savings over a period of time. 

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When you get strategic and mindful about making sure you’re not using any power unnecessarily, you’ll see a decrease in your electricity bill and yet another way to save money in 2024. This means being intentional about turning off electronics and appliances that are consuming power when you’re not using them, or if you’re gone on a trip for an extended period of time. Once you start to see that decrease in your electric bill and you’re seeing that extra savings in your bank account, you can turn around and invest that elsewhere. 

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Monitor your spending closely 

Keeping track of your finances and where your money is going is a crucial step to becoming wealthy and having true financial freedom. To do this, there are three things you should ask yourself in the year of 2024 before spending money on anything:

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Do I genuinely need this or is it merely a want?

Do you need the new backpack or is it a want? Do you need the new car or is it a want? I’m not sitting here knocking wants either, but make sure you’re taking care of your needs first and ensuring everything else is taken care of, before the wants.

Is this purchase within my budget at the moment?

So if you identify something is a need or a want, this question is geared towards if it’s within your budget right now. If you want a new car, is the cost of the car affordable to you right now – not can you make the payment, but if the car is $10,000 do you have that in your budget right now to spend? Now, if you have that $10,000 to spend, if you do spend that, will you be stressed? 

Can you find it somewhere at a lower price? 

Even if you’ve gone through the first two questions and decided to make the purchase, the next thing to ask yourself is if you can find it somewhere at a lower price? Take the time and do your research, you don’t have to just look at one store or one spot in order to make a purchase – it could be somewhere cheaper and you need to ensure you’re doing that digging. 

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Apart from these three questions, you still need to be tracking your spending because you cannot monitor what you do not track. I created the Wealth Builder Tool to help track and manage your finances and spending.

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Eliminate your consumer debt 

In the year 2024, if you’re saving wisely, eliminating your consumer debt is a non-negotiable. Debt will rob you of financial freedom and instead of getting up every day and going to work for 8, 9, 10 hours then come Friday you get paid and 70-80% of that paycheck is going to somebody else. Consumer debt is something you need to get rid of if you want to see financial freedom, if you want to build your wealth, and if you want to save and invest in your future. 

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Create a vision for yourself and imagine what you could do when you’ve created a margin for yourself and eliminated consumer debt – what could you do for your kids or your grandkids? When you prioritize eliminating debt and creating that margin there is so much you can do with your finances that helps yourself, your loved ones, your family, and ways you can give back. 

Prioritize maintenance over upgrades 

Instead of focusing on consuming the latest and greatest things, whether that be vehicles, technology, appliances, or homes – focus on maintaining what you have right now and taking good care of it. You don’t have to upgrade everything out there, instead you can let the lifespan of the phone or the car or the laptop you have run out. 

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Sometimes we’re blinded by the brand new thing and the hype that people bring to the newest upgrade, but when you take care of what you have and you maintain it, it lasts for a long time. Maintaining what you have and ensuring it’s taken care of will not only save you money but also increase the lifespan of the quality things you have right now. 

Automate your savings 

Set up a transfer from your checking account to a high yield savings account every time you get paid. Before you even see the money on payday, your checking account has already transferred money to your savings account. This set and forget approach allows you to consistently save and makes it easier to build your savings without the temptation of spending it.  

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You can do the same automations for your investments. Whether it’s a 401k, 529 for your kids or future kids, automate your savings and your investments so you don’t have to rely on yourself to do it and you can forget about it while consistently saving and building wealth. 

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Adopt the buy once cry once method 

This ties back into the three questions I mentioned at the beginning – before you purchase something, do you need or want it, can you afford it, where can you buy it for cheaper somewhere? However, what I mean by this method is sometimes you can’t find something cheaper that’s of equal quality. There are certain things that you can be frugal with and others that you can’t – but this isn’t a reason to justify large or expensive purchases that aren’t necessary.

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Let’s Recap 

These are the 7 powerful strategies that will help you save money and get your money back inside your hands and take control of your finances. 2024 is the year that you’re building abundance and increasing your wealth. 

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By ensuring that you’re transitioning to a high yield savings account, optimizing your electricity consumption, monitoring your spending closely and asking yourself the three questions: is this a need or a want, can I afford it and do I have the budget for it, and can I find it cheaper somewhere else? With that though you need to be working to eliminate your consumer debt, automating your savings and investments, and when necessary, adopting the buy once cry once method. 

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If you start to implement these powerful 7 strategies, you’ll be well on your way to building wealth, saving more money, creating a margin, and getting closer to your financial goals in 2024. 

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