Creative Ways to Save Money

Paying down debts and saving money for the future have always been a struggle for many. There are many guides and articles all over the Internet, but do you feel like you have exhaused all possible ideas and are stuck financially? Or maybe, you want to do more with your finances but can’t figure out where to start.

Here are twenty-two personal finance experts that weigh in on the question – “What is the Most Creative Way that You Have Been Able to Save Money?” Consider some of their unique ideas on how to save more money. You might be able to save more than you think!

Tim MaurerTim Maurer – http://www.timmaurer.com

“You can get a long way in effective budgeting by simply establishing default settings. But the real secret is to then automate them. This appears easy to do in the case of your 401(k) (or equivalent plan) at work. You receive a company match up to 6 percent of your salary? Bang—have 6 percent of your salary deferred to your 401(k). That will guarantee you get all the free money at your disposal.

The pre-tax salary deferral default is especially effective because you likely won’t even “feel” it come out of your paycheck. You only need to concern yourself with budgeting whatever remainder is deposited into your checking or savings account. But you can set up automatic defaults here as well. You could, for example, divert 4 percent of your salary to your Roth IRA, 3 percent to your emergency reserves and 2 percent to your new car fund.

via Creative Ways to Save Money | LendingTree Thought Leadership Article.