Easy Money Saving Ideas

8/9/2016

Feed The Piggy!

Why Do We Save Money in a “Piggy Bank”?
During The Middle Ages, in about the fifteenth century, metal was expensive and seldom used for household wares. Instead, dishes and pots were made of an economical clay called pygg. Whenever housewives could save an extra coin, they dropped it into one of their clay jars. They called this their pygg bank or their piggy bank.

Interesting fact, huh, but no good explaining how to save money in a piggy bank. Before we explore the piggy bank savings tips, I think it’s important to consider the pros and cons of saving money in a piggy bank.

Positives Of Saving Money In A Piggy Bank
A friend of mine places all of her daily change into a very large piggy bank each and every night. On average, she estimates that she adds around 60p each day into her not so little piggy. This equates to £219 each year. Every year, around Christmas, she empties the piggy bank straight into her savings account. This money isn't ear-marked for spending either, its part of her retirement fund.

After 25 years of saving money in a piggy bank and transferring to the actual bank, with compound interest at the average bank interest rate over the past 25 years, she will have £12,378. This all seems very positive.

Also, it is often stated that people are more likely to spend money if it is in loose change. Therefore, by taking out no loose change, it means that she has to “break a note” for a purchase. This helps prevent small, unplanned purchases and can further add to the loose change she can add to her Piggy.

Negatives Of Saving Money In A Piggy Bank
However, in my opinion, saving money in a piggy bank has its cons. The main negative impact is the loss of interest. She loses out on some interest by saving money in a piggy bank. For instance, if she were to place the money saved into the bank each week, she would still save £219 each year, but her balance after the 25 year period we looked at above (due to the impact of compound interest) would be £12,924.

Therefore, we are losing around £600 in interest over 25 years (or around £24 per year).

Therefore, to work out if saving money in a piggy bank is right for you, you need to determine whether you’ll save more because of the psychological factors involved. Your numbers will vary depending on how much money you put in your piggy bank each day, but if you believe that saving money in a piggy bank will make you save over £24 more than you would each year without keeping one, then go for it.

Piggy Bank Saving Tips

If you find saving difficult, or you’re inclined to spend your loose change more willingly than breaking a note, then save money in a piggy bank.
Keep the fact that you are trying to grow your piggy bank in the forefront of your mind. It may seem weird, but you’ll find after a few weeks that when you are about to spend a small amount of loose change on something that you don’t need (say a chocolate bar), you feel like you are depriving your piggy bank it’s daily meal!
Never empty your piggy bank haphazardly. If you do, it’ll quickly simply become a nice tidy way to store your money rather than being a money saving tool.
By not emptying your piggy bank, you allow it to grow heavier and you will have a compound emotion towards it.
However, you should be aiming to empty and place your piggy bank amounts into your real bank account on a scheduled basis (I would recommend every 6 months at most). If not, you will be losing out on too much compound interest.
Placing a specific goal alongside your piggy bank can often help you increase the amount you save in your piggy bank. For instance, if you have a holiday coming up, say to yourself that you are saving in the piggy bank for that holiday – you could even name it Costa Del Piglet (or something more inventive) to help you make that connection.
Don’t set yourself a monetary limit of what goes in. Many people save anything under 20p into a piggy bank for instance. However, all that does is tell your brain that a 50p can be spent. Effectively, you trick yourself into beliving that the 20p is worth more than the 50p!
Buy a piggy bank that you are proud of – I’ve added some of my favourites below…

Money saving comes in many forms, from putting money away in a savings account to stock market investments. The right method for you is the one that best meets your aims and your budget.

If money is tight, maybe you're unemployed at this minute, or in a low paying job and you have out goings higher than your income can cope with, then saving money is a huge challenge.

Budget Woes

You know those people who organise their finances with multiple Excel spreadsheets and sophisticated investing strategies?

Annoying or admirable, they kind of make you feel bad about your own, less-than-perfect finances, right?

But let’s face it: The last thing you want to do is spend that much energy budgeting. Well, guess what? It's possible to improve your finances by doing a few things that actually require very little effort.

Drop change into a Jar

It may sound crazy, but we sometimes forget that coins carry value.

If you have loose change in your wallet or purse, you're more likely to spend it … or lose it in the depths of your car or couch cushions.

By putting your excess daily change into a jar, you’re preventing frivolous spending.

And once you have a healthy stash, you can take your coins to the bank and deposit them. More savings!

Earn More Doing the Same Work

If you’re putting the time and effort in and you have the results to prove your worth!

It may be time to ask for a raise. As the saying goes: no risk, no reward. So put yourself out there, and earn a better salary for the job you've already done.

Just make sure that you have a strategy in place before meeting with your boss.

When negotiating a salary increase, split the difference between what you currently make and your asking number.

And make it a point to show your manager just how your work has benefited the company, as well as how you’ve exceeded expectations and responsibilities.

Automate Your Savings

It’s payday ... and Groupons deals have never looked better. Even if we know that we should be saving up for a new car, our desires can cloud our better judgment.

That’s why it’s in your best interest to build up your savings before that money disappears into a flash-sale pit.

The solution? Ask your employer to auto-deposit your paychecks, so you can set up automatic transfers to your savings account, guaranteeing that you squirrel away some cash each pay period.

Alternatively, open up a separate rainy-day account, and set-up a standing order, depositing a set amount each month into that account

Take Up an Easy Side Job

Making a little extra cash on the side doesn’t have to be time-consuming or inconvenient. For instance, you can take online surveys on your own time for well-respected sites, such as ValuedOpinions.com, SurveySavvy.comand harrispollonline.com.

Or check out Craigslist to see if there are any surprising ways you can make extra money, like being a mystery shopper or a brand ambassador. In other words, we're talking about positions that offer extra money and lots of flexibility.

Go Generic

There's no need to spend extra money on over-the-counter medicine just because it’s a name brand.

The same goes for that box of cereal or jar of peanut butter.

In fact, generic house brands are often identical ingredient-wise to name-brand products—they just lack the fancy labeling.

Luckily, it’s just as easy to get your hands on generic products as it is name-brand items—they're usually on the same shelf.

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