How to Save $1,000 in a Month: 6 Easy Steps to Reach Your Goal
Imagine what you could do if you saved $1,000 a month. You could build a solid emergency fund, pay down debt or stash some money away for that big purchase.
We know it’s not as easy as it sounds, but it is an attainable goal. Tracking your spending, setting a budget, cutting unnecessary expenses and reducing grocery expenses are among the ways to save $1,000 in 30 days.
Here’s how to save $1,000 in a month.
Track Your Spending and Set a Realistic Budget
Let’s face it: If you don’t know where your money is going, you don’t know how much you can save. Wondering how to build savings quickly? The first step to saving is understanding your finances.
Why It Works:
Many people don’t realize how much they spend on non-essential expenses each month. Even small purchases can quickly add up. By closely monitoring your spending habits, it’s easier to find money leaks and adjust accordingly.
How to Do It:
Use a Budgeting App: One of our favorite ways to track spending is by using a budgeting app like YNAB or Rocket Money. These tools can help you categorize purchases, highlight overspending and set realistic savings goals. Once you’ve got an idea of your spending habits, areas where money is being wasted — like impulse purchases or dining out — become apparent.
Set a Clear Savings Goal: In this case, if you want to save $1,000 a month, you’ll need to put aside $33.33 each day.
Start Budgeting: Armed with the knowledge of your spending habits and your savings goal, it’s time to work up a budget. A useful approach to budgeting is the 50/30/20 rule. Under this budget plan, you allocate 50% of income to necessities, 30% to discretionary spending and 20% to savings.
Cut Unnecessary Expenses and Find Cheaper Alternatives
Once you’ve identified your money leaks and started budgeting, it’s time to take a good, hard look at your expenses to see where you may be able to make changes.
Why It Works:
Small changes in daily spending habits can lead to significant savings over time.
Ways to Cut Back:
Cook at Home: One of the most effective ways to cut back on expenses is by making meals at home rather than ordering takeout or grabbing a bite out.
Pack Your Lunch: Packing lunch for work instead of buying it daily can lead to savings of around $150 per month.
Slash Transportation Costs: Gas prices weighing your budget down? Try opting for public transportation or carpooling.
Use Cashback Apps: Cashback apps provide rebates on everyday purchases. One of our favorites is the free Upside app. Upside helps you earn cash back on everyday purchases like gas, groceries and food without any of that pesky mental math.
Potential Savings
Meal prepping can lead to savings of up to $200-$300 per month and cutting back on restaurant dinners can save an additional $100. And by skipping three coffee runs per week, you could save $50 per month. Using the free Upside app, you could earn up to $290 per year on gas, groceries and dining.
Lower Your Auto Insurance Rates to Free Up Cash
You could be spending too much on car insurance. If you’re looking for easy ways to cut expenses and save money, it’s a good idea to take a look at your car insurance policy.
Why It Works:
Most people don’t know when they’re overpaying for car insurance, making it an easy expense to reduce. Switching providers or negotiating a lower premium can lead to savings of around $500 per year, equating to roughly $40 per month.
How It Works:
Ask for Discounts: Call up your insurance company and ask about available discounts, such as good driver discounts, bundling policies or low mileage discounts.
Consider a Policy Change: You could also look into adjusting your deductibles or switching to a usage-based insurance policy, a type of car insurance that uses your driving habits to determine your premiums, to further reduce expenses.
Shop for a New Provider: The Penny Hoarder Auto Insurance Tool can save you $500 or more a year. Just provide a few basic details about yourself and your car. The tool then gathers the best car insurance options tailored to your needs in one place, so you can ditch the hassle of sifting through endless insurance sites and forms.
Potential Savings
Switching providers or negotiating a lower premium can lead to savings of around $500 per year, equating to roughly $40 per month.
Reduce Grocery Costs Without Sacrificing Quality
You gotta eat. But there are some simple ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality.
Why It Works
Groceries are an essential expense, but overspending at the grocery store is pretty common. By making small adjustments, it’s possible to save between $100 and $200 a month on groceries.
How to Save
Plan Your Meals: Meal planning can do wonders for your budget. By creating a grocery list based on planned meals, you can minimize impulse purchases and reduce unnecessary spending.
Switch to Store Brands: You’ll see some serious savings by opting for store-brand products over name brands, as store-brand items are often 30% cheaper.
Use Savings Tools: There are also free tools out there that can help you save. For instance, Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension that can help find the best deals and maximize discounts.
Buy in Bulk: Buying in bulk at warehouse clubs like Costco can also lower per-unit costs on essential grocery and household items.
Potential Savings
By making these small adjustments, it’s possible to save between $100 and $200 a month on groceries.
Cancel Subscriptions and Negotiate Bills
Monthly subscriptions and recurring bills can quietly drain a budget, often without being noticed.
Why It Works
Many people continue paying for services they no longer use, such as streaming platforms, gym memberships or app subscriptions. (Even we at The Penny Hoarder aren’t immune to forgetting to cancel a free trial.) Canceling unused subscriptions can immediately free up cash for savings.
How to Save
Cancel Unused Subscriptions: You can also use a subscription tracker like the one with Rocket Money, which helps identify and cancel unnecessary recurring charges.
Negotiate Your Service Costs: One effective strategy is negotiating lower rates for internet and phone bills. Calling service providers and asking for discounts, promotions or loyalty incentives can lead to significant monthly savings.
Share Your Streaming Services: For services that are still valuable to you, sharing streaming subscriptions with family or friends can cut costs in half.
Potential Savings
By cutting unused subscriptions and negotiating better deals, it’s possible to save between $50 and $150 per month.
Find Simple Ways to Earn Extra Money
Cutting expenses isn’t the only way to reach a savings goal—finding additional income sources can help you save $1,000 fast.
Why It Works
Side hustling or small freelance jobs can provide an extra financial boost.
Ways to Make Easy Money
Make Quick Money: One easy way to earn additional money is through cashback and rewards programs like InboxDollars or KashKick, which provide earnings for completing surveys, shopping or using specific services.
Do Freelance or Gig Work: Another option is gig work through platforms like Fiverr and TaskRabbit, where you can offer your services or complete small tasks for quick cash. You could also work for Uber Eats or DoorDash.
Sell Unused Items: Got too much stuff? Sell your unused items on Facebook Marketplace or eBay to generate extra funds.
Rent Out a Spare Room or Your Car: Renting out a spare room or even a car through platforms like Airbnb or Turo can further boost your income.
Potential Earnings
Side hustles can bring in $200-$500 per month.
Automate Your Savings to Stay on Track
We love efficiency, which is why we recommend automating your savings.
Why It Works
Setting up automatic transfers to a savings account not only makes saving easier, it also helps remove the temptation to spend money that should be saved.
How to Save Automatically
Get a High-Yield Savings Account: With a high-yield savings account, your savings will earn more interest than it would with a traditional savings account.
Set Up Auto Transfers: You won’t miss the money if you don’t see it in your account. Setting up a scheduled automatic transfer of $250 per week can help you reach that savings goal.
Use Round-Up Apps: Round-up apps like Acorns can make saving effortless by rounding up everyday purchases and investing the spare change.
Potential Savings
If you automate $10 to $20 a day, you’re looking at a monthly savings of $300 to $600 per month, which gets you well on your way to saving $1,000 per month.
