7 things you can do to save money in 2017
This time of year most of us are about to go from feeling broke to broker. But rather than sit around and dwell on it, we thought we’d share some things you can do to save money in 2017. So sit back, sip some eggnog and start saving.
Here are 7 things you can do to save money in 2017:
1. Pay off your debt
Before you start thinking about creative ways to save money, start with the low-hanging fruit. Paying off your debt is going to be one of the best ways to save yourself money – particularly if you have credit card debt. The interest you are paying on your debt adds up fast. Pay off your debt and you will potentially save thousands of dollars.
2. Get cash back
Consider taking advantage of bank sign up offers. This won’t make you rich but it is about as close as you’ll get to free money in this life. Assuming you’re not drowning in debt, consider signing a card that offers cash back on your spending – some cards will pay you 1% on everything you charge, and sometimes much more than that.
Assuming you’re not drowning in debt, consider signing a card that offers cash back on your spending – some cards will pay you 1% on everything you charge, and sometimes much more than that.
The Citi Double Cash Card, for example, offers 2%. Getting 2% back on $10,000 in annual charges amounts to $200.
American Express, offers two versions of its “Blue Cash” card. The one without an annual fee pays you 3% cash back on purchases at supermarkets, 2% back on purchases at gas stations and some department stores, and 1% back on everything else. For a $95 annual fee, the “Preferred” version of the card offers 6%, 3%, and 1% back on those categories, respectively. There are a few restrictions, of course, but you can still collect a lot of dollars. If you spend $6,000 per year at the supermarket, $1,500 on gas, and $10,000 on top of that, you could collect about $500 per year in cash back!
3. Save and invest your bonus
If you get a yearly bonus or just received a raise – use this as an opportunity to make a wisefinanciall choice with this found money. Pay off debt, put it all into your savings or investment account and make sure you are maxing out your retirement accounts.
4. Contribute to a retirement account
While we are on the subject of retirement accounts, here’s a good reminder. You should contribute to them! By doing so, you can save a lot of money come tax time. Your contributions to a 401k or traditional IRA will reduce your taxable income in the tax year you make the contribution. For example, if you make $65,000 a year, and contribute $5,000 – your taxable income drops down to $60,000 – pretty sweet right?
And contributions to Roth IRAs or Roth 401ks, will potentially give you even more tax savings – many years from now of course. Because you don’t get a tax break upfront with ROTH IRAs and ROTH 401ks the government allows you tax-free withdrawals when you retire.
5. Itemize deductions on your taxes
Speaking of taxes, you should check if you have enough deductions to make itemizing a better choice than taking the standard deduction. If so you might save a lot of money by taking individual deductions.
And if you don’t have enough in deductions, check with your tax accountant if there are any deductible expenses you can move forward from 2017 to 2016. For example, you might also pay next year’s property taxes this year, in order to deduct them. Or maybe you’ve been planning to make some charitable donations in the next few month, you should consider making those deductions in December so you can have them count towards your 2016 tax return. Also, don’t forget that you can donate household times like clothes, old cars, etc.
6. Sell the stuff you don’t need
Like the rest of the country, you probably have a ton of crap, stuff, junk in your house or storage unit that you will never use again. If this is the case then throw everything that might be worth something on eBay or Craigslist and get some cash for it. If it’s not worth anything, then donate what you can and throw away the rest. No need to pay for a storage unit for stuff you aren’t using.
7. Cut your expenses
The end of the year is a great opportunity to take a look at your spending and see what you can live without. Maybe you can make coffee at home in the morning. Maybe can cancel your expensive cable subscription and just live with Netflix and Amazon Prime. Maybe you can reduce the cost of your cell phone bill by using less data.
