How To Save $5000 Before the End of 2021

Whether you’re broke or living paycheck to paycheck, and whether you have a job that pays biweekly or you pick up odd jobs when you can, it is possible to save $5,000 before the end of 2021. Before you assert that saving $5,00 in just three months is impossible for most people, know that, with the right tricks up your sleeve, and with a bit of self-control, you can make the impossible possible. Here’s how.

Put Away That Extra Paycheck

If you’re like most people, you build your budget around the two-pay-checks-per-month model. While there is nothing wrong with this model, it underestimates how much you actually earn on an annual basis — assuming, that is, that you get paid biweekly.

Every year, there are a handful of months that have five weeks in it instead of four. In these months, you will receive one extra paycheck. The remaining months with five weeks in them in 2021 are October and December. So, set your reminder for those months to put those bonus paychecks into a savings.

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Identify Financial Waste and Put a Stop to It

“Money is no object,” you may say, shortly before purchasing a $6 latte from the local coffee shop. While $5 here and $10 there may not seem like a big deal, each small purchase can quickly add up. Think about it … If you spend $5 a day on coffee, that’s $35 a week. That adds up to approximately $140 per month.

Go through your bank statements to identify all your “insignificant purchases” and add up their totals. Think ATM fees, food delivery fees, restaurant bills, unused gym memberships, monthly subscriptions and similar items. Instead of letting yourself feel sick over just how much money you throw at useless purchases each month, use it as motivation to say no for the next three months. Then, watch the savings tally up.

Try the 100 Envelope Challenge

The newest viral savings trend, the 100 Envelope Challenge is a strict but rewarding challenge — if you can complete it. To start, you take 100 envelopes and write one number from one to 100 on each. You then shuffle them up and draw a new envelop each day. Whatever number you get, you place that much cash inside of it and seal it. For instance, if you draw 55, you fill the envelope with $55. If you pick $2, you place $2 inside. By the end of the challenge, you will have saved $5,050.

You can always extend the 100 Envelope Challenge to span six months instead of three. Though this will put you beyond 2021, by December, you should have a little more than $2,000 saved via this technique alone.

Take Up a Side Gig

If your monthly income, combined with your monthly expenses, simply does not leave room to save nearly $2,000 each month, you can still save $5,000 by the end of 2021. You may just have to work a little harder for it.

Some well-paying side gigs that will feel more like play than work include dog-walking, pet-sitting, babysitting and evaluating websites. Gigs that may be less fun but that still provide ample flexibility include ridesharing, tutoring and transcribing. Many side gigs allow you to earn an additional $15 to $30 per hour. Work for one hour a day for 100 days and you will have an extra $1,500 to $3,000 to your name.

There are dozens of techniques to saving $5,000 in a little more than three months. The ones mentioned here happen to be the easiest, but if you’re really motivated, look up others that you can use in combination with these. The payoff will be well worth your effort.