While saving money might sound easy in theory, it can sometimes be difficult to know where to start. If you’re looking for some simple tips to get your savings efforts off the ground, you’ve come to the right place!
Work out your savings goal
As with anything in life, it’s good to have a goal to aim for. Whether your heart is set on a holiday, car, home deposit, or something completely different, knowing how much you need to save is a crucial first step. If you’re not sure of the exact figure, it’s always better to overestimate.
Work out a budget
When you know how much you need to save, the next step is to work out how long it’ll take. This is where a budget planning calculator can be very useful. Once you’ve made a thorough inventory of your income and outgoings, not only will you have an accurate idea of what’s left after you’ve covered your expenses, but it’s also quite possible you’ll notice opportunities to make additional savings.
Creating a budget is the perfect time to ask yourself questions such as, “Am I getting decent value out of that gym membership?”, or “Do I really need all those streaming services?” If you’re serious about freeing up as much spare cash as possible, you might want to check out our Thrifty Thursdays page for some clever hints and tips.
By this point, you’ll have established both your savings goal and how much you can afford to put away (be that weekly, fortnightly or monthly – whichever suits you best). We recommend setting up an automatic transfer via online banking so that you won’t forget.
When this is in place, you should have an accurate idea of when you’ll reach your goal. And even if it turns out to be a long way off, it’s a much better feeling than not knowing.
Create an emergency fund
Making plans is all well and good but, as everyone knows, life has an annoying habit of getting in the way. Your car might break down, your roof might develop a leak, or you might suddenly find yourself in need of dental work (ouch!). While you can’t know when the unexpected will strike, you can be prepared by establishing an emergency fund.
The alternative is dipping into your savings, which could potentially leave you back at square one.
Earn bonus interest on your savings
What’s better than earning interest on your savings? Earning bonus interest! Three of our savings accounts, Goal Saver, Home Saver, and Future Saver, offer competitive bonus interest when certain conditions are met every month. Taking advantage of this can turbocharge your savings and help you reach your goal quicker.
If you’re curious to see just how much quicker, why not check out our savings calculator?
Use clever savings tools
Speaking of turbocharging your savings, we have a couple of clever tools to maximise your efforts. With The Boost, you simply choose an amount between $0.01 and $5 to be transferred to your savings account every time you use your Visa Debit card.
It’s super-simple to set up and makes saving as easy as spending.
Finally, if resisting the temptation to dip into your funds is a problem, we have a solution. When you set up The Vault, your account will be hidden from view. Your regular payments will continue to work as normal, and you can access your money at any time should you need to, you just won’t be tempted to splurge by your ever-growing savings balance.
We’re here to help
If you would like more information about setting up a Great Southern Bank Savings Account, please feel free to contact us on 133 282. Alternatively, you can always pop into your local branch for a chat.
Important Information
Great Southern Bank, a business name of Credit Union Australia Ltd ABN 44 087 650 959, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence Number 238317. Conditions, fees and charges apply. This is general information and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider the appropriateness of the information, including the Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) booklet, before acting on it. The Financial Claims Scheme may apply to this product; refer to the T&Cs for more information.