How to Save $10,000 in a Year

Ten thousand dollars in a year is $834 a month, or about $192 a week. Broken down that way, it’s a target you can plan for rather than just hope to hit.

A few things to note about hitting this number. For one, it isn’t possible on every budget. If you don’t have room to save nearly $200/week, then you need to extend your timeline, or find a way to bring that extra surplus in. You can start by cutting recurring costs, because a bill you cancel once keeps saving you money every month for the rest of the year; trimming $80 of subscriptions and habits adds up to close to a thousand dollars by December. Then add income you can put entirely toward the goal, so it doesn’t get absorbed into everyday spending. Keep that money out of your checking account, or it tends to disappear.

It helps to attach the number to a reason. Saving toward something specific, like the cushion that gets you into your own place, is easier to stick with than saving in the abstract.

See your timeline: the free down-payment savings tool shows how many months your monthly amount takes to hit a goal.

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