Americans have a savings crisis on their hands.
Roughly 40% of Americans don’t have enough in savings to cover an unexpected $400 expense, according to a report released in May by the Federal Reserve. And a separate report by personal-finance website Bankrate found that one in five Americans have more credit-card debt than they do in emergency savings.
Meanwhile, a post from MarketWatch that suggested consumers should ideally save twice their salary by the time they’re 35 set Twitter TWTR, -2.30% ablaze as users balked at how lofty a task that seemed to be.
But saving money doesn’t have to be difficult. Indeed, by taking just a few simple steps, consumers can easily start building that nest egg — or at least an emergency fund. Here are five New Year’s resolutions to put you on the path to building up savings and creating a strong foundation for your financial futures.
Stop ordering in food
As one Reddit user recently discovered, ordering food to be delivered rather than cooking at home can become quite the budget buster. The Reddit user, whose handle is Cottoncandyskylines, described how a once-a-week Burger KingQSR, +0.56% habit morphed into ordering food daily using apps like Skip the Dishes and Uber Eats.
All told, the user found themselves spending around $900 a month on food. With some self-motivation, they’ve managed to cut that amount markedly in recent months to just $150. “I now have over $5,000 in savings and there’s potential for so much more if I can keep cutting food expenses,” they wrote.
That Reddit user is not alone. A recent study from meal-kit subscription service Home Chef found that Americans spend roughly $70,000 on food takeout and delivery over their lifetimes on average. It can be a hard habit to break, in part because food delivery services don’t make deleting your account easy.
But there are ways to curb one’s bad eating habits beyond deleting their food delivery accounts and simply cooking more. For starters, consumers can make sure that their credit card numbers and other personal information aren’t saved in their food delivery accounts. That way ordering food will take longer, giving them time to consider whether it’s really a good idea.
Another option, as some Reddit users suggested, is to order groceries instead. While consumers will still be paying a fee in this case, making grocery shopping easier can save a consumer significantly in the long run. Plus, cooking your own food is healthier, which has its own financial benefits.
— Jacob Passy
Comparison shop when it comes to your car
A little bit of research can go a long way for consumers eyeing a new car in 2019. The prices dealers offer are not necessarily set in stone — the auto industry wouldn’t dub possible price tags as the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for nothing.
Sites like Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds and TrueCar can all be useful guides on the going prices for vehicles.
Eric Lyman, senior vice president of industry insights at TrueCar, previously told MarketWatch, that in addition to the price research, drivers should also pay attention to auto loan rates. The rates are expected to climb in the new year due to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike.
Before talking numbers with a dealer, Lyman recommended shoppers get a quote for an auto loan from financial institutions they have worked with in the past for other banking needs. Dealers may be able to work with a car maker’s affiliated lenders to match or beat those loan terms, Lyman said.
The same thinking on comparison shopping applies to car insurance policies. Websites like NerdWallet.com and Compare.com aggregate price quotes for drivers. Not all drivers are created equal in the eyes of insurers.
For example, millennial drivers living with their parents typically pay far higher annual premiums ($1,750) versus other demographics, a Compare.com study determined. But those price premiums are just the average, according to the website’s CEO, Andrew Rose. That makes shopping around all the more important, he said.
— Andrew Keshner
Talk to your doctor about your healthcare costs
Medical bills can get expensive, but patients sometimes have more control over these costs than they realize. Patients can cut costs simply by asking their health practitioners questions, starting with whether a doctor and their affiliated labs — where a doctor may send you to get tests — are “in network.” Healthcare professionals belong to networks, and though patients can see doctors outside of their network, it will cost more.
Patients may mistakenly assume that any specialist their doctor refers them to is in-network, but that’s not always the case. Unfortunately, patients might not know this until a surprise bill comes in the mail.
Patients could even save money on their medications by asking doctors and pharmacists about less-expensive versions. Many Americans assume medical expenses at set at a fixed price, but they’re not, and patients can comparison shop to reduce costs. Patients can lose thousands of dollars a year by not looking around before going with a medical procedure or prescription, researchers at Harvard, Yale and Columbia Universities found. Fewer than 1% of individuals used price transparency tools, including websites or apps, to find the best prices for medical procedures and medications.
It beats the alternative, which is avoiding medical visits, procedures and medications because they’re too expensive. One in four Americans has refused medical care because of the cost, a 2017 study from Bankrate.com found, but doing so could lead to worse health and other medical issues in the future.
Americans can save even more with tax-advantaged health plans. Some employers offer health savings accounts (or HSAs), which offer tax-free contributions, growth and withdrawals. Workers must have a high-deductible health plan to qualify however (which means they’d be paying more up front for their medical expenses before the insurer begins covering costs). Flexible Spending Accounts allow employees to contribute a specific amount of their salary upfront, and then use that money to spend tax-free on medical expenses throughout the year. Money in an FSA must be used before the end of the year or will be forfeited.
— Alessandra Malito
Pay attention to interest rates
The Federal Reserve has increased interest rates multiple times throughout 2018 and plans to hike rates further in the year ahead. Consumers can do themselves a favor by staying abreast of how rising interest rates will affect them.
Americans had more than $420 billion in credit card debt as of late 2018, according to personal finance website NerdWallet, and the average household with credit-card debt has nearly $7,000 in revolving debt that carries over from month to month. And those households are paying a hefty sum in interest.
Credit card rates have risen steadily over the past year, as have the rates for other types of loans. The average annual percentage rate for credit cards was 17.21% as of Dec. 19, nearly a full percentage point higher than the previous year, according to CreditCards.com. Therefore, households could stand to save thousands of dollars by avoiding pay credit card interest.
Beyond paying off their full card balance each month, consumers can achieve this by applying for a balance-transfer credit card with a 0% interest introductory offer. These cards give consumers a chance to pay off their debts without digging themselves into a hole via interest payments.
Additionally, consumers should be aware how much interest they’re earning on their banks accounts. Stock-trading platform Robinhood made a huge splash in December when it announced banking accounts that were set to earn 3% interest. Though the company has since delayed the rollout of these accounts amid regulatory scrutiny, the public’s enthusiastic reaction to the announcement — some 850,000 people joined a waitlist for the accounts — shows that Americans are hungry to earn interest on their cash.
While accounts earning 3% are hard to come by, consumers should investigate ways to earn more in interest. For instance, many online banks offer above 2% interest on their accounts. Another option is to take out a certificate of deposit — many banks offer 1-year CDs with annual percentage yields above 2.5%.
— Jacob Passy
