Want to boost your savings?

 Check out this website with plenty of suggestions to help you (or those you care about) improve their savings behaviors. 

Author Carly Hallman writes: 

Strategies for Saving Money

"Saving money is a beneficial skill to have for several reasons. It may help stretch your paychecks further and you can also work on saving for the future. If you have accumulated debt, saving money may help you pay off your loans, too. Frugality is the first step toward saving money. What you do with your saved funds is up to you."

The site lists more than a dozen links to specific suggestions for improving your money management to boost your savings. 

Thanks to Carol Briggs who suggested this website after applying the recommendations for her family.

Strategies to increase your retirement savings

Emily Brandon shares suggestions for improving your retirement security. 

1.      Save your raise.

2.      Invest your windfalls.

3.      Qualify for tax breaks.

4.      Get a 401(k) match.

5.      Create an emergency fund.

6.      Save $10 more.

7.      Consolidate your accounts.

8.      Redirect debt payments into savings.

9.      Save side job income.

10.  Ramp up your career.

Details at:  http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/401ks/articles/2016-11-28/10-retirement-savings-goals-for-2017

Out with Binge eating; In with Binge saving!

Also called "power saving," "Barbara Friedberg offers five ideas for people who want to boost their retirement saving, including 'binge saving,' which boils down to saving a high percentage of disposable income. It will be hard, but 'you may find the reward of seeing your account grow quite motivating,' she writes." "Get your head out of the sand and face reality."
"Warning: This article is only for those committed to making a retirement savings change!"
Details at: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-smarter-mutual-fund-investor/2014/08/19/the-tiny-house-movement-and-binge-saving-the-new-retirement

How to Make Yourself Save

"To become a serious saver, start hiding money from yourself. It works every time — if you don’t see it, you won’t spend it. You won’t notice that it’s gone. Really, you won’t" advises Jane Bryant Quinn in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
1. start a retirement account
2. start a savings account
3. claim zero exemptions on your income tax withholding
4. save all "found money"
5. If your income is irregular, put 10 percent of every paycheck into savings.
Read the details at: 
http://www.ajc.com/news/business/personal-finance/ask-jane-whats-best-way-hide-money-myself/nS7NZ/

Power (or burst) Saving

We're not talking about turning off the lights when you leave a room. Power or "burst" saving refers to saving or investing a lump sum such as a tax refund, raise, or other windfall.
"Part of a special report on How to reach $1 million, this story explains how saving aggressively for a decade can help you reach millionaire status by the time you retire." Read more at:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/20/pf/savings-budget-millionaire.moneymag/index.htm