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Even when you understand the need to put money away in a savings account, it is sometimes very difficult to find enough money to do so. Unforeseen circumstances and weak will power are the leading causes of inability to save significant amounts of money. Other times, it is inability to see the opportunity to save money when it presents itself. This piece therefore takes a look at how you can spot these opportunities and save more money for the future.

Save salary raise

Salary raises are not an opportunity to increase spending. If you were able to get by on your past salary, you should be able to continue on it while saving the new addition. Similarly, you should consider working a few hours above your normal schedule and strictly put away the overtime pay at the end of the week or month.

Save bonuses and commissions

When you plan your day to day spending, you don’t include bonuses into the equation. Why then should you spend the bonuses when they come? Bonuses are a good opportunity to ramp up the digits in your savings account. If you get a large commission on the other hand, always use it for something that will be of benefit in the future. Think of a retirement investment or a comfortable home.

Cut expenses

When the topic of cutting expenses arises, it is often common for people to look at money spent on activities like smoking or drinking as where to start saving from. Whilst this is a good idea, you can save even more money by cutting expenditure on your hobbies. If you love playing bingo games for instance and spend money trying out new sites, you should consider playing on no deposit bingo sites where there is no need to deposit your money before getting a feel of the gaming experience. Similarly, you should review the amount you spend on protein shakes, personal trainers, video games etc. Cutting back on hobby spending for a year could add a tidy sum to your savings account.

Cross check taxes

Do you get tax refunds? You should put the money straight into your savings. If you don’t get any refunds, you should consider talking with a tax advisor to see if there are tax refund options you haven’t explored. Your tax advisor should also be able to do a comprehensive assessment to be sure you are paying an amount that can be deemed fair value in taxes. Assessments can save you a decent amount of money in property taxes especially. Even when you feel you are paying the exact amount you should pay in taxes, professional accountants properly qualified to look over taxes can help you plug loopholes. The important thing to keep in mind is to always put away all the money saved in taxes to your savings account. You would have lost the money to the government anyway so why not put it to good use?

Analyse credit card payments

Are you making any credit card debt payments? You should look around to see if you can get lower rates elsewhere on the same product or something similar. Take a balance transfer credit card for instance could see you reduce 7% interest rate to 3.5% or less. Here’s how to get lower interest rates on your credit cards.