Having multiple sources of income is a good way to be financially secure. If something unexpected happens to one of your sources, the rest of it will back you up, guaranteeing a steady stream of income.
However, if your time or circumstances only allow you to have one source of income, you might have your back against the wall and forget about the idea of saving, especially with a tight budget allocation.
Do not fret! The good news is there are a lot of opportunities for you to set something aside for the rainy days, even with just one source of income.
Start following these strategies now and save more money than you expect!
1. Focus on Being Debt-Free (Eliminate Your Personal and Credit Card Debt)
Being in debt is probably one of the toughest financial hurdles one can ever face, regardless of how many income streams one has — how much more so if one has only a single source of income.
If you have debts from certain individuals, you can try any of the following tips to get this off your shoulders:
- Strictly allot a certain percentage of your monthly income to paying off the debt.
- If you have multiple debts, don’t be overwhelmed! Spread out your allotted payment to each of them so that you can drill everything down bit by bit.
- Try to use the debt snowball method. First, list your debts from the smallest to the largest. Concentrate on paying off the smallest one first, then move to the next smallest until you are completely debt-free.
If your credit card debt has grown to a level that is difficult to manage, you can apply the following tips:
- Negotiate with your credit card company to lower or even eliminate the interest you need to pay.
- Set a payment arrangement that allows you to pay a set amount every month until the debt is gone.
- If you have multiple credit cards, consider a balance transfer of all your debts to just one with the lowest interest rates.
As you continue to eliminate your credit card debt, it will be wise to stop using it.
Remember that your goal is to save based on your income, and the monthly interest rates for not paying off your credit card bill completely are the opposite of what you want to accomplish.
2. Make a Listing of All Your Expenses, Then Prioritize!
One of the best habits to develop so you know where your money goes is record-keeping. For every payday, list how much you earned and where you need to allocate your earnings.
As you pay your bills, buy your groceries, gas up your car, pay for a fare, or settle your debts, you must also track and record every movement you have with your money down to the smallest detail.
Why is this important? Realizing where your money goes and how much money is left of you after all your spending allows you to realize how much of your budget you have left to allocate for your savings.
Pro Tip: As you track all your daily or monthly spending, rank everything from the most to the least important.
This will help you assess and remove some unnecessary items you spend a lot of money on and convert them into savings.
3. Create a Budget Plan and Stick to It!
Wanting to save money without a clear direction or strategy will just get you nowhere.
If you are serious about saving money while living off a single income, you must first create a financial battle plan that will help you manage your money more effectively.
You can follow these tips as you create your very own budget plan:
- Set a target for your savings, including a timeline, and write it down. It could be an amount you want to achieve or an important item, event, or vacation you have been dreaming of. If you have a goal, you become more motivated to save up.
- Identify and categorize your monthly expenses. You can group them into fixed or necessary expenses, such as bills and food, and discretionary ones, such as entertainment and hobby-related costs.
- Allocate a particular percentage of your income to these different categories. Ensure that you also regularly allocate for your savings. Usually, 10% will be a good target at the start, then adjust accordingly as your income grows.
- Reassess how you use your budget on a monthly basis. Prioritize the most critical items and remove all unnecessary expenses until you have extra money to afford them.
- Develop the self-discipline to stick to your budget plan. Always aim for longer-term success rather than temporary satisfaction.
Note: If you do your financial assessment and discover that your spending is more than your income, reprioritizing your expenses must be at the top of your list of things to do.
4. Plan Your Meals at Home and Take Advantage of Apps to Save Money on Food
It is estimated that the average United States consumer spends about $166 monthly on dining out. So, one of the most practical ways to save money on food is to prepare homemade meals.
Planning your meals at home on a weekly basis also allows you to buy the ingredients you need in bulk, saving you the cost of going to the grocery multiple times.
You can even save more by preparing meals in bulk, storing them in seal-tight containers, refrigerating them, and reheating them as needed.
Further, you can even get the most out of your groceries by taking advantage of cash-back deals, coupons, or promotions that will help you save more on your purchases.
Here are some apps you can use for your groceries:
- Ibotta: One of the most popular apps for groceries, Ibotta allows you to earn cash-backs by uploading your receipt in the app or by using your loyalty card for in-store purchases. They even have a promotion for new users where they give out a $5 bonus as you spend $15 in the app’s shopping portal.
- Checkout 51: You can earn cash-backs from Checkout 51 by adding coupons and offers to your account as you do your grocery shopping. Once done, you just need to mark the items you purchased in the app and upload your receipt, then wait for your cash-back to reflect.
- Fluz: If you prefer using your debit card when grocery shopping or don’t earn more than 1% cash back when using your credit card, Fluz is a great app to use. It can save you as much as 4% at major supermarkets and more than 400 merchants and retailers. You can also use it on your Instacart orders.
- Flipp: Flipp is a fun way to save time and money on groceries. Once you enter your zip code on the portal, it will check all the best deals near your area. You can even add your loyalty cards to the app and clip the discount coupons that will be attached to them.
- Kroger: For those who do their groceries at Kroger, you must take advantage of their app to help save you money. Check out their weekly advertisements, coupons, and offers that can help you get huge discounts when you shop.
Once you master this strategy, it should take care of a good chunk of your savings from your food expenses.
5. Save Up for at Least Three Months Worth of Emergency Fund
Emergencies are unexpected and are usually costly. If we are not financially prepared for these situations, these can even lead us to borrow money and incur debts.
An emergency fund is usually measured based on how many months you can survive without a source of income.
The common practice for a basic emergency fund is to have at least three to six months’ worth of savings.
This means that if you are living off a monthly earning of $3,000, you must have at least $9,000 to $18,000 worth of emergency funds to keep you safe. However, do not be overwhelmed by this amount. You can start small.
Here’s how much you can save for your emergency fund on a yearly basis if you set aside a small amount monthly:
Starting small is good for those with a single source of income, but as you have more opportunities to increase your earnings, it is best to make this fund a priority.
6. Stop the Urge to Spend on Items You Don’t Need
If you have only a single source of income, it is critical to distinguish your needs from your wants. Cutting down expenses that you can do without is a great way to save money.
You might be wondering if this means that you need to say goodbye to treating yourself — not necessarily, so long as you can afford it!
What you need to remove are the unnecessary expenses that you can live without.
Some examples of these could be your luxury coffee, excess snacks, new dress, shoes, or bags, latest gadgets, in-app purchases, unused subscriptions, online purchases, or even leisure travel expenses.
Controlling your urges to spend on unnecessary items can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars that you may be spending unconsciously.
7. Do Not Lose Your Assets!
Just like saving for emergencies, protecting your investments from unexpected circumstances will eventually help you save more money in the long run than losing them entirely.
Although these may seem like additional monthly costs, the actual price of maintaining your health, car, house, and other properties is much cheaper than buying new ones.
When getting insurance, it is best to do your research carefully and go for the best offer that would fit your needs and your budget.
Take advantage of platforms that will help you compare the quotes of insurance companies, like Insurify for cars, Healthcare Marketplace for health, Policygenius for life, and Lending Tree for homes.
Pro Tip: If you are living off a single income, public health insurance programs might be more suitable for your needs.
They may not be necessarily free, but they cost so much less than private ones, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
8. Lower Your Monthly Bills
As you assess your fixed income against your discretionary income, you might find that you have many bills that you need to pay monthly out of your single source of income.
If this is the case, you don’t need to feel stuck. There are practical ways to lower your bills and still get the services you need.
Follow these tips to save money by lowering your household bills:
- Review your subscriptions: When you started your cable or Netflix subscription, you may have grabbed higher offers due to the excitement of having more channels or getting more devices to stream at the same time. Eventually, you realize that you pay more than what you actually just use. Hence, it is best to adjust to a lower subscription and save more.
- Switch to a more suitable phone plan: We often choose plans with more inclusions than we get to consume. This translates to a higher monthly fee that can be easily converted to savings if we switch to cheaper and more suitable plans.
- Negotiate for lighter payment terms: If some of your bills have reached an unmanageable state due to unpaid bills from previous months, feel free to negotiate with your service provider. Ask for an easier payment arrangement or make a deal to pay a good portion of the bill if they would be willing to remove the late fees or charges.
- Use bill-negotiation apps: Bill-negotiation apps are services that can help negotiate your bills for you, and can potentially save you hundreds of dollars a year. Some examples of these are Trim, Rocket Money, and Billshark.
Combining these different approaches to lowering your bills will definitely help ease the pressure on your monthly expenses and give you more savings in the process.
9. Cut Your Transportation Expenses
Aside from food, transportation expenses are one of the major items you must allocate to your monthly budget.
This is especially true when you have to physically go to work or get your kids to school.
Here are some suggestions on how you can effectively save money on transportation:
- Try to use your bicycle or walk when you need to go to a nearby location. Aside from saving up on gas, you’ll also be investing in your health.
- If you have multiple cars, try to adjust to a one-car household. This saves you on registration, maintenance, and gasoline costs.
- Go for public transportation. When you commute, you also avoid the parking costs, not to mention save time looking for a parking space.
- You can try carpooling with coworkers and friends when going to the office or to a common destination. This does not just save you money, but it doubles as a bonding moment with your friends, as well.
- Take advantage of apps that can help you locate the best deals for gas, such as GasBuddy, or give you cash-backs on your gas purchases, like Upside.
While you sacrifice now and save thousands of dollars on transportation costs, let this also be a motivation that you are one step closer to achieving your dream car in the future.
10. Explore Free Resources and Services
If you are serious about saving money while having a single source of income, exploring free resources and services can help you significantly.
First, you can check the benefits that the United States government offers.
Though there are certain income thresholds to avail of some of these benefits, there is no harm in checking out if you qualify for any of these government programs.
You can also be creative and swap your needed items with your family or friends or borrow from them instead of buying new ones.
11. Do Not Hire, Do It Yourself!
When you need something repaired at home, or you need to upgrade a particular portion of your house, try doing it yourself instead of hiring a handyman!
YouTube, social media, and online resources, like DIY Projects, can provide all the resources and instructions you need to do basic crafts and repairs at home.
I may not be a plumber, but I was able to save about $300 to $500 by fixing a leaky pipe in our bathroom sink. All I spent was about $75 for materials and some time studying how to do it on YouTube.
So, why spend more out of your single source of income when you have the opportunity to be your own handyman?
What’s more, doing things yourself will also allow you to canvass the best prices for the materials you need.
12. Sell Items You Don’t Need
Try to look around your house, garage, and room.
I am confident that you can identify at least ten items or even more that you don’t use or need anymore, such as clothes, accessories, decorations, books, and more.
Sell them online and convert them into quick cash! There are many platforms where you can sell them, such as eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and TikTok Shop.
Instead of letting your unused items accumulate dust, selling them increases your opportunity to earn money and allows you to allocate more of your income to your savings.
13. Go For Local Thrift Shops and Save by 50% or More
If you wish to treat yourself to new clothes, instead of heading over to stores selling branded or luxury items, you can try your local thrift shop and save hundreds of dollars.
This is more practical if you wish to save money from your single income source. Many of these items may be tagged as “brand new” or “like new,” and you can enjoy a 50% discount or even more!
In addition to visiting physical thrift shops, you can also save a lot by checking out online thrift shops, such as ThredUp.
Pro Tip: When visiting thrift shops, you can save more by haggling prices, especially as you buy in bulk.
14. If You Must Travel, Do It Off-Season
Traveling is already quite expensive, and it becomes even more so during peak season when hotel and flight prices are at their highest.
If you must travel, even on a single-income budget, it is best to do it during the off-season. This falls between November and March for any travel within the United States.
While planning your travel, you can save even more by using apps that will give you the best deals with flights, like Going (formerly known as Scott’s Cheap Flights), Dollar Flight Club, and Kiwi.
15. Expand Your Sources of Income (Invest in Education, Too!)
At this point, we have provided a lot of different ways to save money with a sole source of income.
However, can you imagine how easy it will be to accumulate more savings with multiple income streams?
Here are some fast and easy tips on how you can maximize your income potential:
- Invest in financial education: Investing in your own personal financial development will surely provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to increase your income. You can check out free online resources, such as the finance courses offered on edx.org.
- Look for a side hustle: Selling online or freelance jobs that you can do outside of your main job’s schedule will be a good way to increase your income potential. Modern platforms like Upwork and Fiverr can make freelance job hunting easier for you.
- Aim for growth: Whether you are aiming for a promotion and that much-needed raise or you are looking into moving to another company that can provide you with better opportunities, never stop aiming for growth to secure your future.
- Explore passive income opportunities: If time is a concern, you can always look for passive income opportunities. The internet has a ton of resources to educate you on ways to earn while you sleep, such as affiliate marketing, dropshipping, investing in stocks, or even cryptocurrency.
Remember that living on just one income means supporting family members without having extra earnings. If you have a large family, this becomes even more challenging.
Hence, expanding your source of income must be a priority to achieve true financial security.
Are you excited to welcome your own savings even if you are living off a single income? We would be excited to hear your questions or any other suggestions you can add to this list of strategies.
