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When you practice a frugal lifestyle and try to save money anywhere you can, you’ll likely end up with a good amount of money leftover from each paycheck. This is a nice feeling, but money doesn’t do anything by itself.
If you’re not investing that money somehow, then you’re not making the most of your frugal lifestyle! Here are a few tips to help you get your money working to make you money!
It’s better to get your money into a savings account than letting it just sit in your checking account doing nothing. A savings account has extremely few risks associated with it.
If you put your money into an FDIC-insured account, you’ll be able to rest assured that, even in the event of an economic downturn, you can get your money back. Moreover, a savings account comes with an interest rate that pays you out some money periodically.
This is a baseline entry level for an investment, so make sure you at least have your money accruing interest in a savings account and not just sitting idle in a shoebox under your mattress. Find out if your bank offers a high-interest savings account, or switch to a bank that does.
There are plenty of ways to invest your money beyond just putting it in a savings account. You can play the stock market, investing in companies you think will succeed in the long-term.
This can be risky, though, as stocks have no guarantees for their future performance. You could make a ton of money, or you could lose your investment.
You can also sink your money into bonds, which are slower-growing, safer investments that will accrue interest at a set rate. These are great investments if you’re younger and can afford to wait for the bonds to mature and pay back your initial investment.
If you’re older and have less time to spend on your investments, you could instead invest in riskier, higher-return stocks to try to make money more quickly.
Retirement accounts are another type of investment that have special tax rules that change how you use them. Retirement accounts are taxed at a lower rate than other investments if you only cash them out after you reach retirement age.
This is an extremely responsible investment for the money you save living a frugal lifestyle. If you’re concerned about your financial future, a retirement account is a great choice.
Often, your employer will offer a retirement program and could even match some of your contributions. This is basically free money for your future, so make sure you take full advantage of any such programs available to you.
