How to Grow Your Savings Account Without a Steady Paycheck

It’s often difficult to meet your financial goals when you’re a part-timer, seasonal worker, freelancer, or contractor. One week you’ll have a great deal of income and the next week you’ll earn next to nothing. Under those circumstances, it’s understandably hard to make regular contributions to a savings account.

Here are a few ways that you can grow your savings account without a steady paycheck.

Use Separate Savings Accounts

You might have multiple financial goals in your life. Maybe you’re saving to buy a house. Perhaps you’ve also got you’re eye on a new car. In addition to that, you’d also like to have a nest egg that’s useful for emergencies.

Make a list of all your financial goals and then open separate savings accounts for each one. In this case, you’d have one account for the house, another for the car, and a third for the nest egg.

The best savings account in the world won’t do you any good if you’re piling all your money there and you have no idea what percentage of the money in the account is for each purpose.

Pay Yourself First

You work hard for your money. Even so, it might be tempting to put too much of it into a savings account that’s giving you a modest return on par with Citibank CD rates or pay down some extra debt.

That’s fine, but be sure to pay yourself first. That way, you will have enough money to cover your regular expenses while pushing yourself to think of ways that you can pay other debts and still save some money in the long run. As a result, you’ll find very creative ways to manage your money while still earning a decent income. It’s that kind of discipline that enables you to find ways to make your financial dreams come true.

Try Microsaving

So you’re having trouble putting big chunks of cash into savings accounts? That’s perfectly understandable, but why not try microsaving?

Microsaving is when you put very small amounts of cash (as little as $2 or $4) every now and then into a savings account. Then, over time, you watch that money grow into a few hundred dollars and beyond.

Fortunately, there are microsaving apps that will help you start saving. Have a look at Digit, Acorns, and SmartyPig.

Motivate Yourself

What is it that motivates you to save money? If you’re really interested in buying that car, why not print out a picture of it and hang it somewhere so that you see it every day? You can do the same if you’re interested in buying a house or going on a big vacation.

If you’re the competitive sort, why not get a few of your friends together and challenge them to a “savings contest” to see who can save the most money over the next six months? The winner gets a free dinner that’s paid for by everybody else in the contest.

Maybe you like graphs. Why not graph your savings over time so that you can see how much money you’re adding to your nest egg as time passes on?

It can be very challenging to develop a consistent savings plan when you don’t have a steady paycheck. However, with the right discipline and some good ideas, you too can save for your financial goals.