How to Save $1,000 Fast – Even if You’re Starting from $0

Don’t let that number scare you, especially if your account is at $0 or dangerously close to it. Saving $1,000 is more doable than you think! It just needs to be broken down to make it less intimidating.

That extra money cushion will be useful for emergencies, paying bills, as well as gaining the confidence that “you got this,” which can snowball into more savings. 

So, let’s get started on how you can start saving some money fast, even if you’re starting from scratch.

Know Your Why & Set A Goal

Knowing your why is SO important for everything that you do, not just financially. What’s your motivation to save this money? Is it for rent? Is it for health purposes? Peace of mind?

Regardless of the reason, know exactly why you’re saving this money and then set a deadline to hold yourself accountable. 

For instance, let’s say you want to save $1,000 in 30 days. When you break it down, the formula is simple:

$1,000 / 30 days = $33/day

It can also be $240 per week for 4 weeks, but we think $33 per day is easier to digest.

Prefer a longer time frame of 60 days? Then it’s:

$1,000 / 60 days  = $16.67/day

We don’t recommend setting a deadline any further than that for the sense of urgency. Of course, give yourself some grace if you can’t save the money in 30 days, but make an effort to!

How to Cut Costs Like a Boss

To know where you can save, you need to know what you’re spending on.

So audit the last 30 days of your spending to see if you can find a pattern or obvious areas to cut back on. If you need suggestions, I use Rocket Money to track my credit card usage and bank account to get an overall picture. 

For something simpler, I also use an app called Spending (iOS / Android), where you can manually put in every single dollar you’ve spent daily so you can see your month’s total compared to your income coming in. Categories make it easier to visualize where you’re spending on that’s non-essential.

Do you have any subscriptions you can cut or temporarily pause for now? If you have 3 streaming subscriptions, evaluate if there are any you’re not using enough.

How about eating from your pantry and freezer for a week instead of eating out? Often, we forget that we actually DO have food at home. Take stock of what you currently have, and you may need fewer groceries than you think. And when you’re at the grocery store, have a list of what you need instead of going on a whim.

Enjoy free or low-cost entertainment! There are so many things to do that are FREE which you can enjoy.

• Your local library should have plenty of events and book signings. Some even have free passes to national parks and museums.
• The Libby app offers free ebooks, audiobooks, and graphic novels
• Free museum days 
• Free community events
• Play board games 
• Movie nights at home
• Go hiking with a packed lunch
• Biking / playing at the park/ walk a pet or yourself
• Communal areas at your apartment 
• Home spa day
• Have a potluck with friends
• Have a coffee date at home with the beans you haven’t opened yet

The list can be endless!

How to Make Some Cash

While cutting back on costs, let’s start talking about making some extra cash. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, you may feel like you don’t have enough funds from your regular job to set aside for savings. 

1. Sell stuff you don’t want to use or want

Go through your belongings and start pulling out items that can be sold. Clothes, electronics, appliances, collectibles, etc. 

I sell on Mercari regularly and have made 118 sales, totaling $3,531.75 in profit. My sales typically come from old Funko Pops that increased in value over the years, free swag I’ve received at conventions that not everyone can attend, Disney items I no longer want, older but still great-quality purses, plushes, small electronics, and more. If you’re not using it, you might as well sell it! Just take clear photos, be honest in your description, and research other listings of the same item to know its worth. If you use my Mercari link, you’ll get a free $10 to use toward your first purchase and get $20 when you earn your first $100 selling!

You can also use Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, eBay, and Craigslist.

2. Pick up some gig work

Love animals? Consider pet sitting or dog walking services via Rover or Wag. 

There are also the popular DoorDash, Instacart, and TaskRabbit opportunities since people always want food delivered or need general assistance with moving, yard work, errands, babysitting, and more.

If you’re looking for even more flexibility and variety, check out Bacon, where you don’t need specific skills, just a willingness to work hard. There are gig jobs from over 6+ industries, making it possible for you to pick up some new skills along the way. And maybe a new passion?

3. Taking surveys and testing apps

We have some favorites if you want to earn money from your phone. Here are some options:

• Swagbucks: Join over 15 million people already paying games for $$$
• Testerup: Earn up to $120 per test trying games and apps
• Freecash: Earn up to $1,000/month from over 15,000 offers

4. Freelance a skill

Got writing, designing, or tutoring skills? Use it! 

You can sell your skills on Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, and Thumbtack.

Also, consider your interests. What do you like doing and are good at? This can help guide you to the correct type of site to look at or post on for freelancing gigs. 

5. Automate & track that progress!

One of the worst things you can do with your money is to keep it in a non-high-yield savings account, where inflation can destroy the value of your funds. 

High-yield savings accounts (HYSA), however, have no fees, are FDIC-insured, and are easy to access whenever you need them. The APY (Annual Percentage Yield) is typically 8x the national average, meaning you can earn 8x more in a HYSA versus, for example, a Chase savings account that only earns 0.01%.

One of our favorite HYSA is Marcus by Goldman Sachs, which offers a 3.75% APY. If you had $1,000 in the account and didn’t add anything to it, after a year, you’d have $38 earned from the 3.75% interest. If you had it in a Chase savings account? You’d have earned close to 10 CENTS. 

Earn $38 or 10 cents? Your choice!

Once you have a HYSA opened, then it’s time to set and forget! Automate your savings so you don’t have to think about it or do the extra work. You can set up auto-transfers on a daily or weekly basis, as low as $5 at a time. Depending on what timeframe you gave yourself, adjust your automation amount to what you’ll be comfortable with to help you hit your $1,000 goal!

To keep that savings motivation going, we like these free printable savings trackers to help you visualize how much you’ve saved! You’ll get a sense of accomplishment every time it’s filled out.

6. Even MORE tips to help you hit your goal

Try out a no-spend weekend to get used to not spending any non-essential money. Gradually increase the days to a week! With proper grocery planning to cook meals at home and free entertainment, you can get used to the fact that you don’t HAVE to spend too much. 

Decide on one recurring expense to cancel and transfer that money to savings instead. When you audited your spending, did you see a recurring pattern of spending? See if you can temporarily adjust your spending on that one expense and move the money you’ve spent on that to savings instead. 

Use cash back apps, and your rewards can go toward your needs or wants! When you’re already buying groceries, gas, and occasionally dining out, you’d be missing out on money if you don’t use Fetch, a free cash back app where you can earn gift cards just by uploading your receipts, even your digital ones.

The Money Move

Remember, know your why, and keep referring back to your goal when faced with the temptation to spend money. If it’s non-essential, do you really need this item in your hand or cart right now? Can it wait?

As you get used to auto-transferring money to your savings account, can you increase the contribution amount? Once you hit $1,000, keep going! Why not make the next goal $2,000?

Saving money is ultimately a healthy habit to foster, not just a one-time challenge. So, keep working at it, and over time, it’ll become second nature. You got this!