Where Can I Find Extra Money In My Budget For Retirement Savings

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  If you keep waiting for extra money to save for retirement, you could be waiting a very long time. In this episode, I'm going to help you change how you look at extra money and how you can actually find savings. So coming back to the problem that you have, you need to save more for retirement, that's the advice out there. That's where you're like, "I know I need to go into it more." Maybe you have heard me say at least get to 10%, life is expensive, and you may already feel strapped. Yeah, most people do, and if you had the kids just go back to school, that was a big expense, and you're like, "Life is so expensive." Then you look at your grocery bill, and that is more than it was six months ago, even though you know you're buying the same things. And heck, if you do feel like you're on top of it, things are going well, then all of a sudden, a large expense shows up, and you're taking money out of savings again, so how are you supposed to find more money to save? And you think to yourself, "Where can I find extra money in my budget? I've already cut back on eating out. I'm not shopping as much, i'm not really doing all the things I used to, so I don't understand why I can't see that I have extra money." And so with all of these efforts, with all of these thoughts, with all of this positioning, you s- you just think, "Okay, I'm just gonna deal with it later when the kids are gone or when I get a raise or fill in the blank," it's very easy to try to have find a solution, met against the wall, found some frustration, and then just say, "Okay, if circumstances change," which would be kids are leaving or I get a raise, "then I can do something with it." But waiting too long will have you missing opportunities to really get ahead, to actually find the money that you need to and put it to good use so that you can meet your goal. Sooner is better. So instead of waiting, the retirement strategy session can help you take that first step. Head over to elevatefinances.us/session to learn more. All right, so how do you find extra money, where do you go to find this extra money? Step one is I want you to shift from thinking about money as extra. That is the problem, there's no such thing as extra money for anyone. All right? I don't have extra money. You don't have extra money. Nobody has extra money. So if you're thinking, "I'm looking for that extra," the only place you're going to find that is the penny on the ground or the dollar bill on the ground that someone is no longer around has lost, it wasn't even extra for them, but it's extra for you now. That is the only time. What you need to do, you need to shift that word from extra to savings, where do I find savings in my money? Where do I find savings that are going to help create or help me reach my goals and my desires? Okay, so we're shifting from the word extra to savings. We do have savings. We don't have extra Step number two, you need to budget with the intent of identifying savings. I think most of the time when people go to budget 99%, maybe 75%, people head in and think, "Okay, I'm being restrictive 'cause I gotta cut back on my spending. I've gotta do these things." And that's really the wrong approach to budgeting, you really need to head in With the intent of identifying your savings. So this is truly what you have left after you have identified how much you pay for bills every month and how much your spending is, that's not really a month, but for right now, that's what you're gonna use. What is left over from that becomes your savings. My client discovered this when she came to work with me, client E came to me saying she didn't have enough money, and she says, "I don't spend a lot either." And that last statement was true. She wasn't spending on a lot of things. She was my lower income earner that I've worked with on the course of these four and a half years. And after the s- the first session, the retirement strategy session, I helped her discover that she had $400 available for savings every month. She felt like she didn't have any. I helped her find the 400. This is how you actually budget. So from my low income earner, which is Client E, to my high income earner, which is K, Client K, she has $3,000. It does depend on what you make, but in everybody's, minus one individual I have worked with, d- all of them had savings, no matter how they felt. So when you can identify your savings your, quote, extra, this is the money that you can then use to help support your stability and reaching retirement. This is the money that you're gonna control and direct to reaching your goals and desires. Now, how you do that is how you manage your money, and I will be talking about that in an upcoming episode, but it's important to recognize that I can't let this X number amount of dollars, so Client E, $400, we helped set up a plan that helped put all of that into place for whatever her goals and desires were. Step number three. So we've budgeted, we found our amount. Now, we do have our bills and our spending. Most people go to spending. You already did. We talked about that at the beginning of the episode. Cutting your eating out, cutting your... A lot of people love to cut their grocery budget. My number one piece of advice, do not start there, do not start there. You cannot balance your budget on groceries. It's not effective, it's not fun, and it's not going to be worth it. So where do you go to find these possibilities within your expenses? The one I'm gonna use that I can demonstrate very easily, everybody has is insurance. Whether it's auto, home, or both, they have deductibles. Now, if you don't know, most people do, the higher your deductible, the lower your premium. And a lot of people some people that I've heard they'll decrease it down to $250 for their deductible. Then they don't have to pay anything in the end. However, if you increase, I think standard, usually they quote you at about 500, take it up to 1,000. You may see a savings of up to 100, $150 a year, depending on where you live how much you're already doing. So you're gonna save on your premium. How much in a year this can go to support your goals and desires. Now, you've increased your deductible to 1,000. You have to have that $1,000 sitting somewhere just in case something happens. That's why a lot of people choose the 250, 'cause they don't wanna plan for this 1,000. But if you take this $1,000 you are going to actually get some extra money. Okay, this is where I would say this is extra. You're gonna park your $1,000 in a high-yield savings account. Right now they're earning right around 3%, and you're gonna leave it there till you need it, and it's gonna sit there. That means you're gonna earn $30 a year. Now, I just heard you, 'cause my clients do it too, "But it's only $30." Don't only yourself 20 times, 'cause what if it was $30 20 times? That's a large amount of money. So you gotta start somewhere. This is-- Truly, that savings is extra money So there are many other areas to explore within your expenses of what you're already paying to make sure that you're getting the best price, and then taking that money and shifting it to your savings. Again, that is all supported really well when you have a system, and that money system is what we will be talking about in an upcoming episode about how to manage your money. That's really where things get lost. That's really where people really miss out on that power of savings As we wrap up this episode, I want you to not think about extra money anymore, and even if you haven't been and you've been really struggling with trying to find savings, I want you to add the word potential. Where could I find potential savings? Where are the opportunities to grab a few more dollars, I think sometimes we are wanting something bigger than, 'cause that's gonna solve the problem, rather than compounding on these smaller amounts time after time. So if you're frustrated because you feel like there's no extra money to save, I want you to stop guesting- stop guessing and find out what's actually possible. Book a retirement strategy session with me. You can head over to elevatefinances.us/session, and in that session we'll look at your numbers together. We're gonna uncover your monthly savings availability, and identify the next steps for you to turn that savings into progwe- progress, not only towards your retirement, but the other dreams and desires that you have. It's really important to not get stuck on, extra or I don't have enough money or, I just need to make more. These are all things that we can't control in a lot of sense. So if we can come back to actually learning how to control what we have and lose the restriction, that is the biggest piece I work on with all of my clients, is to step away from that restriction and more into the freedom. Giving yourself grace in bills and spending so that you can save, that's what we do together, is I don't say, "You need to cut this so you're gonna have this much to save." I said, "This is what you're spending. Go and spend it freely. Go make sure that is how much you're spending," especially if you haven't tracked before. So being able to, number one, get out of that thought of extra money and getting away from the restriction has to happen for it to be possible, none of that is true, looking at it differently, having somebody to support you through that will help you begin to see what you actually do have. And once you see what you do have, your goals, your dreams are endless. So- That's it for today. I hope this gave you a little more clarity, a little more confidence around your money. Keep going. You're more capable than you s- think, and I'll see you next week /p>

If you know you need to save more for retirement but feel like there simply isn’t any money left, you’re not alone. Life is expensive. Groceries cost more, kids have expenses, unexpected bills pop up, and even when you feel like you’re finally getting ahead, something happens that sends you back into your savings account.

So you start asking yourself, “Where can I find extra money in my budget for retirement savings?”

Maybe you’ve already cut back on eating out. You’re shopping less. You’ve tried to be more careful with your spending, but you still don’t see the extra money everyone says you should be saving.

And eventually, it becomes easy to say, “I’ll deal with this later.”

Maybe when the kids are gone. Maybe when you get a raise. Maybe when things aren’t quite so expensive.

But waiting can mean missing opportunities you have right now.

The good news is that finding money to save doesn’t necessarily mean cutting more out of your life. It starts with changing how you think about the money you already have.

Stop Looking for “Extra” Money

The first mindset shift I want you to make is simple: Stop looking for extra money. Start looking for savings.

There really isn’t such a thing as “extra” money.

Think about it. If you received an unexpected $100, you probably already have somewhere it could go. You could use it for groceries, put it toward a bill, spend it on something you’ve been wanting, or put it into savings.

That $100 isn’t inherently extra. It’s money you have to make an intentional decision about.

When you’re budgeting for retirement, I want you to stop asking:

“Where can I find extra money?”

Instead, ask:

“Where can I find savings that can help me reach my goals and desires?”

That small shift changes the conversation.

You’re no longer looking for money that magically appears. You’re looking for opportunities within the money you already have.

Budget With the Intention of Finding Savings

The second step is to change the purpose of your budget.

For many people, budgeting feels restrictive. They think, “I have to cut back. I have to stop spending. I have to say no to things.” That’s not how I want you to approach your budget. Instead, budget with the intention of identifying your savings.

Start by looking at your monthly income. Then identify your bills and your spending. What’s left? That amount is your potential savings.

This doesn’t mean you have to immediately put every dollar into retirement. It means you now have information about what is actually available to you.

And this is where things can get really interesting.

You May Have More Savings Potential Than You Think

I’ve worked with clients who were convinced they didn’t have enough money to save.

One client came to me saying exactly that. She told me she didn’t have enough money and she didn’t spend a lot either.

After our initial work together, we discovered that she had $400 available for savings every month.

She genuinely didn’t believe that money was there. And she’s not the only client I’ve seen this happen with. I’ve worked with clients across a wide range of incomes, and almost every one of them has had some amount of savings available once we actually looked at the numbers.

The amount is different for everyone. One client may have $400 available. Another may have $3,000. The point isn’t the number. The point is discovering your monthly savings amount. Once you know what’s available, you can make a plan for it.

That money can support your retirement savings, your emergency fund, debt payoff, or other goals and desires you have for your life. The first step is knowing it exists.

Don’t Start by Cutting Your Grocery Budget

When people decide they need to save more, one of the first things they often do is start cutting their everyday spending. They stop eating out. They shop less. And they often go straight for the grocery budget. My advice? Don’t start there.

You can certainly look for ways to be more intentional with your spending, but trying to balance your entire budget by cutting groceries isn’t usually effective or particularly enjoyable. Instead, look for opportunities within the expenses you already have.

Ask yourself: “Am I getting the best value for what I’m already paying?” This is where you may find savings you weren’t expecting.

Look for Savings Within Your Existing Expenses

Insurance is a good example. If you have auto or homeowners insurance, you have a deductible. Generally, a higher deductible can mean a lower premium.

Now, this is not a recommendation to change your deductible without considering your circumstances. You need to make sure you could actually cover the higher deductible if you needed to.

But let's say you determine that increasing your deductible from $500 to $1,000 would reduce your insurance premium. Maybe that change saves you $100 or $150 a year. That’s money you can redirect toward your savings goals.

And if you increase your deductible, you need to have that $1,000 available somewhere. Keeping it in a high-yield savings account so the money is accessible and let it work for you by earning interest. For example right now high yield savings accounts are paying an annual rate of 3%. Letting this money sit here will have you earning about $30 in a year. This is truly “extra” money.

You might be thinking, “But it’s only $30.” I hear this all the time. But don’t “only” yourself out of the opportunity. What happens when you find $30 here, $50 there, and $100 somewhere else and then you consistently save those amounts?

Small savings can become meaningful when you give them time to compound.

Change Your Retirement Mindset

This is ultimately a retirement mindset shift.

Instead of thinking: “I don’t have any extra money.”

Start asking: “Where is my potential savings?” 

Where are the opportunities? What am I already spending that could be adjusted? What am I paying for that I could potentially reduce? What money could I redirect toward something that matters more to me?

You may not find hundreds or thousands of dollars immediately. But you don’t need to find everything at once.

Sometimes we’re so focused on finding the big solution that we overlook the smaller opportunities right in front of us.

And small amounts, consistently saved and invested over time, can become significant.

Your Savings Potential Is Worth Finding

If you’re frustrated because you feel like there’s no extra money to save, stop guessing and find out what’s actually possible.

You don’t have to figure it out by yourself. In a Retirement Strategy Session, we’ll look at your numbers together, uncover your monthly savings availability, and identify the next steps for turning that savings into progress, not only toward retirement, but toward the other dreams and desires you have for your life.

The goal isn’t to create more restriction. It’s to give you more clarity and more freedom with the money you already have. Because once you can see what you actually have, you can start making intentional decisions about what’s possible. You may have more potential than you think.