Even with sufficient income, saving $10,000 within a year still requires significant effort. To reach this goal within 12 months, you’ll have to save around $830 per month. To save $10,000 in just six months, you’ll have to save over $1,600 each month.
We have seven suggestions to help make your $10,000 savings goal a reality.
If you have the income to save $10,000 but struggle to make that goal a reality, simplify the process by automating your savings contributions.
Automatic direct deposits and scheduled ACH transfers eliminate the need to manually transfer cash, helping you to reach savings goals without relying on willpower.
If you have direct deposit set up with your employer, you can choose how to allocate your paycheck. For example, if you make $2,500 biweekly, you can allocate 16% of your paycheck ($400) to your savings account and the remaining 84% to your checking account. Saving $400 biweekly will net $10,400 in one year.
If saving $10,000 from your income alone is tough, consider putting some of your existing cash to work through investing. Depending on where you invest, you could see substantial returns — but there’s always some risk involved with investing.
There are multiple investing options to check out:
There are also robo-investing platforms to compare, which invest for you automatically.
Saving $10,000 in under a year is a lofty goal, and your odds of success are higher if you make a budget.
A classic budget is the 50/30/20 rule, which stipulates that you should spend 50% of your income, 30% on wants and 20% on savings.
If you follow the 50/30/20 rule strictly, you could reach a $10,000 goal within 12 months if your annual income is at least $50,000. Making $50,000 equates to $4,166 per month, and saving 20% is around $833 per month or $9,996 in a year.
For help making a budget, check out budget apps like You Need a Budget (YNAB), Goodbudget and EveryDollar. Each app offers its own perks, budgeting style and pricing, so compare budget apps and methods to find one that fits your lifestyle.
You’ll likely need a place to store your savings, right? As you work toward that $10,000 goal — and even after reaching it — consider putting your funds in a high-yield savings account (HYSA).
The average savings account rate is 0.43%, while high-yield savings accounts sometimes offer APYs into the 4% to 5% range.(1)
With a high savings rate, your funds can grow passively and combat inflation.
| Savings APY | Balance | Interest earnings after 1 month | Interest earnings after 6 months | Interest earnings after 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.00% | $10,000 | $40.74 | $246.95 | $500 |
| 0.43% | $10,000 | $3.74 | $22.47 | $45 |
It’s easier said than done, but cutting down on extra expenses is likely a must if you’re trying to save $10,000 in a year.
Discipline will be required to cut your unnecessary spending. Here are some tips to help:
I know what you’re thinking — wouldn’t it be better to save money instead of putting it toward debt? However, once you pay off your debts, you’ll have more disposable income for your savings goals.
High credit card balances mean higher monthly minimum payments. Every month that a credit card balance rolls over into the next billing cycle, you accumulate more debt thanks to high interest rates.
Work to pay down your credit card balances to avoid interest charges and free up monthly income for your savings account. As a bonus, paying down credit cards can also improve your credit score.
If you want to save $10,000 in under one year, the 100 Envelope Savings challenge can help you save a little over $5,000 in 100 days. If you do the challenge twice, that will yield $10,100.
The 100 Envelope Savings Challenge is pretty simple. To start, gather 100 envelopes and label them one through 100. For 100 days, fill one envelope per day with the amount matching the envelope’s number. For example, add $1 in ‘one,’ $100 in ‘100’ and so on.
By the end of 100 days, you’ll have saved $5,050. Also, you can stuff the envelopes in any order, such as filling the $100 envelope on payday and filling the $1 envelope when you’re tight on cash.
Related: How to save $5K
Narrow down top savings accounts by monthly fees, APYs and features. For a closer comparison, tick the Compare box on multiple options to see the benefits side by side.
The Finder Score crunches over 250 savings accounts from hundreds of financial institutions. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees, opening deposit and features - this gives you a simple score out of 10.
To provide a Score, Finder’s banking experts analyze hundreds of savings accounts against FDIC-reported national averages as a baseline. Accounts with rates well over the national average are scored the highest, while accounts with rates well below are scored low.
We won’t lie — saving $10,000 within one year is a lofty goal, but if you’re determined, it’s possible with careful planning and some elbow grease. Stretching the $10,000 goal to 24 months can be easier on your wallet, requiring you to save $417 over 12 months instead of $834.
Placing your savings in a HYSA can passively grow your funds and provide peace of mind with federal deposit insurance. Compare and read our savings account guides for more top accounts to store and grow your savings.
CDs lock in your APY and funds for a set period, while HYSAs allow easier access to your savings with varying rates.
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Some of the top banks with the highest interest rates are Customers Bank, TAB Bank, Cloud, UFB, Bread, Bask, Upgrade, Varo and more.