How To Save $10,000 in a Year: 9 Simple Steps
Written by
Daria Uhlig
Edited by
Elizabeth Constantineau
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Saving $10,000 might sound ambitious — but it’s more doable than you think. Whether you’re building an emergency fund, paying off debt or planning for a big milestone, the key is to break the goal into smaller, manageable steps.
Even if your income is on the lower end, you’ll find these tips are doable. You can modify the savings target based on your situation and still build momentum. Here’s how to do it.
Saving $10,000: How Much To Save Each Week or Month
When it comes to your financial goals, breaking down the amount of money you need to save is a great way to stay motivated to achieve them. Having a precise number in mind, whether it’s daily, weekly or monthly, can help. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- If you want to save $10,000 in a year, you’ll need to save $833.33 a month.
- A weekly budget would work out to saving $384.61 every two weeks, or $192.31 per week.Â
- This also boils down to saving $27.40 a day to reach your $10,000 savings goal.
| Timeframe | Amount To Save | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | $27.40 | Save each day consistently |
| Weekly | $192.31 | Round up to $200 per week to make tracking easier |
| Biweekly | $384.61 | You can have this coincide with your paycheck schedule |
| Monthly | $833.33 | Set up automatic transfers to your savings account |
How To Save $10,000 in a Year
Whether it’s by examining and breaking down some of your biggest expenses or simply taking on some extra income, saving $10,000 in a year could be more doable than you think. Here’s how to save $10,000 in a year in nine simple steps:
1. Review Your Income and Spending Habits
You should know where every dollar is going. You can use a spreadsheet or budgeting app to list all income, including W-2 salaries, side gigs, investments, pensions or government benefits.
- Use your spreadsheet to track all income.
- Subtract expenses from the income.
- If you have $833.33 per month left, save that.
- Not enough left over? Find areas to cut spending and up your income.
- Go through your last few months’ worth of bank and credit card statements and receipts.
- Log your cash spending — small purchases you make without much thought add up.
2. Build a Budget That Supports Saving
A budget will keep you accountable for your spending. The first step is to divide your expenses into two main categories:
- Essential: Mandatory spending is any expense that’s necessary for your health, safety and financial well-being. Examples are groceries, bills, loan or credit card payments and medical care.
- Nonessential: Nonessential expenses are things you enjoy but could live without if you had to. Examples could be cable, subscriptions, gym memberships, meal deliveries or dining out.
Some essentials are fixed, such as rent or insurance payments. Calculate how much you need to put toward these each month.
Variable expenses like groceries, utility bills and credit card bills change from month to month. Average them out across 12 payments.
Add up your fixed and variable monthly expenses and subtract the total from your income. That’s how much you have left after your essential expenses. Subtract your $833.33 savings goal from that amount to see how much you have left for nonessentials.
3. Cut Unnecessary Expenses (Without Feeling Deprived)
Nonessentials are the easiest expenses to cut back on, so they make the next step toward giving your savings a major lift.
Cancel or Rotate Subscriptions
Look carefully at subscriptions to see which ones you can eliminate. Eliminating a few subscriptions, even if it’s $5 per month, can add up pretty quickly. If you don’t want to give them up entirely, rotate between your favorites, pausing those that you don’t need right now.
Cancel or Downgrade Your Gym Membership
Unless you’re a hardcore bodybuilder, bodyweight workouts can be a good, no-cost alternative to weight training at a gym. In addition, you can trade on-site fitness classes for free or low-cost online versions — or participate in a sport or other activity to maintain your fitness level.
Save on Entertainment
Instead of going out for full-priced dinners, opt for happy hours and restaurants with weekly specials, or go to lunch instead. Better yet, invite your friends to take turns hosting dinner parties, potluck dinners, wine tastings, game nights — whatever works for the type of entertainment you enjoy.
If you typically spend money on live performances, check for Groupon discounts before you buy tickets. Also, check local venues that might offer quality shows for less than the major venues charge.
Save on Gifts
Take advantage of savings offered by shopping apps like Rakuten, Ibotta and Capital One Shopping. You can even choose fewer or less expensive gifts — it’s the thought that counts.
4. Save on Your Must-Have Expenses
Essentials are the goods and services you can’t live without, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some of them for less.
Pay Less for Groceries
If you’re still buying name brands, particularly for things like paper products, consider switching to generics. And look at how much food you’re throwing out because it goes bad before you can eat it. Planning meals and shopping based on that plan can help you avoid overbuying and waste.
Warehouse Clubs
When you compare prices between the club and your regular grocery store, don’t forget to factor in the annual membership fee. If you only go to the warehouse club every couple of months, that $60 annual fee could be adding an extra $10 to your bill every time. Make sure it’s still worthwhile.
Cut Your Cable, Internet and Wireless Bills
Cable, internet and wireless providers are sometimes willing to discount services, but you’ll have to get on the phone with a representative to ask for a break. If they can’t, though, consider scaling back your data or transfer speeds or switching to a different provider to reduce your costs.
If you’re still paying for cable, switching to antenna TV and streaming over the internet service you’re already paying for could free up $100 a month, according to CNET.
Spends Less on Gas
Gas is taking a bite out of everyone’s budget these days, so be sure to shop around for the best price. Using a gas app can help you find the best deal wherever you are, even if it’s near home. Your regular gas station may not have the lowest price every day, so it helps to compare. And try to consolidate trips so you’re driving less and using less gas.
Reduce Your Insurance Premiums
It’s good to review your homeowners/renters and auto insurance policies periodically to make sure you have enough protection, first of all. Secondly, make sure you don’t have more than you need.
Eliminating collision and comprehensive coverage on an older car or increasing your deductibles as your savings grow could save you money on your premiums.
Shopping around for less expensive coverage or bundling policies with the same company to earn a discount also helps.
5. Earn More Income with Side Gigs or Raises
You have three options for increasing your income:
- Ask your employer for a raise
- Get a new, higher-paying job
- Take on a second job or side gig
Walking dogs, delivering groceries and ride-sharing can all bring in $17 to $21 an hour if you’re in an area with high demand, according to ZipRecruiter.
A Note of Caution
Set aside some of your additional income for taxes. If you earn extra money all year long, you may need to pay estimated taxes every quarter so that you aren’t penalized at tax time.
6. Use Bonuses and Windfalls to Boost Savings
When you get a windfall like a tax refund, year-end bonus or raise, it’s tempting to splurge on something you’ve been wanting. If you use that money to pay off high-interest debt or put it into savings right away, it can make a big dent in your $10,000 goal.
7. Avoid Losing Money to Interest or Fees
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, consumers who carry credit card debt paid 94% in interest and fees, but only earned 27% of the rewards from major credit card companies.
If you carry a balance on your credit cards — even if you’re racking up points and cash back — you’re paying extra every month for that tank of gas you’ve already used and that dinner you’ve long forgotten. Pay off your credit cards, and then stop using them.
Pro Tip
If you have credit cards that charge an annual fee, consider getting rid of them. There are so many fee-free cards that have rewards and other bells and whistles, there’s no reason to pay an annual fee if you’re not getting the value back in rewards.
8. Automate Your Savings So You Don’t Miss a Goal
This will help you stay on track with your savings goals. Have your direct deposit send a percentage of your paycheck into a savings account. If you have a side hustle, put that money directly into savings, too, making sure you account for taxes.
9. Let Your Money Grow in a High-Yield Account
The average savings account balance earns just 0.38% interest as of June 16, 2025. However, some high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit pay over 10 times that much.
How much difference does this make? At 3.80% interest compounded daily, a $10,000 savings balance would grow to $10,387.29 after a year — that’s $387.29 in free money, with no risk to your initial deposit. At 0.38% interest, the same $10,000 balance would grow by just $38.
Common Pitfalls To Avoid When Saving
When it comes to saving money, there are some common pitfalls to be aware of. Keeping these in mind can help you live your life, but also reach your goals. Here are some examples:
- Be flexible and ready to adjust: Stay flexible and adjust your budget along with your savings goals when life changes, such as when pay raises or rent increases happen.
- Don’t cut too much: Don’t be too extreme when cutting expenses. Being frugal is one thing, but reducing your quality of life is another. Make sure to strike the right balance.
- Avoid impulse purchases: Only get things on your shopping list, and don’t give in to buying things off the cuff.Â
- Don’t go off course: Stick to your plan when you set your financial goals. A plan in place takes out some of the guesswork, and a stitch in time saves, well, money.Â
Final Tips To Stay On Track and Avoid Burnout
If you take all of these steps and you realize the projected savings indicated, you’ll have saved $10,000 by the end of the year. Now you can put that money toward a special long-term goal or keep it in the bank as an emergency fund.
Ready to start saving? Set a reminder to transfer money weekly and track your progress using free budgeting tools. Every dollar saved moves you closer to your $10,000 goal.
How To Save $10,000 in a Year FAQ
Here are your answers to frequently asked questions about saving $10,000 in one year.- How long should it take to save $10,000?
- If you save $500 a month, it would take you 20 months — close to two years — to save $10,000. You can increase or decrease your monthly savings to save $10,000 in more or less time.
- Saving $10,000 in one year would mean saving $833.33 every month.
- How can I save $10,000 in three months?
- To save $10,000 in three months, you would need to save $3,333.33 each month, or $833.33 per week. You can get started with that goal by examining your budget and determining what you can cut out, then deciding if you need to pick up a side gig or two.
- How can I save $10,000 in a year if I have a low income?
- Having a low income means that most or all of your money is probably going toward necessary expenses. With little or no fat to trim from your budget, you'll need to increase your income by at least $833.33 per month. You can do that by getting a raise, switching to a higher-paying job or taking a second job or side gig.
- Socking away windfall income like tax refunds, work bonuses and gifts will also help you meet your goal.
- Another way to earn income is to sell household items you don't use anymore. Online marketplaces make it easy to earn cash from these belongings.
- If you put your windfall money and sale proceeds straight into a savings account, you can either subtract their totals from the amount you need to reach $10,000 and recalculate how much you need to save weekly or monthly, or keep saving at the same rate and reach $10,000 sooner.
- How do I create a budget that helps me save money?
- Start by listing all your monthly expenses and categorizing them as essentials (like rent and groceries) or nonessentials (like dining out).
- Subtract your essentials from your income to see what’s available for saving or debt repayment.
- Cut back on nonessential spending where you can, then commit to saving a set amount each paycheck and paying down high-interest debt.
- Use free budgeting apps, like Rocket Money or EveryDollar, to track your budget without extra costs.
- Is it better to pay off debt or save money?
- Both are important, and you can work toward both goals simultaneously. But experts often recommend that you start by establishing an emergency fund while continuing to make minimum payments on your debt. An initial goal of $1,000 is enough to cover many emergency expenses without going deeper into debt.
- Gradually expand your emergency savings to equal three to six months' of living expenses. At the same time, make extra principal payments to knock out debt.
- Consider using a system to keep your debt repayment on track. For quick results that keep you motivated, you might tackle the account with the lowest balance first. For higher interest savings over a long time, you might start with the account with the highest interest rate instead. Either way, consistency is key.
- What’s the best app to help save $10,000?
- The best app to help save $10,000 will depend on your own financial habits and goals, but Qapital is a popular option that costs $3 per month. You can set up a goal to save in the app.
- You might also consider a budget app such as You Need a Budget, which costs $14.99 a month or $109 for a yearly subscription.
- Finally, you can also check your current bank. For example, Ally Bank offers buckets where you can designate amounts to be used for an occasion, such as a wedding, education or another category of your choosing. You can even set up automatic transfers to save directly into this bucket.
- Should I pay off debt or save $10,000 first?
- Although paying off debt has long been the conventional wisdom, you don't have to choose one over the other. You can start by focusing on high-interest debt first, and then work on building an emergency fund -- up to $1,000 is a good start. It's about taking a balanced approach — most of your money goes toward debt and then a little into savings. Once you've gotten rid of the debt, you have more wiggle room to focus on saving.
- What’s the easiest way to automate $10,000 in savings?
- The easiest way to automate $10,000 in savings is to set it up to go from your checking account to your savings. You can have this schedule align with your paycheck.
- Another method you can try is setting up direct deposit, with a portion going to checking and another to savings.
- Either way, these options make the process effortless, and you can save money without having to think too much about it.
- How can I save $10,000 in a year on a biweekly basis?
- You'll need to save around $384 every two weeks to hit your $10,000 goal in 12 months. Automating those transfers into a separate savings account can make it easier to stay consistent.
- What is the $10,000 savings challenge?
- This savings challenge is where you set aside $10,000 in one year through consistent saving. You can break it down however works best for you — daily, weekly or monthly.
- Is it really possible to save $10,000 in a year?
- Yes, but it depends on your income and expenses. For many people, it's doable with a combination of budgeting, reduced spending and increased income.
Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.
Our in-house research team and on-site financial experts work together to create content that’s accurate, impartial, and up to date. We fact-check every single statistic, quote and fact using trusted primary resources to make sure the information we provide is correct. You can learn more about GOBankingRates’ processes and standards in our editorial policy.
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