{"id":15058,"date":"2017-01-10T07:55:23","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T13:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?p=15058"},"modified":"2021-08-16T15:34:52","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T20:34:52","slug":"how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Creative Ways to Grow Your Nest Egg"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new year is here and it\u2019s time to get excited about your finances! Let\u2019s change our mindset when it comes to money. Rather than dread, wonder, or wish, be proactive and take control of your financial situations this year and build that nest egg!<\/p>\n

YOU are the boss of every penny coming in and out of your pocket. Take it seriously and use this power as a force of opportunity to better your life. The path to financial success is not about wanting to win the lottery or waiting for that rock-star raise. It\u2019s about being mindful of your spending and saving. A little bit every day adds up to a nice little nest egg at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Here are 15 ideas to help you save your hard earned money this year. Print out this list and pin it on your bulletin board so you can see it every day. Keep your eye on the final goal: to building savings!<\/p>\n

Here are 15 ways to boost your nest egg this year:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Set the amount of money that you want to save for the year, if not, then at least the month: $50, $100, or $1,000.<\/strong> This is really important because otherwise you are leaving your goal open-ended. Write this number down, hang it up where you can see it every day. Also, sit down and make a list why you need to save this money. How will it make your life better? What stress will it relieve? What will you be able to do that you couldn\u2019t before?<\/li>\n
  2. Create a savings journal.<\/strong> Document all the money you are saving and how. This is great because it will show you your accomplishments and motivate you to keep going!<\/li>\n
  3. Brainstorm.<\/strong> In that same journal, use a page to brainstorm the different ways you can bring in extra money <\/a> and even save money on your splurges<\/a> to get closer to your goal.<\/li>\n
  4. Set a monthly amount for guilty pleasure purchases:<\/strong> $20, $50, or $100… That way you won\u2019t go overboard on the purchases and it will teach you to choose wisely. Document these splurges in your journal too. You can use the H&R Block Emerald Prepaid Mastercard\u00ae<\/a> to do this. With the card, you can keep more of your hard-earned money to use on whatever you want. Plus, there are no setup fees, monthly activity fees, or overdraft fees!<\/li>\n
  5. Ask these questions before every purchase:<\/strong> \u201cHow will buying this add to the big picture of my life? and \u201cIs this purchase more important than my goal?\u201d<\/li>\n
  6. Call all your utility companies.<\/strong> Ask for them to access your account to see if you can find a lower priced plan. Especially with cable, cell phones and electricity. Document the savings in your journal!<\/li>\n
  7. Review old bank statements.<\/strong> Look for any and all fees from online subscriptions, clubs, magazines, and cancel as many as you can.<\/li>\n
  8. Go through your kitchen, craft supplies, cooking supplies, combine items, purge everything old.<\/strong> Always make use of what you have before you buy new items.<\/li>\n
  9. Create a positivity jar.<\/strong> Every time you complain, whine, gripe or swear, you have to put $5 in the jar! Not just you, but your family members too. This will encourage everyone to change their wording for the positive!<\/li>\n
  10. Ditch the gym.<\/strong> Instead, make use of local parks, your neighborhood, outdoor malls for running and walking.<\/li>\n
  11. Forget traditional education.<\/strong> Rather than sign up for classes, either online or in-person, first see if you can find free tutorials online and on YouTube. Be sure to check the dates to make sure it is current information.<\/li>\n
  12. Cut back on eating out at restaurants.<\/strong> Try looking up recipes online that you can make at home.<\/li>\n
  13. Switch up movie times<\/strong>. If you love entertainment, see your movies during matinee hours and look for coupons online.<\/li>\n
  14. If you have a 401(k) plan, read the fine print, call your human resources department and see how you can adjust it to save even more money.<\/strong> If you are self-employed, visit a financial advisor<\/a> to set up a long-term interest-growing savings account.<\/li>\n
  15. Subscribe to free money management podcasts<\/a>.<\/strong> Listen to while commuting to work or cleaning your house. Educate yourself on ways to you can improve your financial well-being!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I hope these tips help you get started this upcoming year, because we all want that little extra money in our savings accounts.<\/p>\n

    Head here for more budgeting and savings tips<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The new year is here and it\u2019s time to get excited about your finances! Let\u2019s change our mindset when it comes to money. Rather than dread, wonder, or wish, be proactive and take control of your financial situations this year and build that nest egg! YOU are the boss of every penny coming in and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":26193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,4783],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-financial-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"How to Grow Your Nest Egg in 2017 | H&R Block<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Be proactive and take control of your financial situations this year. H&R Block tax experts are sharing how to save more money in 2017 - learn more here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"15 Creative Ways to Grow Your Nest Egg\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Be proactive and take control of your financial situations this year. H&R Block tax experts are sharing how to save more money in 2017 - learn more here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"H&R Block\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-10T13:55:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-16T20:34:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"940\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"H&R Block\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"H&R Block\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"H&R Block\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f4718b72c980dd652973129a5e10b6e9\"},\"headline\":\"15 Creative Ways to Grow Your Nest Egg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-10T13:55:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-16T20:34:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":750,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\",\"Financial education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Grow Your Nest Egg in 2017 | H&R Block\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-10T13:55:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-16T20:34:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f4718b72c980dd652973129a5e10b6e9\"},\"description\":\"Be proactive and take control of your financial situations this year. H&R Block tax experts are sharing how to save more money in 2017 - learn more here.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg\",\"width\":940,\"height\":350},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/lifestyle\\\/financial-education\\\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"15 Creative Ways to Grow Your Nest Egg\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"H&R Block\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f4718b72c980dd652973129a5e10b6e9\",\"name\":\"H&R Block\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d3f2ab55aa4ed027afc8ce9fd703aa438b2279c917744a6f2b3741d614ca47b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d3f2ab55aa4ed027afc8ce9fd703aa438b2279c917744a6f2b3741d614ca47b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d3f2ab55aa4ed027afc8ce9fd703aa438b2279c917744a6f2b3741d614ca47b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"H&R Block\"},\"description\":\"The social media team at H&R Block works to provide valuable tax and personal finance information to clients - and potential clients.\"}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Grow Your Nest Egg in 2017 | H&R Block","description":"Be proactive and take control of your financial situations this year. H&R Block tax experts are sharing how to save more money in 2017 - learn more here.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"15 Creative Ways to Grow Your Nest Egg","og_description":"Be proactive and take control of your financial situations this year. H&R Block tax experts are sharing how to save more money in 2017 - learn more here.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/","og_site_name":"H&R Block","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock","article_published_time":"2017-01-10T13:55:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-08-16T20:34:52+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg","width":940,"height":350,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"H&R Block","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@hrblock","twitter_site":"@hrblock","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"H&R Block","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/"},"author":{"name":"H&R Block","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/f4718b72c980dd652973129a5e10b6e9"},"headline":"15 Creative Ways to Grow Your Nest Egg","datePublished":"2017-01-10T13:55:23+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-16T20:34:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/"},"wordCount":750,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg","articleSection":["Lifestyle","Financial education"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/","name":"How to Grow Your Nest Egg in 2017 | H&R Block","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg","datePublished":"2017-01-10T13:55:23+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-16T20:34:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/f4718b72c980dd652973129a5e10b6e9"},"description":"Be proactive and take control of your financial situations this year. H&R Block tax experts are sharing how to save more money in 2017 - learn more here.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/golden-nest-egg-940x350.jpg","width":940,"height":350},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/lifestyle\/financial-education\/how-to-grow-nest-egg-2017\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"15 Creative Ways to Grow Your Nest Egg"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/","name":"H&R Block","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/f4718b72c980dd652973129a5e10b6e9","name":"H&R Block","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3f2ab55aa4ed027afc8ce9fd703aa438b2279c917744a6f2b3741d614ca47b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3f2ab55aa4ed027afc8ce9fd703aa438b2279c917744a6f2b3741d614ca47b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3f2ab55aa4ed027afc8ce9fd703aa438b2279c917744a6f2b3741d614ca47b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"H&R Block"},"description":"The social media team at H&R Block works to provide valuable tax and personal finance information to clients - and potential clients."}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}