I Want to Save an Extra $5,000 in 2024. Here's How I Plan to Do It

In 2024, one of my financial goals is to save an extra $5,000. Specifically, I want to put $5,000 more into my brokerage account than I did in 2023. That's a lot of money, but I'm hopeful I can accomplish my financial goal and make the investment by the end of 2024.

My plan for finding an extra $5,000 to invest is a simple one, and it's one I feel pretty confident will work out. Here's what I'm going to do to find the funds.

Here's how I plan to save an extra $5,000

My plan for saving an extra $5,000 in 2024 is to increase my income by $5,000. Here's why I've chosen this route, instead of cutting my spending.

If I break my $5,000 goal into a smaller monthly goal, to hit my target I need to save $416.67 per month. Now, I could try to cut that amount from my spending, but it would be really hard. I don't spend that much on dining out and that makes up a good chunk of my entertainment budget. I also don't have a car payment I could get rid of and I can't easily change my fixed expenses, like my mortgage.

Basically, cutting my spending by $416.67 a month would be challenging and might involve making some lifestyle changes I'm not happy with and are hard to stick with throughout the year. I could try to do that, but I'd probably be setting myself up for failure since I'd have to force myself to do the right thing every month.

Rather than doing that, it's easier to put in some extra hours at work and make an extra $416.67 each month. This is especially simple for me because I'm a freelancer and I have more control over how much I work. But, it's actually doable for many people.

Side hustles earn $483 a month on average, so you could pick up a side gig if you also wanted to save $5,000 and boost your personal finances. Or, if you make $20 an hour and can work some overtime at your job and earn time and a half, you'd only have to work an extra 13 hours during each month -- or just over three hours extra a week -- to hit your target.

Doing a few extra hours of work a month can be a lot more sustainable than stripping all of the fun out of your life. And if you have a more modest goal than saving an extra $5,000 -- like saving an extra $1,000 -- you'd have to do even less.

You could also ask your boss about getting on the promotion track, try to negotiate a raise at your performance review, or look for a better paying job to increase your income without putting in those extra hours.

Could increasing your income help you accomplish your financial goals?

The reality is, making long-term changes to spending habits can be hard, especially if they involve continual small sacrifices. It can be far more beneficial to find ways to increase your income -- especially if you can do so by expanding your skills or negotiating for a raise.

Just be sure when the extra money hits your bank account, that you route it to your goals so your efforts help you accomplish the things that matter to you.