A woman places a coin into a piggy bank.

Helpful Ways to Grow Your Savings Account!

_{If you’re reading this, chances are saving money is important to you. Whether you’re saving for a specific goal (like a car, house, or dream vacation), for retirement, or just to make sure you can cover the basics should something unexpected happen, making the most of your savings can seem hard.}_{Here are a few ways to help grow your savings.}

^{Open a Savings Account. This sounds basic, but many people still don’t have one. Setting aside money in a savings account, even if it’s just $100, is still a step to increasing your savings.}

^{Set Up Recurring Transfers. By far the easiest and most popular method for growing your savings is to set up automatic funds transfers from your checking account into your savings account on a weekly or monthly basis. Start out small, increase these amounts annually, and watch your savings grow! First Bank & Trust Co. customers can start utilizing this feature right away through their E-Banker and Mobile App. Learn More}

^{Pay Yourself First. Most people who have direct deposit from their jobs have their paychecks deposited directly into their checking accounts, and then after the bills are paid, transfer what’s left into their savings account. If you’re looking to save more though, you might consider setting up your direct deposit to automatically deposit 10% of each paycheck into your savings account. Boom! This is a great way to increase your savings!}

^{Be Specific on Your Savings Goal. Saying, “I need to save more money” may be an accurate statement but it isn’t very motivating. If you really want to save more money, set a specific goal—one that is measurable and inspiring. For example, “I want to save $3,000 toward a trip to Paris next summer,” or “I want to contribute an additional 10% of my income each month toward my retirement account.” Doing this will help you see the end results and help you stay focused toward your goal.}

^{Challenge Yourself to Save More. If you're the competitive type, then set yourself a savings challenge. Be realistic. You wouldn’t set a challenge to lift 350 pounds in five days if you’ve never lifted before. Setting unrealistic financial challenges equals failure. Start with something small, such as $10 a week. You can eat out less, put your loose change in a piggy bank each night, find and use discount programs, or maybe skip the $5 mocha latte a couple of mornings. Then, deposit the money you save into your savings account!}

^{Think Twice or Just Say No. When you have a situation where you are considering taking money out of your savings account to pay for an unplanned expense, think twice, or even more than twice about what that decision means to your savings goals. It can be so easy to just transfer that money out, but in order to successfully grow your savings account, your deposits have to happen more often than your withdrawals. Just say no more often than you say yes to those spontaneous transfers.}

It's always the right time to grow your money and growing your money is investing in your future! At First Bank & Trust Co., we make it easy for you to save money and to make that money work harder for you. We offer a variety of savings solutions that can help take you from where you are now – to where you want to be.

Savings Accounts & Money Markets