DENVER -- An unexpected bill or health emergency can really hit you in the wallet, and according to Money Magazine, 60 percent of Americans don't have even $1,000 saved in case one of these expenses pop up.
But there are seven simple hacks to bolster that emergency fund, and you won't even notice your putting money away.
The first is the easiest: Save your spare change in a jar.
“Whenever I break a dollar, I take all of my change and put it into a jar. After a while I have enough to fill the jar, that's my vacation money. I keep all my change, I never spend any of it,” said Melissa Jordan.
If you never use cash, there are apps like Acorns that round up purchases you make on your phone, and that change is saved in an account.
You may have seen number two on Pinterest: It's called the $5 Savings Club -- each time you get a $5 bill, tuck it away in that spare change jar to speed up your savings.
The third hack is to hide your raise.
“Whenever I get a raise, I pretend like I never got it. I just take whatever the amount of my raise was, and put it into my savings,” said Jordan.
With just those three hacks, Jordan saved $2,000 in one year.
But if those don't work for you, there are other options.
For hack number four, prescription rewards programs can get you cash back and rebates for your medicine.
“They actually give you money. Like they'll say 'do you want to use this five bucks off this order,'” said Christina Tsurdiis.
She uses the prescription reward program at Walgreens because she has to get her medicine anyway, so she figures why not make some money off it.
Our smart phones are never far away and for hack five you can download rebate apps to scan receipts and get back cash on some items.
Mom Alex Singleton uses Ibotta to get about $25 in rebates a month, adding up to $300 a year.
"Ibotta is a life saver for me. I love it,” said Singleton.
The average American owes thousands in credit card debt, so for hack six it's worth checking with your credit card company to try and negotiate down your interest rate if you've paid your bills on time.
If you have more than one credit card it could be smart to consolidate them under one loan with a lower interest rate possibly saving you hundreds of dollars in interest every year.
A less exciting hack for number seven is tried and true.
Packing your lunch for work three days a week could save you $20 a week or $800 a year.
Most importantly: Don't give up! It takes a year of being consistent to see the savings.
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