In this era of low interest rates and low wage growth you need to maximise your money in every way possible.
The interest rates offered by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) may not get your savings to where they need to be.
To do that, you may need to take action to make your money work as hard as you can.
Become a minimalist
Buying stuff needlessly is one of the biggest things stopping people from reaching financial freedom. If you buy less stuff then that obviously reduces your expenses. Less things means less clutter, less things taking up your mental space and so on. Focus on owning things that are truly important to you, or 'bring you joy' as Marie Kondo might say.
Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus from "The Minimalists" have a great documentary on Netflix that talks about how advertising and consumerism is a major factor for why our lives seem so stressed and cluttered.
There is no 'right' way to be a minimalist but even so, this approach may not be for everyone.
Get the best interest rate on your savings
A simple way to boost your savings is to find the best interest rate you can for your cash.
There are a number of comparison sites like Finder and Mozo to see if you can get a better interest rate.
As long as you follow the various rules set by the bank, you could get an interest rate of 2.8% or more with some of the options that are out there.
Use an offset account
Asking your bank for a lower interest rate isn't the only way to save on your mortgage.
You could also make the most of your offset account by funnelling lots of cash into it. Not only are your saving money at the mortgage interest rate (which is higher than a savings account) but it's more tax efficient too because you aren't earning taxable interest.
