62% of Workers Are Saving Less Due to Inflation. Here’s How to Keep Your Savings Going

You can weather inflation and still fund your savings account.

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Important points

• Inflation has forced many people to change their financial habits.
• It’s possible to stick with your savings efforts even as the cost of living increases.
• Taking up a side hustle is one way to fund your savings during tough economic times.

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When the cost of living began to soar last summer in response to a supply/demand mismatch, many people thought rampant inflation would be short-lived. Fast forward a year and that clearly wasn’t the case.

Inflation has been ravaging consumers since early 2022, and for some the impact has been worse than others. For example, many Americans have been forced to rack up unhealthy debt just to do things like leave the lights on and put food on the table. But even those who are more comfortable have to make cuts, such as cutting back on spending on leisure time and canceling vacations.

In a recent Morgan Stanley report, 62% of workers said they were saving less money due to the effects of inflation. And it’s easy to see why. But if you’d rather stick to your savings goals, there might be a solution that doesn’t require you to drastically cut back on your spending.

Benefit from the gig economy

While there is talk of a recession hitting the US economy later this year or early next year, the job market is good and strong right now. This could work to your advantage and help you reach the savings goals you’ve set for yourself.

If you’re willing to take on a side job, you might be able to continue funding your savings account or IRA at the pace you were comfortable with before inflation began to roar. And with the gig economy thriving, finding a part-time job might be easier than you think.

How to find the right part-time job

Your ideal side hustle should be one that can earn you a decent amount of money without sacrificing too much downtime. If you find a performance that suits you and is fun, all the better.

Of course, you need to consider your schedule and personal household situation when exploring a part-time job. For example, if you have young children, you may need a second job that you can work from home so that childcare costs don’t eat up your income. But either way, it will help to figure out:

• How much money you want to make each week to reach your savings goals
• How many hours can you afford to put in each week?
• Where you can work

From there you can narrow down your choices.

Keep in mind that you may be able to use skills from your main job to get a side job. If you’re a full-time accountant, you might find it easy to find an accounting job to do on the side.

Don’t give up your savings

As difficult as it may be to save at the same pace as before rampant inflation, keeping up with your savings could benefit you in the long run. And a part-time job could be your ticket to continuing to save nicely and consistently even at a time when money is tight because everything costs so much more than it used to.