Almost one-third of Americans arent saving for retirement, according to a 2014 survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
But thats not to say Americans dont want to save. USA Today reported this week that Americans have the desire to save money but dont feel as though they make enough to actually afford putting money away.
Its also a matter of American culture, where Americans feel safe not saving for retirement since they know there are welfare programs to keep them afloat, USA Today reported.
"Life is pretty stable here, and we have basic safety nets in place, Charles Sizemore, chief investment officer at Sizemore Capital Management, told USA Today. The countries with the highest savings rates tend to have little or no safety nets, and people are forced to fend for themselves in old age. So in a lot of ways, our success and stability have made us a little lax in our attitudes toward saving.
Experts told USA Today that one of the best ways Americans can begin to save for retirement, though, is to cut back on expenses and start putting money away sooner rather than later.
But that's easier said than done. To help, here are 11 websites that offer affordable ways to save money for learning, shopping and leisure activities that could give you the room to start saving for retirement.
Memrise.com
This free websites gives users access to more than 300,000 foreign language courses.
Coursera.org
Want to advance your career? Coursera.org can help you do just that. The website offers free versions of college courses from across the world.
Songza.com
Songza is a free website that offers users a chance to hear any song of any genre from any decade depending on your mood.
Pixlr.com
Adobe Photoshop costs a pretty penny ($240), which can put your desires to edit photos to a halt if you're looking to save. Luckily, Pixlr offers an easy-to-use and free version of the photo editor, with many of the same capabilities.
Codeacademy.com
Learning how to code can certainly help boost your resume. Check out codeacademy.com for some easy instructions and tutorials.
Thredup.com
ThredUP makes it easy to be fashionable at affordable prices. The online consignment shop offers moderately priced clothing for both women and children.
Paperbackswap.com
Book trading has made its way online with Paperback Swap. The website allows users to trade their books with other users in exchange for a new book of their own.
Swapadvd.com
If books arent your thing, Swap a DVD offers users a chance to exchange DVDs with each other.
Freeprintable.com
Cards, calendars and invitations can get expensive. But freeprintable.com offers users these printable items all for free.
Freecycle.org
Need something for your home but dont feel like shelling out the money for it? With Freecycle, you can check your local community to see if someones selling what you need.
Yapta.com
Airline prices can get sky high. Luckily, yapta.com lets you know when those prices go down and where the best deals are for airfare and hotels.
But thats not to say Americans dont want to save. USA Today reported this week that Americans have the desire to save money but dont feel as though they make enough to actually afford putting money away.
Its also a matter of American culture, where Americans feel safe not saving for retirement since they know there are welfare programs to keep them afloat, USA Today reported.
"Life is pretty stable here, and we have basic safety nets in place, Charles Sizemore, chief investment officer at Sizemore Capital Management, told USA Today. The countries with the highest savings rates tend to have little or no safety nets, and people are forced to fend for themselves in old age. So in a lot of ways, our success and stability have made us a little lax in our attitudes toward saving.
Experts told USA Today that one of the best ways Americans can begin to save for retirement, though, is to cut back on expenses and start putting money away sooner rather than later.
But that's easier said than done. To help, here are 11 websites that offer affordable ways to save money for learning, shopping and leisure activities that could give you the room to start saving for retirement.
Memrise.com
This free websites gives users access to more than 300,000 foreign language courses.
Coursera.org
Want to advance your career? Coursera.org can help you do just that. The website offers free versions of college courses from across the world.
Songza.com
Songza is a free website that offers users a chance to hear any song of any genre from any decade depending on your mood.
Pixlr.com
Adobe Photoshop costs a pretty penny ($240), which can put your desires to edit photos to a halt if you're looking to save. Luckily, Pixlr offers an easy-to-use and free version of the photo editor, with many of the same capabilities.
Codeacademy.com
Learning how to code can certainly help boost your resume. Check out codeacademy.com for some easy instructions and tutorials.
Thredup.com
ThredUP makes it easy to be fashionable at affordable prices. The online consignment shop offers moderately priced clothing for both women and children.
Paperbackswap.com
Book trading has made its way online with Paperback Swap. The website allows users to trade their books with other users in exchange for a new book of their own.
Swapadvd.com
If books arent your thing, Swap a DVD offers users a chance to exchange DVDs with each other.
Freeprintable.com
Cards, calendars and invitations can get expensive. But freeprintable.com offers users these printable items all for free.
Freecycle.org
Need something for your home but dont feel like shelling out the money for it? With Freecycle, you can check your local community to see if someones selling what you need.
Yapta.com
Airline prices can get sky high. Luckily, yapta.com lets you know when those prices go down and where the best deals are for airfare and hotels.
