With the New Year comes a renewed effort from people everywhere to start saving as part of their resolutions for 2017. Some are getting disheartened by the idea just because the thought of reducing expenses could mean cramping their lifestyle.

The Motley Fool and Bankrate offered outrageously easy tips on how to save money without necessarily having to let go of the things you love. However, keep in mind that saving money would mean that you really need to stop spending money on unnecessary stuff, but it does not mean that you have to starve yourself.

First, you need to know what you want to achieve and why you need to save. Are you going to use your savings for a trip, as emergency money, or for future retirement? Setting a specific monetary goal would help you know how much money you need to set aside monthly or biweekly.

Open a savings account and make sure that savings contribution can be done automatically. While it is good to trust yourself that you will have enough self-control to allocate part of your income for savings, it would be better if you let the machine do the saving. In doing so, you will learn to live with what's left of your money after the machine set aside part of it.

Before you start saving, make sure that you have emergency funds and a retirement account. You can use the emergency funds for unexpected expenses, and, of course, the retirement account will give you security when you need to stop working.

You should also take advantage of free stuff like commuter benefits and discounts at clothing stores or restaurants. Never say no to free stuff as they could help you avoid spending more money. On top of those tips, add a healthy dose of discipline in order to achieve your money goals. Jobs & Hire previously reported about the reasons why people fail at saving money.