Want to save some money and increase your capital all at once? Saving doesn’t have to be hard, and there are several ways to accomplish your savings goals with just a little effort.

The most difficult part of saving is actually accruing the money you will save. There are always pressing financial needs in any lifestyle, and the hardest part of setting aside money is having money but not spending it. This challenge is compounded by the fact that those of us with the biggest need to save money and grow the value of our assets are also the ones with arguable the most pressingly immediate financial burdens. But this is the first step and you can’t save anything without it.

Make a plan to set the money aside in advance. For example, commit to putting away 2% of your next five paychecks, and then actually do it. Don’t wait until you have “extra” cash in your account—this may never happen, and you may overextend yourself if you haven’t planned your savings into your budget.

Next, decide where to put the money that you’re saving. Popular choices are high-interest savings accounts or CD accounts. More seasoned investors may think about investment accounts or other stock market options, but for a basic savings account, you may want to choose an investment type with less risk.

Decide how long you’ll put the money away for and what it will be dedicated to once you take it. This may just be the decision to use the money as “rainy day” savings, but it’s important to decide that in advance so you won’t “accidentally” spend your hard saved money on the wrong thing once you take it out of the account.

Thinking about investing to build your retirement, establish an emergency fund or just watch your money grow a little faster than with a savings account interest rate? Before you invest stock, there are some things to consider so you can invest well and in a way that best suits your needs and investment size.

1. Diversify
   Don’t put all of your money into one fund. Look for ways to diversify your investment and capitalize on as many of them as possible. Whether it’s national or international or just multiple industries, spreading your money around will give you safety because it one fund fails, you’ll still have the opportunity for growth in other areas of your investment.
2. Buy the Company
   When you put your money into the stock market, what you’re really doing is putting your money behind companies. You are putting your trust in their success and your money toward helping them succeed. Think carefully about which industries and individual corporations you want to support in that way and which you feel are going to succeed in the long term.
3. Large and Stable
   Look for large and stable industries to invest in, such as utilities and basic commodities, which people still buy even in times of financial hardship. Even when the market takes a hit, people let other things go from their budgets before electricity and necessities like soap and nonperishable food.
4. Assess Risk
   Depending on the type of investment you’re looking for, you’ll prefer aggressive, moderate or conservative investments. Aggressive investments put money behind funds that have a higher risk of failing, but if they succeed they will provide the largest returns possible. Moderate risk is the most common choice because it provides reasonable returns with less risk. If you’re investing less and depending on maintaining the original amount invested, very conservative investments and bonds are the safest, although lowest, return possible.

Groupon, the company known for offering hot discounts at local businesses, has jumped into the stock market and filed to become an IPO.

The Chicago Tribune quotes Groupon CEO Andrew Mason, saying, “Our IPO is a small milestone on our journey. I feel incredibly grateful to serve as CEO of Groupon. With our IPO behind us, I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead.”

Although Groupon has started trading publicly, it is doing so with extreme caution. The company started by selling only 5.5% of their company’s worth. This may be a protection for buyers as well, consider the prediction by the Chicago Tribune that the value of shares will vary greatly depending on the volume and type of business the company is doing at that particular time, something that could be risky for a publicly traded company.

Groupon works by asking local businesses all over the country to offer steep discounts on their products and services, on the condition that a certain number of people will pay in advance for that service. For example, a restaurant might offer a $30 gift card at the cost of only $15, as long as over 200 people buy the gift cards up front in the specified window of time. If not enough people buy into the deal, those who did choose to purchase the gift card are not charged for their purchase and the deal is called off.

This business model has been replicated by Google under the name of “Google Offers.” This type of discount-sharing service has risen in popularity as the market as continued to hold steady in its decline over the past several years, creating an unexpected new source of business in a country who’s consumers are only looking to save.

The irony is: because consumers are out of money and looking for ways to spend less of it, we’ve created yet another corporation, Groupon, worth close to $13 billion dollars.