When money is tight one unforeseen expense can be a major setback. We all know we should be saving, I would guess that we all want to be saving, but why are so many people not doing it. A big part of savings is putting systems in place. Once these systems are in place the Savings begins.
Pay yourself first – when you’re short on money this can seem impossible. Be creative, if you have to go to a food pantry but pay yourself first. You never know when an emergency is going to come up.
Make it automatic – I do this a couple of ways, I have money automatically taken from every paycheck and put into a separate account. Make it a goal to put aside at least 10%. I also have money directly transferred from my checking account to a savings account. The only time I had to think about this was when I set it up. That is why it works!
Save with a purpose – knowing why you are saving is going to help keep you on track. Expenses will come, temptations too. Being clear on why we are saving will help to avoid pitfalls.
Keep the change – for a long period of time whenever we ended up with some extra money we would put it in a jar and save it for a vacation. We never missed the money and overtime our excitement grew and our jar of money grew.
Track your progress – Americans save 5.3% percent of their income. A number of factors go into determining what you should be saving, one them is your age. 10% is a good starting place. As you track your progress you will get excited about it and find ways to save more.
What tricks have you found to help you save?
What tricks have you found to help you save?
