Saving money is very important for everyone so that they can handle their finances and be able to have a home and a retirement. It is not one of the easiest skills to learn, but it is essential for financial success. It is easy for us to imagine saving money for the future, but actually staying with a budget is hard for most people, since it means spending less.
First, you should figure out a reason for you to save. Of course, you will have more money, but what will you use it for? It is good to save money for emergencies, since anything can happen at any time, and we won’t always be prepared. When we save money for emergencies, we won’t be caught off guard. You should also save money to prevent going into debt. Instead of taking care of emergencies with credit, you can use the money you have. Also, it is necessary to save for big things you will need in the future like a new car, a college fund, a house down payment and retirement.
After you’ve figured out your goals, set a time frame for your goal. For example, if you want to buy a car, tell yourself that you want to buy a car in two or three years. Make sure that the time frame is realistic; otherwise you’ll just get discouraged in attaining your goal. Remember it is a lot cheaper to buy a car by putting the car payment in a savings account than it is to pay it to the finance company with interest added on.
Next, see how much you think you’ll need to save per day, week, or month for you to be able to achieve your goal. Add up all the things you want to save for and see how much you’ll have to save starting now. If you want to save $10,000, you can save $500 every month for 20 months. But if this is too much, then change the time frame or your goal to accommodate your saving abilities.
Start tracking your expenses. Your savings are the difference between what you earn and what you spend. So start getting receipts and a notebook and write down your expenses at all times. This way, you will know how much you spend each day. Arrange the expenses according to their category, like Car, Rent, Phone, Utilities, etc.
After looking at your expenses, find out how much you can save by lessening them. You might find that you spend $300 on snacks that you do not need. You will have to think about your priorities to find out how much you can trim and what you can save. For example, should you save money on gas by traveling less or taking a bike? Do you want to use less food money by brown bagging your lunch and eating in restaurants less? Should you buy in bulk to save money? By thinking about these things, you will be able to save more after finding out what you can trim off.
Once you’ve figured out how much you can save and what you can lessen expenses on, you can make a budget or in other words, a plan. Make sure you spend enough to live on, but not so much that it is an excess. Try to stop using credit cards, since these incur debts and can break a budget. Open a savings account for yourself, so you can store the money in a place where you won’t be as tempted to touch it.
If you stick to your plan and stay within your budget, you will be able to attain your goals and you’ll have more money for the future. Living on less than you earn is the key to having a successful savings program.