Do you have trouble saving for any occasion? If so there are some simple ways to aid you in creating a savings plan that will aid you for the rest of your life. Saving is an important aspect of life these days and an area that does not allow the opportunity to be ignored by anyone. There are many reasons to save, and one of the main ones is to establish an emergency fund. That is an amount of money that is set aside for true emergencies that equal at least six months of expenses saved in the event your family experiences a loss of employment or a serious illness. But let us look at some ways to enhance savings and to make it easier to save.
The first and easiest way to start saving is by starting small. That way you will not necessarily miss the amounts you are setting aside and will be able to maintain the savings habit. If you can only start with $5 or $10 a week that is good enough to get you into the savings habit. And those small amounts will add up over time and can lead to the foundation of an emergency fund that everyone needs. So do not delay and start saving something on a regular basis now and establish a solid foundation for the saving habit and lifestyle.
Budgeting goes hand in hand with savings as you need to know what is coming in and what is going out as far as your money is concerned. But it is important to budget in something for the fun things in life. This will make it easier to save as you are rewarding yourself a little something and not just blindly placing money into a savings account. Want a new iPhone put that into your budget and then follow through and reward yourself with that new phone. Like starting small, it is wise to budget in a little fun as well.
And going hand in hand with a little fun is to reward yourself as well by making the savings process fun. So how do you do that you may ask? If you have a family and especially small children, make a game out of saving. Get a large jar and place change and small bills in it to see how fast you can fill it up. Then after it is full us a portion of it to reward yourself or family by doing something nice like a night out or taking in a movie. This goes method is similar to budgeting for fun, but it makes savings a fun activity for everyone.
An easy way to save, even when starting small, is to make the savings automatic in nature. Take that $5 or $10 that you are saving every week and have it automatically deposited into a separate savings account, so you do not even notice that you had the money in the first place. By doing this, you do not have to think to save and can sit back and watch your savings increase on a weekly basis. What we do not see we tend not to miss.
Extra cash can bring you closer to your goals. Every extra dollar you save will bring you that much closer to your goals. Find some extra savings in your budget do not spend that money but rather place it in your savings. Get a bonus from your job? Spend a small portion on a reward for your hard work and save the rest. By saving just a little extra now and then, you are bringing your savings totals closer to your goals. Get into the habit and it will also become automatic as well.
Spending for convenience kills anyone’s savings. Avoid those items at a checkout lane designed to be impulses purchases when checking out at any store. Buy only what you need and avoid those things that you really do not. And convenience purchases can be costly as well and can hamper your savings if you are not careful. Watch what you are spending your hard earned money on and keep an eye out for the purchases that are not necessary.
And by not saving you can put your future at risk. And we are back where we started, and that is an emergency fund. By not having a savings plan in place you are putting yourself at risk and can cause more financial damage if you are not careful. Get a savings plan in place and follow it until you have an emergency fund, are out of debt and are paying cash for your purchases. It is the best way to approach things and will make life much easier for you in the long run.
If you need additional information, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment here.
