You probably know that you should save more money. The desire can be intense, but following through may still be challenging. The truth is that saving money is all about changing habits. If you are struggling to achieve the goal of putting money aside, then you might want to consider eliminating some of the bad habits in your life.
Look at the Little Expenses
One way to increase savings is to curb spending. Little expenses are little savings thieves that cost you more money than you realize. A daily cup of coffee can cost you more than 30 dollars a month. A single meal at a fast-food restaurant can cost more than two or three meals at home. Even though they don’t cost much at the moment, they add up to a serious expense that stands in the way of you saving money. The next time you are considering spending a few dollars on something, ask yourself how many times a month you make that purchase. Calculate how much money that little expense is really costing you a month, and you may quickly decide that you don’t need it after all.
Understand Wants and Needs to Avoid Impulse Buying
You need a roof over your head and gas in the car to get to work. You want to have those adorable new shoes or the hot new gadget. Impulse purchasing happens when you see something you want and decide that you need it. If it’s not necessary for daily survival, then you really don’t need it. Add it to a wish list, and create a plan to save the money to buy it. You will feel great when you finally make the purchase, and you will curb impulse spending.
Start an Emergency Fund to Avoid Payday Loans
If you are turning to payday loans in emergencies, then you are doing a great deal of harm to your finances. The high fees associated with payday loans make it impossible to save money or get ahead on your other debts. The more loans you take, the more damage you will cause to your financial position. Avoid payday loans by starting an emergency fund. Make a payment into this fund every month, so you won’t have to take a short-term loan to deal with car repairs, illnesses, or other emergencies.
Automate the Payments
Most institutions offer free online bill pay programs, so it’s easy to automate paying the bills. This is a smart choice for several reasons. If you haven’t already made the switch to automated payments, here are the reasons you should do so.
- Eliminate late fees – When the payment is sent out automatically through the bank, you won’t have to worry about forgetting to drop a payment in the mail.
- Save money on stamps and supplies – There is no reason to buy stamps, envelopes, and checks when the bank will automatically send the money at no charge to you.
- Save time every month – Going in and programming your payments may take an hour or so, depending on how many bills you have. You can set the amounts and the payment dates at one time, then forget about it for the month. It’s a lot faster than writing out checks, stuffing envelopes, and making the trek to the mailbox.
It will take time to create new habits and eliminate the old ones. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you still cave to temptation once in a while. However, you shouldn’t give up on the ultimate goal. Get back on track as soon as possible, so you can ultimately achieve your goal of building a healthy savings account.
More Effective Ways to Learn to Start Your Own Savings
Did you ever ask yourself why you work? How many years have you been working now? How much have you earned in the total years? How much is your savings at present? Most people, if asked especially with the last question, would come to realize that they haven’t saved enough or nothing at all.
Are you one of the many who do not have enough money left to spare for emergency funds, future needs, or retirement, or just for a family vacation? In short, do you have no savings? Then read on and know how to be able to budget your money and then start saving.
Instructions on how to save money:
First – Make a list of Monthly Expenditures
List down your monthly expenditures, these include utility bills (electric, telephone & water), home mortgage amortizations or monthly rentals, insurance payments, grocery & marketing expenses, transportation or fuel, and other necessary expenses you incur every month. These items must be your basic needs and not items that you can live without, just like those reflecting in most of your credit card bills (shopping, dining, leisure items).
Second – Make a list of Debt Obligations
On a separate paper, list down all your debt obligations. Credit card bills go in this item; as well as car loans, salary loans, and bank loans or money borrowed from a friend.
Third – Make a list of Additional Expenses incurred
On another separate paper list down any other expenses which does not belong to the prior two categories. These items consist of expenses incurred for beauty treatments, shopping’s, dining’s, and even money spent on night outs with friends. In short, these items are not necessities, more pleasure, and a waste of money.
Fourth – Make a Summary
Calculate all items in each category – monthly expenditures, debts, and extras. Add them all up then subtract from your monthly earnings. Do not be surprised if you will discover that you are spending more than what you are earning. If that is the case, then it is high time to change your lifestyle.
Fifth – Make an Action
To start with, check again all your lists and take note of the items which you can omit. This means, stop spending on these items. For example, if you spend too much in dining out, learn to cook, and pack your own meals. If you spend too much in late night outs, invite your friends instead of at home.
Sixth – Start your Savings
All the unnecessary expenses that you have omitted will go and remain in your savings. Learn to start saving for emergencies, retirement, or a family getaway. Commit not to be tempted to spend these savings for anything else other than its purpose. You can put it in time deposits if you like for safekeeping.
Each of us must learn how to save. All you need is to follow the steps above and a whole lot of discipline and determine. You may be surprised that you have already discovered various ways to lessen your monthly expenses, thus your savings increase.
Bad Money Habits and How to Beat Them
There are things we do regularly and we call them “habits”. Sometimes you don’t even think about what you do just because you do it too often. Of course, habits can be healthy and unhealthy. And if your unhealthy habits impact your monetary life then you should learn how to beat them and how to change your spending style.
Bad financial habits are very dangerous for our financial health. Small things can create your regular financial problems and they can prevent you from being a successful person. Let’s take a look at the most popular bad habits and learn how to get rid of them.
Not Saving For Retirement
Some people think that they are too young to save for retirement and that they have a lot of time ahead for building savings. But time is running too fast. The earlier you will start building retirement savings the more confident you’ll be about your future.
Stop giving yourself empty promises that you will start saving money next week/month/year. Regularly put 20% of your income into your savings account and make it your habit. Then you will have an opportunity to retire early and feel comfortable in your old age.
Always Paying With a Credit Card
On one hand, credit cards can help you to buy something if you currently have no cash. Sometimes it really helps, for example, if you’re counting days till your next payday. But on the other hand, paying with plastic cards is hard to control. Some consumers forget about using cash at all and can get out of a debt trap.
If you pay off the balance in time then you will not pay the interest and that attracts lots of people. But are you sure that you’re able to control your debt and it will never become a problem for you?
Impulse Buy
Impulse shopping is an enemy of a healthy budget. The first impression is not always right and very often consumers complain about their spontaneous purchases. Try to shop with a list and plan your expenses.
If you really like something but have doubts regarding making a purchase then take your time and wait for 1 month. If the thing you want to buy isn’t as important for you as you think it is then you will quickly forget about it.
Living in Debt
For lots of people making debts is a habit. They don’t live within their means and rely on short-term financing and credit cards. When you start thinking that there’s nothing special about living in debt and that all your friends have debt then it’s time to ring the alarm.
Think about how many things you could do in case there wasn’t a need of making regular payments. See the way debt stops your financial development. Make up a debt elimination plan and start making steps to your financial independence.