31 Aug The Beginner’s Guide to Kick Starting Your Savings
Besides the obvious ways of saving money, like throwing your change in a piggy bank at the end of the day, we’ve compiled a few easy ways for you to kick start good saving habits!
1. Before you make a budget, make a plan. Decide how much you would like to have saved up by the end of the month, year, or time period allotted. It’s important to be realistic, don’t expect to have your dream savings account after one year of saving up. These things take time, so it’s important to make a plan, so you can envision what your savings will look like for the future.
2. Make a budget. If you have a certain amount you would like to save each month, the easiest way to achieve it is by budgeting your money. This way, you can see exactly where you’re spending and exactly what you can be saving. Instead of budgeting out for rent, bills, and “fun money,” try being specific. For example, instead of having just a “fun money” section, try categorizing it; $100 monthly for eating out, $10 weekly for coffee, etc. If you know you’re going to end up spending money on something anyway, you need to plan for it.
3. Stick to it! This is another area where it’s important to be realistic. If you know you can’t start your morning off on the right foot without a cup of coffee from your favorite cafe, go back to the drawing board and budget that in. However, don’t tempt yourself unnecessarily. It’s hard to stick to your budget if you’re surrounding yourself by things you can’t afford. Don’t go to the grocery store when you’re hungry, it’s easier to buy groceries you don’t need. Don’t go window shopping with your friends, it’ll be hard to turn down that shirt you don’t need.
4. Put it on paper. Every time you make a purchase, regardless of how much or how little it cost you, write it down. Get in the habit of tracking what you spend your money on. It’s easy to go over budget when you’re only tracking it in your head. Once you’ve written it down, it’s easier to recognize when you’re getting close to maxing out your budget.
5. If you don’t have time to write out every little thing you spend your money on, use cash. Cash is another easy way to watch your spending, because you physically see your money being spent versus swiping a card and forgetting about. Once you’re left with only a twenty dollar bill halfway through the week, you’ll know it’s time to start slowing down on those unimportant purchases!
We hope you’re able to utilize these tips and start to integrating them into your daily spending routine in order to save up for the things you find to be most important.
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