Why and How to Save Money

Money! You make it, you spend it and most of us don’t save it. Why would you save? You could buy a new phone, new clothes, go out to eat or take yourself on a vacation. But saving can be more beneficial to you than you may think.

4 Reasons Why Saving Money Makes Your Life Better:

1. It gives you financial security. If you save money, you’ll never have to live check to check. You never have to worry if you have enough to buy this or that. If something happens that demands sudden money, you have it. You’ll feel more secure and stable.
2. It allows you to spoil yourself. This seems like a contradiction, but saving does allow you to really spoil yourself. Saving that money into larger quantities allows you to buy better things and spoil yourself in far better ways than you could otherwise.
3. It keeps you from going bankrupt. Like the first benefit, having savings allows you to be more financially secure. You can be jobless for a short time and still afford to eat. This has been huge in my life, since we currently make less than we spend each month, but because we have a few thousand in savings, it’ll be a year before we actually run out of money.
4. It makes you feel rich. Who doesn’t like to look at their bank account and see a few thousand dollars in there?

The hardest thing about savings is it’s easier said than done. With so many attractive things to buy, bills to pay and nights out to have, it’s hard to find the time or money to really save.  But never fear, adulter, you can do it! Start small, start with one of the following tips and slowly build on it every month. Before you know it, you’ll be a pro saver!

4 Tips For Saving Money:

1. Open a savings account. Having both a checking and a savings account helps you separate your money, so you don’t have to remember how much you’ve got saved. This separation will also help remind you to save money and be a “physical” way of dividing your funds so you don’t overspend.
2. Save on every pay check, when possible. Sometimes, everything you make has to go to the bills and groceries. That’s okay, we all hit that point at some time in our lives. But if this isn’t happening to you, then save what you can. I like to save 10% of my left over money. Sometimes that 10% is $30 and sometimes it’s $1. The amount doesn’t matter. As long as you are saving money, you’re doing it right.
3. Plan savings into your budget. Do you have a budget? If you don’t, you need to make one. Budgeting is the best way to track your money and to learn how to save more. If you’re unsure of how to make a budget, click here for my easy step-by-step tour. Once you have an established budget, find a way to save what you can. The best way to do this is allow yourself a fun budget every month that allows you to go out without partying every night. Then, what money is left over get’s put into savings.
4. Set a goal and then reward yourself. Set a goal for how much you want to save over a certain period of time. Never set a saving goal that would be more than 10% of your income over that time period (so if you make $1000 every month, and you want to save for 3 months, you’re saving goal shouldn’t be more than $300). Once you’ve achieved your goal, allow yourself to use a small part of your savings to treat yourself. This kind of rewarding will help you develop a savings habit and makes saving a little more fun.

What do you do to save? Any great saving tips that I missed? Let me know in the comments below and share your wisdom with the adulting community.

Thanks to Sara for inspiring this post!