The only way to have money is to not spend all that you have! Five easy ways to meet your saving goals can increase the fill-rate of your bank account.
Set a goal.
How much do you want your savings to grow this year? If you don’t have a number in mind, say, enough to put a down payment on a car, you will not be able to get there!
Pay yourself first.
Save a specific amount out of each pay check, even if that pay check is for $25. Ten per cent is a good figure. If you send it straight to savings before you spend any of your pay, you won’t miss the deduction.
Give every dollar in your check a job:
paying the rent, pizza money, auto expenses and so on. Money left at the end of the month or birthday gifts should go into your saving account or into a fund for something specific that is beyond your usual expenses.
Shopping!
I love retail therapy but have noticed that I often return impulse purchases. Put the 24-Hour Rule into place: if you see it, want it, wait 24 hours before going back to buy it. It’s easy to get sucked into an online sale so observe a waiting period before you proceed to the checkout. I also use the One In, One Out rule. For every purchase I must get rid of something. The purple mug I’ve been wanting for my desk at work will replace one at home that I don’t use anymore. One In, One Out makes you think about that nice sweater in your closet before you click.
Track your non-essential Spending
While I’m on the subject of shopping: track your non-essential spending. Where are your $$ going other than expenses? Are there patterns of purchases, emotional Amazon browsing, shopping as a time-waster/ boredom fighter? What can you change to make your money hang around longer? Number 3 comes into play here. If every dollar has a job, you can set aside a limited amount for impulse buying or an extra pizza delivery (assuming that there are a few dollars that aren’t paying rent or buying gas). You will be far less likely to overspend if you have pre-set the boundaries.
These are my top five suggestions. Everyone can be a saver if they have a plan to stick to and a goal to reach. Make this year your most prosperous one yet by hanging onto your cash.
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