Have you kick-started your savings plan?
Savings is defined as “income that is not consumed immediately by buying goods and services.”
Do you have any personal savings?
The rate of personal savings is way down here in the US.
We just aren’t saving our money.
You’d think with the recent downturn in the economy and the drop in housing values that people would begin saving more. You just don’t see it in the numbers.
So, if you currently don’t have any savings…or, maybe you have some savings, but you’ve stopped and find it hard to get back on track, then it’s time to kick start your savings habit.
Here are some great ways to do just that:
1. Payroll Tax Break
What are you doing with your 2% tax break each paycheck? Why not use it for savings? Calculate how much you’re saving in taxes and apply that money to an automatic savings deposit. Depending on your income, this could provide $50 to $100 a month per household for savings.
Since this money was essentially taken from the social security fund anyway (that’s where payroll taxes go), it’s wise to use it for your own savings to shore up your retirement.
2. Bonus and/or Raise
Did you get a bonus or raise at work recently. Commit today to put that money in savings (bonus) or increase savings percentages (raise) to your 401K or other automatic savings plan.
An old boss of mine once shared with me that if he could have continued to live off of the salary he made early in his career and simply saved every raise and bonus he had received, he would have become a very, very wealthy man.
Live within your means and avoid spending more when you make more.
3. Dine-In (at Home) Only
If you are the type that dines out a lot (4-5 times) during a week (which more of us are these days), then you could quickly come up with more money to save by simply grocery shopping and eating at home more.
Make a commitment to eat at home for one full week and see how much money you suddenly have for savings. Do this two weeks out of the month and you’ll have no more excuses for not saving. Also, when you do dine out, spend less.
4. Tax Refund
It’s tax time. Expecting, or already received, your tax refund? Why not skip the big purchase this year and use that money to get started saving?
If you have a refund, the Government has essentially been holding your money for you in a forced savings account. Why not just take it from them and put it into a savings account of your own?
5. Sell Your Crap
If you’re like me, you’ve got way too many DVDs, CDs, Books, and other stuff you’re not using just laying around the house. Why not list some of those items on eBay, or the free (local) service craigslist.org?
You could also use a store like Half-Priced Books to return the items OR just have an old-school garage sale. Commit to start a savings account based on what you make from these sales.
6. Start with Free Money
Saving money is easy when you get it for free. There are lots of incentives out here to start saving more…bank bonuses for example. I happen to use ING Direct’s Orange Savings Account for my short-term savings.
They will give you a $25 bonus if you get started with $250 in one of their savings accounts.
7. Make it Automatic
Lastly, I’d share that one of the best ways to save money consistently is to do it automatically. By automating your savings you take the pressure off of yourself to be disciplined enough to do it alone. No habits needed.
Whether it’s through your company’s 401K or direct deposit into a savings account, setting it up automatically can be a powerful way to increase your savings ability. Good luck getting started.
I know I missed a few. Do you have any other ways to kick-start the saving habit? How did you do it?
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Last Edited: March 29, 2012 @ 11:51 amDid You Like This Article? Get free email updates! Sign up now and receive exclusive content and a FREE COPY of my eBook '31 Days to Improve Your Financial Life'. Enter your name and email address below: |  |
One thing that has helped us is to call and negotiate with all your service providers. Cable, alarm, pest control and cell phone. You will be amazed what they will do if they feel you will be going to a competitor. Cable was cut in half, alarm is now 25 a month and used to be 40, same with the pest control and I was put on a Corporate plan with a discount on the cell phone plan. Now I did have to commit to a long term plan but I had no plan on changing anyways. All in all it has saved us 85 bucks a month. And it goes a long way. Second thing we do is price match our groceries. We write out our meals for the week including all the ingridients then we look for the best price in the ads for that week and at the register at Walmart we tell them of these prices and they match it! It has saved us 200 dollars a month. 2400 a year we can add to our savings!
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