Secrets to saving money
If you're anything like most Americans, you probably don't have enough money in your savings account to cover even one months worth of bills. Saving is hard, especially if you are just starting out and have college debt and other major bills to pay.
Luckily, there are things you can do to squirrel away small amounts of money. Here are a few tips you can use to save money.
Just start
Many people don't have any savings because—well--they don't save. Even if you're only tucking a few dollars away every week, if you've never saved at all that is certainly more than you had before. If your money is too tight to save even a few dollars, consider getting a spending tracker app to watch how you spend your money and see where it is going. This may help you decide what areas you need to work on in order to get to the point where you can save.
Create a budget for yourself
Without a budget, you can quickly bleed your checking account down to almost nothing. A budget helps keep you in control, and lets you plan when and where you spend your money. If you struggle to keep track of everything, you can try using an envelope system. Pull all of your money into envelopes,with the money for bills in one, food in another, clothing and other essentials,and entertainment separated.
If you run out of entertainment money the first day, you can't refill it until the following payday, which can help you notice where your money is going.
Treat savings like a bill
Even if you are only putting $25 a month into savings, treat that money like any other bill. When most people decide on how much to put in savings, they usually start with their bills and groceries, and then decide on savings after that.
This is a logical way of going about things, but if the leftover money is small, most people decide to keep it around in case they need it—and quickly find ways to spend it. If you put the savings in with the bills, you'll often save more than if you didn't.
Don't spend more than you earn
This is another common sense strategy, but few people actually do it. When you have a credit card in your back pocket, it's tempting to reach for it when you want something you can't afford, but that can easily lead to problems down the road. Instead, save for the things you want,and reserve the credit card for emergencies only.
This technique won't just keep you from overspending, it will also help you sort out whether this is something you want in the first place. Many times we purchase things on a whim, only to never use the item we splurged on.
Saving money is hard, but it doesn't have to be. Most of the suggestions here are common sense strategies that anyone can use, but frequently don't. It's easy to overspend in a world designed for materialisim, but by taking a step back and looking more closely at our spending, we can save money.