Nearly everyone at some point will have the need to save for something, whether that’s a deposit for a mortgage, a holiday away or even a car, it’s often for a large purchase or maybe even just a raining day fund. Regardless of what you’re saving it can be extremely difficult to save a decent amount and make a commitment to doing so. There are however a few ways that you can help yourself to be on the right track with saving.
Even if you don’t feel like you have any money to save you probably could still stand to save a little. Have a look at these secret (not so secret) ways to help you save even when you’re on a tight budget:
Budgeting
The first thing that you should start with is a budget. There is no point just throwing around figures and thinking that that will work for you. It’s important to only be saving the amount that you can not only stick to but justify too. Plus how are you going to find the extra money and make cuts to areas to help with saving if you don’t know how much you’re spending in the first place? You should always know where your money is going.
Creating a budget doesn’t need to be a difficult task, what’s important is that you’re honest with yourself. You need to make considerations for what you’re currently spending, what areas could realistically be cut down and then look to sticking to your cuts. Start off by making a list of all your monthly outgoings such as debts, entertainment, communications, mortgage, rent and so on. Once you have this noted down you will be able to clearly recognize any problem areas. For example, you might be spending more on takeaways then you want to be.
The idea is to paint the clearest picture you can in order to be able to improve it.
Paying Yourself First
So, you’ve painted the perfect picture and identified your problematic areas, what’s next? Now you should be able to see where you can take a few extra dollars to add to your savings pot from. However, you now need to think about paying yourself first, by this means that you should be making sure that all your expenses are covered before making a commitment to savings.
Most people are waiting to be paid at the end of each month and live paycheck to paycheck. You then pay the bills, buy food, and then it’s the time to look at savings amount. Although the amount left after paying the essentials may be small this is the time to be putting money away. Some people worry that they might need the few extra dollars in the last remaining days of the month, however, this is actually the most common time for people to use their last bit of money to buy things they don’t actually need just because the money is sitting there. If you ever did come into trouble, depending on your location you could always look at some companies as a backup plan.
One thing is for sure, if you can budget your money and look after the priorities first and look to spend less on certain areas then you will be able to successfully save.
Do you have any other tips for saving that will help? Please share them in the comments section below.
