Many Americans have little to nothing at all saved up. In the event of any emergency, most people just don’t have any resources to weather the blow. That’s pretty much an open secret though. After all, those living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to get by often find that building a cushion from scratch is daunting.
It can be difficult to understand how to build up your savings, but the key is to start little by little. Nothing is impossible once you get started. Here are five tips to help you strategically start building your savings:
Evaluate Your Priorities
To be successful at saving, you have to understand why you need to do it. We all have goals in life. What are yours? When you have a better understanding of what you want to achieve in the short and long term, you can then make succinct plans to save for them. It’s very important to understand what your priorities are because the reality is that you can’t spend on everything you want to. So be strategic with your budget and only spend where it can help push you further in life.
Make Small Changes
Your savings isn’t going to multiply overnight. Results will take time. Many people make the mistake of trying to save too much too soon. When you make too many drastic changes to your life at once, it’s difficult to sustain the effort. You’re likely just to go back to your old, bad spending habits. It’s best to start small and do little things that you barely notice, like making your own coffee in the morning or bringing lunch to work a couple days a week. These small efforts sound minuscule, but the savings will start adding up.
Make It Automatic
Set it and forget it. That’s the name of the game. The easiest way to save is to make it automatic so that you don’t have the possibility of forgetting to make the deposit. Set automatic payment transfers from your checking to your savings account. You can do this for days you get paid. Start with small transfers and then increase them over time. Eventually, you probably won’t even notice anymore.
Get a Side Gig
If you’re just making ends meet and your budget is bare-bones already, it’s probably going to be difficult to start saving no matter how hard you try. In that case, it’s wise to find additional streams of revenue. Many people these days can make extra income right from the comfort of their own home, from doing tasks such as freelance writing or graphic design. If you prefer something more hands on, you can moonlight as a handyman, dog walker or uber driver. There are plenty of options out there for people of any skill set. You just have to find it.
Plan Ahead
Lastly, the most important thing to do is to plan ahead. Most of the time, people can’t save because they are caught off guard by their own spending. Be proactive and plan out your weeks and even months ahead. Then try your best to stick to the budget and if you find yourself having trouble, adjust the numbers as soon a possible. The more you plan ahead, the easier it will be for you to save any amount of money.
It’s true that there are more Americans with nothing saved than those who have a cushion. It doesn’t mean it’s okay to be in the majority in this case though. Start small, and work your way towards freedom. The effort is worth it.
Editor's Note: Did you know about the service called $5 meal plans? For $5 a month, they send you recipes of delicious, healthy, yet cheap food that costs just $5 a meal.
Several of my friends signed up and they are able to eat at home more because the instructions are easy to follow, making everything convenient. The deal also comes with grocery shopping lists, which saves them so much time. Check it out yourself by clicking here and you too may be able to save more and become healthier at the same time.
{ read the comments below or add one }
I like the idea you shared to set up automatic transfers. I really want to start saving up for a down payment on a house this year. It sounds like I should get a savings account set up and start setting a transfer schedule.
I started out in life [ I am 80 years old ] with no money . 4 years in the Navy [ 1950’s ] , my monthly wages were a bit over $ 100.00 a month . I put aside $ 20.00 a month in savings for the 4 years I was in the Navy. My ship [ the U.S.S. Leyte CV-32 ] went to the Orient , Haiti , Jamaica , Cuba , Hawaii and Nova Scotia . We never went to Europe . After the 4 years I wanted to go to Europe but did not want to spend my savings . So I worked a job for 8 hours a day and then another 4 hours a day for 11 months in order to take a 3 month trip to Europe without touching my savings. Bicycled thru various countries and stayed at Youth Hostels [ cheap ] . Also afterward I went to the Culinary Institute of America in order to learn the proper way to cook , not the Navy way. Worked for the finest hotels and Private Clubs , again in order to learn . All the time wherever I worked , I ALWAYS saved money . I eventually bought 2 bankrupt restaurants [ same owner ] and built them up to the point I made a killing. Again I saved and saved and saved . I then did research on owning rental properties for a year . Because I had saved money for years and I had an A – 1 credit rating , the Banks gladly loaned me money . I eventually purchased 9 buildings / 19 apartments in the Providence , R.I. area . Also eventually bought 3 more bankrupt businesses , the last one being in 2000 . The banks readily loaned me money because they saw I knew how to save money . My last loan in 2000 was for $ 750,000 .00 . Aside from hard work [ and knowledge ] I found it easy to succeed. Most fools either are ill educated or only know how to Spend , Spend , Spend . With will power , it is so easy.