Many of us would really like to save money but just don’t think that it’s possible. Still, financial experts advise the average person to save at least ten percent of his or her income. But, if you are just barely paying the bills as it is, how in the world do you save ten percent? Perhaps this type of thinking is why you haven’t even strongly considered saving. You assume that you just don’t have the money to do it. Well, you may want to think again.
The truth is that most people can save money, they just don’t know where to start. One book that I love, The Richest Man in Babylon, by George Clason, explains that even those of us that are living on meager incomes can probably save ten percent. He explains that no matter what our present income is, there is always going to be someone who earns ten percent less than we do. This person is proof that we can live on ninety percent of your income, while saving the other ten percent.
The main concept to saving is to be more aware of where our money is going. Everyone needs a budget. If you don’t currently budget, you’ll never really know if saving money is a possibility for you.
Once you have budgeted the amount of money you plan to save, make a firm commitment to always set that money aside. If you have your paycheck direct-deposited, then you know exactly when your money will be in your account. You can then easily set up an automatic transfer at your bank. The bank will automatically transfer a specified amount from your checking to your savings account. This generally just involves filling out a form at your bank. If you set up an automatic transfer, you will never forget to transfer your money–the bank will do it for you.
Here’s the challenge: Take a good look at your budget and make a commitment to be better at saving your money. Write down your goal and begin to put it into action. If you currently don’t save money at all, you may choose to start small. If you already save some try to find ways to increase that amount.