People don’t save money.

With mounting credit card debt and bills, the reasonable solution seems to be putting your entire check towards paying things off. While that may seem like the fiscally responsible thing to do (after all, no one wants to have bad credit), people often forget one very important aspect of financial security: saving money.

The truth of the matter is that too many people don’t save enough money not because they don’t want to, but because they don’t know how. There are, however, tactics that you can use in order to pay your bills and ensure that you are saving enough money.

Why You Should Save Money

There are several reasons you should be concerned about saving your money. The primary reason being that of an emergency fund. Financial planners constantly advise that people should have at least a six month reserve in case of an emergency, like losing your job or becoming temporarily disabled.

Another big reason to save your money is for your retirement. Far too many people think their pensions and company retirement plans will suffice when the golden years come, but little do they know that with mounting prices governments and companies are in need of cutting costs, affecting benefits and pensions. For this reason, it would be wise to have a separate savings account specifically for your retirement.

Other reasons for saving your money include a down payment on a house, a car, or even a vacation. Whatever your reasoning, it’s important to make sure you are saving the appropriate amount of cash.

Setting Up a Budget

The first step to making sure you are saving money is getting into the habit of budgeting. Take an afternoon to sit down and see how much of your money is going to fixed costs like bills. Then determine how much spending money you actually need. In case you need a little nudge, no, you don’t need that cup of coffee from your favourite shop every single morning.

The last step is to see how much money you have left over and calculate its percentage. That percentage represents the amount of money you can save each month.

Setting Up Different Savings Accounts

It’s very easy to say “I’m saving money”. However, what’s not so easy is determining how much you are saving for what.

To put it in perspective, you should already have separate savings accounts for an emergency fund and for taxes. A third savings account for whatever your heart desires (retirement, house, car, etc.) is also a wise choice.

Paying Yourself First

Once you have your accounts set up, go back to your budget and see how much money you can afford to put into savings each month. Then with every check you get the first thing you should do is allocate that percentage into your separate savings accounts and therefore ensuring that you are paying yourself first.

Wy not try a debit card as you only spend what you can afford, maybe the US should work on this notion!

Article From Jonathan

 

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