Are you trying to save money? You may want to have it set aside in a bank account for a rainy day or you may start saving up for something important. No matter what you are trying to do, there are different ways to easily start saving much more money than you were before.
Keep Track of Your Expenses
Before you can start to save money, you need to keep track of the expenses you have each month. These expenses would include your mortgage payment, rent payment, car payment, money spent on gas, electricity bill, water bill, and even your monthly groceries.
If it is hard to figure it out all, check your bank statement to get an idea of what you are spending. Some banking institutions, such as Bank of America, offer neat budgeting tools that are easy to use for those looking to take advantage of them.
Set Your Budget
After determining how much you spend on different expenses each month, it is time for you to set a budget. You want to make sure you are not spending more money than you are currently earning.
If you are living beyond your means, you will probably end up maxing out credit cards and it will be difficult for you to save anything in your bank account. There is a convenient tool that you can use to review the spending habits of other people that have income and expenses that match closely with how much you are earning and spending.
Decide How Much to Set Aside
After figuring out what you can spend each month based on your earnings and how much you would like to save, it is the right time for you to start working on saving the money that you are earning. Figure out how much you would like to take from each paycheck and put in a savings account.
You can start small by taking 10 percent of your income and putting it in a savings account and then work your way up to saving 15 or even 20 percent of each paycheck. It is easier to set money aside if you think of it as a bill that you absolutely need to pay.
Have Something to Look Forward To
Saving money is often easy when you have something to look forward to. Think of some of the different things you would like to start saving money for, such as a trip abroad, a new car, or even a nice vacation with the family. You might even want to think about saving for your retirement to have a financially secure future.
There is a tool offered to Bank of America account holders, Picture My Goals, which will help you set goals and monitor all the progress you are making directly from the app on your phone. These are just a few ideas of some of the goals you can start setting for yourself:
- Rainy Day Savings Fund
- Dream Vacation
- First Home Down Payment
- Home Remodeling Project
- Private School for the Kids
- Retirement
You can save for both short-term and long-term goals. When saving for your children’s education to send them to college when they are older, consider putting the money into an account that will grow interest over time.
Keep Your Priorities in Order
Once you have paid off all your monthly expenses, you need to remind yourself of the goals you would like to achieve to stay motivated when it comes to saving. Remember to take things seriously when setting goals because otherwise, you will have a difficult time saving up nearly enough money to use for your short-term or long-term goals.
Use Important Tools to Help Save
When you have certain goals that you want to achieve, you should take advantage of some important tools that are available. Make sure to open a savings account. You should obtain a certificate of deposit, too.
You can invest in stocks that will accrue interest over time and will eventually be much more valuable than they were when you first bought them. Start doing research on all your savings options. You may be surprised to see how many options are offered to consumers.
Start Automatically Setting Money to the Side
Most banks will allow you to easily transfer money from your checking account when you get paid to your savings account when you want to save some extra cash. It is entirely up to you to decide how much you want to put in the savings account and when you want to put it in there.
You might even want to have half of your check deposited into the checking account and half deposited into the savings account. You have plenty of options that can make it easier for you to save.