Wise Ways to start saving money now
Saving money can seem like a big obstacle.
Save and Invest
But you might be thinking, I don’t have a cent to spare …
You know you have to save and invest if you want to have a life which has a good balance of fun and responsibility. But it can be very discouraging if you can barely make ends meet, let alone save anything!
If saving is an enormous challenge that seems beyond your reach, break your savings plan into manageable amounts. Anything is better than nothing. Just look at how it piles up:
If you were to save: Within one year, you’d have:
$ 1.00 per week $52
$ 2.50 per week $130
$ 5.00 per week $260
$ 10.00 per week $520
$ 20.00 per week $l,040
And that’s not counting any interest that would be added! Just consider how much you spend on coffee, fast food or other luxuries.
Saving money isn’t as hard as it seems.
Sometimes we are reluctant to cut down on something we enjoy, especially if life is tough enough as it is. It can be painfully hard. Still, there is a choice. If you were to start a savings plan that would ease the stress overall and give you more joy, would it not be worth giving up those expenses in your current budget that keep you trapped in a very limited life?
The words ‘giving up’ sound so final, but it may not be necessary to ‘give things up’ forever. Just by stopping something for a short while you can give your budget a head start. You can always take it up again once the situation has eased. In the meantime, once you have decided to get your finances in order, you have to give that decision your total commitment.
Occasionally, it can happen that some unexpected expense will throw you off balance. If something interferes with your plan, don’t abandon it. Adjust the amount you are aiming at, or the deadline, and keep going with even greater determination.
You will find it more encouraging if you can see your progress at a glance. Draw up a chart, showing the regular deposit amounts on the vertical line, and the regular intervals on the horizontal line. The above chart shows that even if your deposits are not always equal, or if you miss a week, you will still get there!
I’d love to know what you think of what I’ve said here. Contact me.
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