What are you saving for?
“I want more money” or “I want a vacation” are statements I repeated in my mind to nudge myself to save money. Despite my best efforts, my intentions to save fizzled. Looking back now, I set myself up for failure. My mistakes were having vague saving goals with no action steps to keep me accountable. Having a good goal is the first step to success.
Start with determining your WHY. Ask yourself, “Why am I going to put the time, effort, and money into savings?” Once I have a clear reason and purpose, I then align it with my priorities. For example, my car insurance is due every six-months. Although I knew the amount and the future date of the bill, I found myself short on funds. My fear was not having enough money to pay my bills. This feeling was so unpleasant that I opened a savings account to allocate money monthly to pay the car insurance bill. That was the best decision I made.
Simplify and make saving easy
Don’t wait another day or another week, start saving a small amount. If you are like me, I tend to procrastinate a lot of tasks. To keep savings simple, save automatically. An easy way to do this is to schedule a monthly deduction amount from your checking to your savings. This is a way to achieve your savings goals.
Shop Around for a Savings Account
Take advantage of saving account programs such as round up, where debit transactions are round up to the nearest dollar and the change deposited to your savings account. I certainly don’t miss the change in my checking account. Obviously you will not save a lot but, it’s a start.
There are many options for savings accounts including traditional banks, credit unions, and online banks. Browse through the banks website and find out the annual percentage yield (APY) on the accounts. An interest bearing savings account helps the money grow with compound interest. These accounts earn interest on interest.
Practice Patience when Saving
It takes time to save money along with plenty of patience. Starting with a small amount and consistently saving money, pays off long-term. Give yourself some grace when life derails your savings goals. Pausing or reducing the amount on your automatic saving are ways to adjust to the many challenges life brings. Restart or increase your savings automatically when you have made it past the challenge.
America Saves Week
America Saves Week, is a time-honored event; a national opportunity for organizations to work together within their communities to transform the lives of millions of Americans by encouraging them to save successfully. The America Saves pledge is the framework that allows savers to set a goal, and make a plan to achieve better financial stability. #ASW2022
