We all want to save regularly.
We all want that security of knowing that we have savings funds to fall back on. The trouble is, it can be hard to start doing this and even more difficult to stick to it. We know we’d sleep better at night with a savings pot tucked away, but where to begin with this? Well, that is where we come in as today we share with you three steps to saving regularly.
Change your attitude towards savings.
Of the three steps to saving, this is probably the main thing you need to do if you are to start saving regularly. A lot of this can rest on our own attitude and motivation to save.
It helps to have a goal in mind to begin with. It might be a holiday that you want or a new outfit. The details don’t matter, your wish to get it is what you want to focus on. Now that you have a goal, work out how much you need and get saving for it.
You will also want a rainy day fund available to you. Whether it’s a washer repair, landscaping work, or making your bathroom luxe, there’s always something to spend money on. Something out of the ordinary monthly expenditure, and this can come out of your rainy day fund. This way, you won’t be caught short by the unexpected.
Work out where you can reduce costs.
You’re now determined to save, so you will need to examine your monthly comings and goings. You might find that you have surplus each month that gets frittered away. If so, aim to save some of that sum on payday. You might find that most of it is accounted for, in which case you need to look at cutting back.
With a better understanding of your monthly expenditure, you need to look at ways to reduce costs. Then you will have more money available to save.
It might be that you can switch your utilities supplier. Change your mortgage scheme, reduce your grocery bills, carpool to cut travel costs – there are endless possibilities. Prioritize your largest outgoings and seek ways to reduce those first. Then methodically work your way through each item to see how you might be able to eradicate or reduce it.
Once you have done this, you will have freed up some money that is now available to save each month.
Set up savings accounts.
Now that you want to save and have worked out how much you can save each month, you will need to set up savings accounts. It is worth having separate accounts for your savings. You will be less likely to accidentally dip into them then, or be tempted to do so. Savings accounts are also likely to offer a slightly better rate of interest than your everyday account.
Take a look around for accounts with the best rates that suit your purpose and have received good reviews. You might like to build up an easy access fund for short term and emergency funds, and then one for longer term savings. If you plan to do this, do separate them into two separate accounts to make it easier for you to manage.
Once the accounts are opened, you can arrange regular payments to feed through to them so that you no longer even need to think about it each month. When you reach this stage of the steps to saving, you know that you are now a saver.
