by Kelly on July 17, 2009
in savings
photo credit: Ken Wilcox.
Saving money is in. Americans saved nearly 7% of their income in May 2009.
5 Successful Savings Strategies
1) Automate it. If you don’t see it, you won’t miss it.
2) Use a savings account at another bank. Out of sight, out of mind.
3) Plan for the unexpected. You’ll always have an unexpected bill (car repairs anyone?), or a stupid mistake (Had a parking ticket before? Me, too.).
4)All savings, and no play makes for a dull life. Saving isn’t sexy. It isn’t fun. Make sure you leave some room in your budget for fun or you’ll fail.
5) If you use it, replace it. If you need your emergency money, or your savings use it, and then focus on replacing it. No guilt, no worries, that’s what it is there for. Don’t let your inner spender talk you out of saving!
How I Make Saving Work
After months of trying to get my budget right, and planning for rare or occasional expenses (like car repairs, back to school expenses, etc), I finally hit on a solution that works for me.
I set up automatic deduction for 5% of each paycheck to go into our ING Direct Savings. Right now we only have 1 account there. It’s labeled Emergency Fund. I don’t see the money since it disappears the same day we get paid. I don’t even account for it in the budget.
Our Emergency Fund is only to be touched in case of medical emergency, job loss, or some other big deal. I’m trying to think about what else could apply, but then I started worrying, so we’ll just say it’s there if I need it and avoid a panic attack.
Next, I take a set amount from each check (different amounts due to where our bills fall) and transfer it in a high interest savings account at our credit union. That account earns 7% interest on the 1st $500. I try to keep at least $500 in that account to maximize the interest. It’s pennies, yes, but every penny counts when you’re getting out of debt.
The goal of this savings account is to ensure any one-time or rare expenses are covered even if they aren’t budgeted for. It’s my Budget Busters account.
Having that savings account in place makes it easier for me to stick to a budget and ensure that any money we spend doesn’t go on the credit card, or get spent from our emergency fund.
How do you stick to your savings plan? Are your savings automated?
Kelly
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photo credit: Silvio Tanaka
First, let me say a Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. I know how hard you work every day, and how much it means to your family. We had a sick day yesterday, so while I did get an awesome breakfast, and lots of napping time I didn’t spend the day exactly as I had planned. (still the napping was awesome!)
The girls have some kind of flu/cold and I feel like I’m fighting it off. We spent a lot of time resting (and watching TV) yesterday. We’re continuing the trend today since they are still pretty ill and I feel like my brain is not functioning.
I spent some time planning and reworking our budget for the next 28 days on Saturday. We need to adjust our budget to bulk up emergency fund again, meet several other goals (completing a will, mulching the gardens, planning our trip to San Francisco), while continuing to pay off debt.
Sometimes it feels like we are taking 2 steps forwards and then 1 step back. But I’m trying to take the advice of the kid’s favorite fish, Dory, and “just keep swimming.” Eventually we’ll get there, it just takes time, and I’m not exactly the patient type.
In the meantime we’re redoubling our efforts to spend less, and earn more. There’s no downside to having more money in the budget!
Here are a few ideas if you are facing a situation where you need to bulk up your savings quickly or trying to make ends meet.
1) Declutter: If you’re like 90% of people you have too much STUFF. The first step is to stop buying stuff-we’re placing a moratorium on buying stuff other than food. The second step is to go through the stuff you have one shelf/bag or box at a time and find things you are willing to part with. Some items might get listed on Ebay, some on Craig’sList, and you can also host a yard sale.
2) Maintain your stuff: Since you’ll have more free time, spend some time maintaining the stuff that is important like your AC unit, or the dishwasher. Regular maintenance means less replacement costs.
3) Cook: Cook at home. Pack your lunch. Eat leftovers. Use your freezer.
4) Find change: It seems silly but if you go through your home and find all the change you may be surprised by how quickly it adds up. We have $50 in change sitting in our Disney jar. I may cash it in to bulk up the emergency fund and pay it back later.
5) Work more: Whether you work on creating a side business, work overtime, or get a second job bringing in more money is never a bad idea. Just remember you won’t be able to work 80 hours a week for forever. Guard against getting burned out.
6) Spend less: I admit that while I was working we spent over half my income on related expenses, and convenience foods. If I can back to watching ever ¢ as close I did in the past, we could save a bundle.
7) Do an expense audit: Go through your fixed expenses and see if anything can be trimmed. It’s been 3 months since I last did this, so I’ll take another look and see if anything else can be lowered/dropped.
What do you do when you need to earn more/spend less? How do you “find” extra money in your budget?
Kelly
