| By :
Molly Wider
By downsizing your lunches out, and upsizing the money you didn't spend into your bank account, you could supersize your savings in record time. But sometimes the temptation to spend can be overwhelming. When the spend-money sweats hit hard, go ahead and treat yourself-you have to break out once in a while, right? Other times, though, a few tips and tricks can pare down your spending appetite, and keep fattening up that savings account. Pay yourself first. You deserve to be paid, first, before any of the bills, credit cards, or other obligations. Put something, no matter how small, away every payday that's intended for you, and your future. Set up your savings account so it's completely separate and apart from your chequing account. In other words, don't let it be easy to access your savings. Make sure that you have to drive to the bank, get in line, and fill out paperwork to get at your money. That will give you every opportunity to think carefully before you withdraw. Make automatic deposits to your savings. You can easily set up automatic transfers from the account where your pay cheques are deposited into your savings account. That will ensure some money goes into your savings account on a regular basis. Learn to live on less. Try 10% at first. Look at your pay cheque. Let's say it's $500 every week. Do you think you could cut back by $50 every week? Too much? What about 5%, or $25? Start slow and easy, then add more to your savings until you get to that magical 10%. Use a piggy bank. Whenever you get change, pop it into a piggy bank-and not the kind you can just open up from the bottom. Get a ceramic one you have to smash open to claim your coin. Get the whole family involved. Keep track of what everyone puts in, and the one who adds the most, gets to smash open the piggy bank. For even extra savings, don't allow pennies, just nickels and up. Save with a friend. You go running with a friend, to the movies or out for a Friday afternoon beer, so why not save with a friend? Knowing you're not alone, and talking about the challenges of saving, the things you're trying in order to save, can really keep you on the savings track. After you pay off a debt, keep paying that same amount into your savings account. If you've lived without that money this long, you can keep living without it, and give your savings a nice boost. The amount you save doesn't have to be a lot. The secret is regular deposits, not big ones. Even the smallest amounts will add up to big bucks over time. So go at it easy, but keep at it every payday.
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlesbacklink.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
