Hands up who saves?
I can hear you all saying – don’t be silly you usually have lots of month left over after your money and that there is none left to save.
Or that you don’t have enough to live on, let alone save.
It might not be as hard as you think.
Here are some tips on how to start saving.
Write down everything that you spend.
Record how much you spend – yes – every single last thing that you spend money on.
Use credit card statements, bank statements etc to help you figure out what you do with your money.
Once you have all your information – organise it into categories such as: rent, medical, food, clothing, car payments/petrol, and entertainment.
Make a budget.
Now you know what you are spending, it is much easier to make a budget for all your monthly expenses.
Do remember to budget in for things that don’t happen all the time – like getting your car fixed.
If you are spending way more than you earn – then it’s time to figure out which are the non-essentials and start to trim them down a bit.
Plan on saving.
The aim is to spend less than you earn.
You should plan on saving between 10 and 15% of what you earn each month.
Choose something to save for.
This is the fun part – you could be saving for short-term stuff like having a holiday or a new car.
Or things like a computer, cell phone, new handbag or a fancy matric dance dress.
Then there is long-term saving like for your education, your retirement or a deposit for your own home.
Decide on your priorities.
No point saving for a holiday if you know you are going to need a new car soon.
Of course, you can always save for more than one thing at once, you just have to be even more careful and clever with your money.
Pick the right tools to save.
Do some research and find out which place is going to safely look after your savings and make them grow.
Most banks offer automated transfers – this way your money can zoot straight into your savings account at the beginning of each month and you won’t be tempted to skip a month.
Then sit back and watch those savings grow!
Sibo
