It’s so easy to spend money. From paying for Christmas presents and parties over the festive season to making over your work wardrobe and decorating the house, there are plenty of opportunities to splash the cash.
Saving money, on the other hand, can be tricky. However, hanging onto your money can help you in the future. It allows you to have the financial safety net ready for all eventualities and gives you peace of mind should something unexpected happen, like sudden redundancy or something that needs immediate attention like a broken boiler.
If you’re hoping to become a successful saver, here are some things that may be holding you back and some ideas to help you set money aside for the future.
Know Your Finances
Before you can start to save, it’s important to know your incomings and outgoings. One of the main reasons people can’t save well is because they’re only using estimates and don’t actually know what they have in their account.
Look closely at your current expenditures and examine your bank statements to see what you need to spend money on and the things that could be considered luxury expenditures. Note anything that could be cut back on so that you can put that money into the savings instead.
Also, account for anything that cropped up that was unexpected or a one-off payment that may come up again, such as paying for a school trip. By doing this, you can have an idea of what your savings can go towards and from there you can start to think about your budget.
Be Willing to Adapt
Another reason why saving might have been tough for you up to now is because you’ve never been able to pass up the chance to indulge in your morning latte. The £3 you spend every day on your coffee soon adds up, though. By swapping this for the free coffee in the office, you’ll soon see that you’re making some savings.
This isn’t to say you can’t treat yourself from time to time. It just means that in order to start saving up, it’s important to see where you can cut back.
Separating Your Savings
Not knowing what to do with the money you’ve saved so far is another thing that could be holding you back. Perhaps you’ve been squirrelling away money, but you’ve had to dip into the savings you’ve made so far.
It’s worth separating your savings out so that you have an ‘in case of emergency’ fund and a general savings pot. That way, you can set yourself achievable savings goals safe in the knowledge that you have the finances ready should something unplanned crop up. By doing this, you’re covering all bases.
How do you find saving up? Do you have any savvy saving tips?
