Improving Life
How to Save Money Easily & Quickly
Why We Need to Save Money
Aa far as I am concerned there is only one reason why you want to save money. That is financial independence. Freedom from having to work for other people when you don't want to work for them. As long as you have money in the bank you can do whatever you want to do.
Here is what most people do wrong when they get their first job. They start spending money! They think, "Great! I can spend all my money because I will make more!" That is where most of us go wrong. We don't begin saving money right away.
When I got my first job I wish my parents had convinced me to save half my paycheck. I didn't save any of it. And when I lost that job I was broke. That is the way it goes every time I leave a job. I have no money in the bank. This time I am doing it different. This time I am saving money every chance I get.
How to Save Money
The only problem with deciding to save money after years of spending it is you are already in debt. You have all these bills to pay. How do you save a lot of money when you feel like you don't have any to save? It's not easy. It takes an "Aha!" moment in your life. You have to decide at some point you will make a sacrifice.
It can just be a little sacrifice at first. If you're only able to save $5 a week that will give you $260 in a year. But that assumes you never find ways to save more than $5. What if you can start saving another $5 a week a in few months? Your first year savings grows faster!
People talk themselves out of saving money by looking at the wrong things. It's not important to say I can only save $5. It's important to say I found a way to save this week, so I can find a way to save again next week.
As I write this I can only save $25 to $30 a week. That doesn't sound like much but it will build up over time. That is what is important to me.
How to Save Money Fast
If you're not satisfied with putting back a few dollars a week then there is another way to save money. I mean this works if you have a lot of bills. A friend of mine did this last year. His idea inspired me to start saving again.
What my friend did was skip a month's payment on a bill. Then he put that money in the bank. He had to pay a late fee on the bill the next month but he refused to take that payment out of the bank. And the next month I skipped on another bill. He did this four months in a row until he had $500 in the bank. After that he just kept adding to it.
My friend figured if you can afford to pay a little extra for a while on your bills then you can save some cash in the bank. Now he has an emergency fund and that means he can handle unexpected expenses. He won't have to miss any more bills as long as he continues to save money.
I'm not using that fast savings method but I know it works. I'm just glad I'll have my $1000 in savings by the end of the year. I have no plans for that money. It will just sit in the bank and collect interest in case I need it for an emergency.
But I won't stop saving there. I'll keep putting more money back. One day I'll start making investments. Just you wait and see. My money will grow. I'll never be broke again.
Do you want to know more? I recommend you read these articles.