How to save $1,000
$1,000.
A grand. One K.
Now that some of us have received a Tax Refund we should have saved up a thousand. A grand. Mucho Moola. No matter
how you say it, it sounds good. Think about the sense of well-being that would come from knowing you had 10 crisp $100
bills tucked away in your wallet.
Everyone should have that feeling. But instead of your wallet, it may be better off sitting safely in a savings account or a 6
month CD. Because if you are like over 39% of working Americans, you had already spent your refund before you got it.
If you still want to feel like a million bucks by saving a thousand, don’t despair. Here are seven simple and painless steps to
consider to get you going:
1.
Get Started. The hardest part of saving money or any other goal is getting started.
2.
Open a savings account. I wasn’t joking about not keeping cash in your wallet. I once took a quick trip to the supermarket
and left my purse — which held an envelope containing $738 I’d saved up — sitting on the shopping cart. [That is a
whole other story... For another time]. Replacing drivers license and credit cards was a hassle, the cash was lost forever.
Protect your hard-earned money: Put it in a savings account as soon as you start saving. One that makes it slightly
difficult for you to constantly dip into it.
3.
Automate. Does money burn a hole in your pocket like it does in mine? If it’s not there, within reach, you can’t easily
spend it. It is relatively simple to automatically set up a way to pay yourself first. Each payday you can send money to
a savings account.
4.
Today most banks allow automatic transfers that can shift a little of each paycheck from your checking to your savings
account. Five percent is a good place to start, but more is obviously better. If you’re paid every two weeks, just $84 a
paycheck will get you to $1,000 in six months.
5.
Goals Planning. Believe it or not if you have a set goal, preferably in writing, you are more likely to reach it than by
simply wanting or hoping to get there. Make it easy for yourself. Don’t try to save a large amount at a time. Small
increments will get you there. It just may take a little more time
6.
Use a simple budget to show you where you need to cut back. When you can see where you spend you can see where
you over spend.
7.
Look for our upcoming feature on Budgeting and Goal Planning Tools to help you stay on course for your financial
goals.
8.
Cut back. For a lot of you, there may be obvious places to reduce what you’re spending. It could be one trip a week to
McDonalds, meals out with your buddies, sporting events or gaming. The idea is to rein these in a bit to free up some
cash. There’s no need to go cold turkey — a few small changes can add up quickly. Imagine saving $5.06 a day for a week,
a total of $35.43 just by skipping that one coffee house trip.
9.
Cut out. Some spending you can slice off a bit at a time. On the other hand, some things need to face the scalpel.
Eliminate a few trips to the mall, a tobacco habit can cost you over $80.00 a week not to mention the adverse effects
on your health. Dry cleaning is one of the easiest places to save a bundle. You probably have plenty of other types of
unproductive spending you can cut out to put yourself on the savings fast track.
10. Capture your savings. Stashing money in an envelope or a change jar may not be the ideal solution to saving $1,000, but
if that’s all you can manage for the time being, at least it’s a step in the right direction. Just try not to open your makeshift
bank and fritter away what you’ve worked hard to save. If you do use a jar make sure you can’t see through it. Walking
by a clear jar full of coins and bills will have you counting all the time. Avoid temptation.
That should get you going. Once you get there, celebrate — in a responsible way. But don’t stop with $1,000. Setting aside a
grand is just a small step on the road to financial security.
12
|
WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
|
APRIL 2015