Have you been struggling with debt and/or basically living from pay check to pay check? If so, it is highly likely that you have not been able to find much in the way of spare funds to set aside for savings. Whether this money is for an emergency, or will be used towards a retirement or an education fund – having some savings is a very beneficial for a variety of important short and long-term financial reasons.
Of course going about saving can prove to be more of a challenge than we would like – especially when our financial routines basically consist of paying off debt. With that being said, in spite of this, it is not impossible to save. However, in order to follow through with this course of action in a more effective manner it is necessary to be as organized as possible.
Starting with breaking down this process into manageable steps, as well as finding methods of obtaining this goal that make the most sense for you is key to your success. Moving into spring, here are 3 tips to help you put aside some extra money each month.
1) Determine a Realistic Monthly Savings Amount
First on your list should be to determine how much you want to save. While ideally we may want to save A LOT, this might not be possible at this time. Therefore, you will want to set your sights on an amount that is realistic based on your current financial parameters.
From a personalized stand point, if it is more reasonable for you to set aside $25.00 per month for example, then it truly is better to opt for a lower amount than a higher one that could more likely than not lead to more debt and more financial instability. Perhaps you have identified that you want to save $300 dollars in total – therefore you also want to make this a realistic end-goal amount.
2) Set a Goal for Savings
And how will you actually go about saving this money and when will you need to have this amount saved by? Again, since your financial situation is unique to you, it also makes sense that you will need to come up with a plan and a goal for your savings.
Again, if your goal is to save $300, and you are able to manage putting aside $25 per month, then your goal to save this amount is going to take you 12 months (25 x 12 = 300). If you have calculated this amount yourself, then you will want to decide if this timeline is aligned with your savings goal.
Ultimately, however your goal for saving in this amount of time may also be achieved by implementing a specific savings method. Automatic transfers into a separate savings account, for example is perhaps a good course of action to take in order to stay consistent with your goals for saving.
3) Find New Sources of Income to Save
Now if you have identified that you in fact need to save more than $300 and perhaps even in a shorter period of time, say 6 months – then a method of obtaining more money is to find additional sources of income. So if you want to save $300 to $600 in a 6 month time frame, then you will be looking to increase your monthly savings to about $90 – $100.
HOW you will do this is the big question? This brings us back to finding new sources of income. If you are already working many hours throughout week, then these additional methods of earning will need to compliment your current employment schedule. If this is the case then perhaps an online job would be the best way of assisting you with this goal. Fortunately, these days there are plenty of work-from-anywhere kind of positions such as blogging, content writing, website design and so on.
Whatever the type of position you take on, this can help you earn some extra income each month and can enable you to extend the amount of money you are able to set aside each month. Subsequently, you can also increase the pace in which you save, ultimately reaching your savings goal within the amount of time you have previously identified.
Speaking of goals, if your current plan is to ‘spring into savings’, then there is no better time then the changing of the seasons to set out on this financial path. Spring is often synonymous with a fresh start, and a fresh financial start can commence with you ability to start saving more money over the course of the next few months and rest of the year.
